• Woody Paige asks Brandon Marshall to change his ways, in possibly the best Paige piece I’ve read.  [Denver Post]
• Marshall’s lawyer Harvey Steinberg had some choice words for the NFL.  More on this later. [DPO]
• Teammates, including Dre Bly and Tony Scheffler discuss what the suspension means for the passing game.  [Rocky Mountain News]
• The fans are none too happy, either.  [Real Football 365]
• Mike Shanahan and Jay Cutler are they keys to a winning season. [NFL.com]
• Eddie Royal and Matt Prater are among five notable training camp observations.  [NFL]
• Brandon Stokley was pleasantly surprised by last year’s results and is looking forward to playing well again.  [Longmont Times Call]
• Rookie 6th round linebacker Spencer Larsen is going through one hell of an emotional roller coaster.  [RMN]

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Yesterday’s winner: Hansen: “Waaaaahhhh, I lost my balloon!” Honorable mention: flbronc, DrewB, everyone.

Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal

Your wittiest, most cleverest captions in the comments…

Denver Broncos rookie running back Ryan Torain was carted off the practice field with an apparent elbow injury this morning, CBS4 reports. Torain was carrying the football during 9-on-7 drills when he reportedly put his left hand on the ground in an attempt to maintain his balance when the injury took place.

He immediately collapsed on the turf grasping his left shoulder. Broncos head trainer Steve Antonopolus helped Torain walk to the sideline and tended to him for about 10 minutes before calling a cart to ferry the tailback off the field.

FM 104.3 The Fan reports that Torain suffered a hyperextended elbow. The report was confirmed by Broncos trainers.

It’s never good to see the cart being brought out, but it looks like we dodged a bullet here. A hyperextended elbow is very painful, and requires plenty of rest, but is relatively low on the injury totem pole. This isn’t season-threatening by any means, and he could suit up probably as soon as next weekend’s game, but the Broncos will likely take it slow and make sure he can come back full strength.

Broncos RB Torain Injured During Blocking Drill [CBS4]

Tom Nalen. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

We’ve seen the departure of Jason Elam and the retirement of Matt Lepsis and Rod Smith this off-season. And with those three departed, we were left with only one player from our last Super Bowl roster, Tom Nalen.

That’s right, of our 1998 Super Bowl team only Tom Nalen remains. John Elway and Gary Zimmerman are already in the HOF. Davis, Atwater, Mobley, McCaffrey, Sharpe, Neil, Schlereth, Romanowski, Crockett, Tanuvasa, Griffith and the rest have all retired from the game.

That leaves only Nalen. Tommy ‘Nails’ Nalen is the last man standing – and rightfully so.

However, Nalen is in his 15th year and is coming off Knee surgery that ended his season in 2007. The doctors have done all that they can and the MRI’s don’t show anything more they can do right now… but Nalen is experiencing enough pain to keep him out of practice.

As of Tuesday, Nalen has missed SEVEN straight days, and that’s a big deal. It’s not a big deal because he needs the reps, but because Nalen doesn’t stay out unless he’s hurting… bad.

“Anytime Tom stays out of practice, it is not just another injury, because it is tough to keep him out of practice.” — Mike Shanahan 8/5/08

Nalen is now 37 years old and hasn’t played ball since our Oct 7th Mile High Disaster last year. That’s 11 games he missed and word from Shanahan seems to indicate that Nalen may sit out the first few preseason games (if not all of them).

In terms of our O-line, I’m not that concerned. Shanahan was very smart to bring in Casey Wiegmann, who started the last 111 games for the Kansas City Chiefs. Wiegmann has been getting all the first team reps while Tommy is out, and as a seasoned vet I have no worries about the Center position this year.

However, as a fan of this team it saddens me to see the last tie to our Super Bowl years slipping away. I truly hope that Tom has another year or two in him. I would love to see him help us get to the playoffs this year and a Ring the next. But it seems less and less likely as the days go by without him on the field.

It’s a universal fact that all things come to an end. In Denver, ten years after our last Lombardi Trophy, we have only one man still standing. And when Tom Nalen calls it quits he will end an era.

Here’s hoping the man who’s ‘tough as nails’ has one more year in him!

The NFL has made it official – Denver Broncos wide receiver Brandon Marshall has been suspended for three games for violation of the league’s Personal Conduct Policy. As previously reported, Marshall can agree to undergo counseling and lessen his suspension to two games.

No clue why it took nearly 48 hours from Adam Schefter‘s report stating EXACTLY THIS to the official announcement today. You all know how I feel, so I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts in the comments.

(Thanks to everyone for the tips via email and comments… NFL statement after the jump)

Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Hello, my name is Roger Goodell.  Most of you know who I am, but for those who don’t, I am the Commissioner of the National Football League.  My responsibilities include ensuring the integrity of the game itself is maintained, as well as many of the executive financial and legislative decisions that need to be made for The League on a daily basis.  As you can imagine, with a League of over 2,500 players and thousands more coaches and staff members, I am a very busy man.

I understand that Broncos fans have become irritated at the length of time it is taking for a decision to be made regarding Brandon Marshall, but please know that I have looked at the information, met with Brandon, and am in the final stages of reviewing his case.

Quite simply, my other responsibilities to The League have required my immediate attention.  Only today, Brett Favre‘s SUV was seen parked in his parking spot at Lambeau Field.  His SUV.  Parked.  In his spot.  At Lambeau Field. Obviously the whole of my attention had to be devoted to this matter.

Also, Marshall’s violation of League rules on the field last year must be considered.  I mean, the guy threw snow.  It’s a serious violation.  We can’t have our players throwing snow and being a bad example to kids.

I promise you Broncos fans, as soon as my schedule permits, and Brett Favre takes a nap, I will reach a speedy and totally unfair decision regarding Brandon Marshall’s suspension.  Thank you.

• The last time the Broncos had a dual threat wide receiver-return specialist like Eddie Royal was over 30 years ago, and his name was Rick Upchurch.  [Denver Post]
• With 4th round pick Marcus Thomas and 3rd rounder Ryan Harris starting on Saturday, the 2007 draft class is all topsy-turvy.  [DPO]
• An extremely candid interview with Thomas about his rookie season – a real eye opener regarding his playing shape last year.  Great read.  [RMN]
• Andre Hall isn’t letting the new running backs take his #2 spot. [Rocky Mountain News]
• Nothing like pointing out the obvious:  Matt Prater still has a lot to prove.  [DPO]
• DPO Mailbag covers John Lynch, Jay Cutler, and more. [DPO]
• Houston preseason info.  [DenverBroncos.com]
• UPDATE: Yesterday I mentioned Sirius NFL Radio will be visiting Broncos camp.  It’s moved up an hour to 10AM (meaning it’s already underway).

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Yesterday’s winner – mikebirty:  “Thank you for flying packers airlines. The emergency exits can be found here, here and the New York Jets.” Honorable mention: Danish Denver Fan, E. Halsey Miles.

Oh, so many possibilities… (AP Photo/Jack Smith)

Your wittiest, most cleverest captions in the comments…

Rod Smith says coach’s hours are too long for him; however, it seems clear that Rod Smith’s presence as an advisor, teacher and counselor will be felt this season by at least one important player – Brandon Marshall.

Rod says that he took a special interest in Brandon because he likes ‘who he is as a person’ but also because he recognizes the trouble Brandon has been in lately. Smith admits to dealing with his own troubles in the past, and when he saw Marshall dealing with things last year he stepped up to offer advise and counsel. Smith says that he wants to be a positive influence on Marshall but he refuses to sugar-coat things.

“Brandon and I have been working though some of his stuff for over a year now…. Some times you just have to repeat things several times to people – not just Brandon.”

This is nothing new. Rod Smith has been a teacher and counselor for the Bronco’s young wideouts for years now. And he spent all of last season in a leadership role – even if it was from the sidelines.

“I try to mentor and motivate and encourage guys to be better… but not for themselves but for the rest of the guys in this locker room.”

Well, that team-oriented attitude was why Brandon (and his lawyer) ask the veteran receiver to come to New York and accompany Marshall to his meeting with the NFL Commissioner. That task wasn’t necessarily fun for Smith. In fact, he described it recently as: ‘kinda of scary… it was kind of like going to the principal’s office.’

Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Bailey and Dumervil. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

It seems some of the Denver Broncos players who have been nursing injuries appreciated Sunday’s respite from the daily grind. Strong side linebacker Boss Bailey returned to the practice field Monday morning after missing Friday’s and Saturday’s practices with an inflamed knee, and rookie FB Peyton Hillis also returned after a week-long hiatus due to a hamstring injury, the team’s official blog reports.

Bailey plays a crucial role in the team’s defensive re-tooling, and Hillis was looking impressive at the fullback position before going down. It’s good to see these new guys back on the field.

Injury Blitz: RG Montrae Holland was hoping to return to the field Monday, but was still working with strength and conditioning coach Rich Tuten during the morning session… C Tom Nalen still rests with knee pain… SS Hamza Abdullah sat out practice with a groin injury.

Glad to see those guys are back – Hillis has some catching up to do if he’s to become the opening day starter ahead of Cecil Sapp. What was once called a “slight groin injury” to Abdullah has now seen him miss two full practices in three days… not good. And with each day that Holland doesn’t see the field, the likelihood of him even making the team continues to wane.

So, the Denver Broncos have just released their first 2008 depth chart. This means little more than who’s playing with the first unit this week, but there are several things of note within this list, so let’s dive in! (Click below to view)

OFFENSE:
* Darrell Jackson, as expected, is the #2 WR.
* Eddie Royal is listed behind Brandon Marshall in the #3/#4 slot with Brandon Stokley behind Darrell Jackson in the other spot (Boy, this fight is gonna get good with everyone thinking about Marshall’s suspension!).
* Yes, that means WR Glenn Martinez has fallen behind Eddie Royal.
* Cecil Sapp is still listed as starting at FB.
* Ryan Harris is starting at RT.
* Daniel Graham and Tony Scheffler have stayed ahead of Nate Jackson so far.
* No surprise at RB with Selvin Young starting and Andre Hall behind him.
* Ryan Torain is listed as the 3rd RB with Michael Pittman listed as the 3rd FB (nothing really weird here as Shanahan uses the RB/FB depth chart as a smoke screen most of the time).

DEFENSE:
* Nate Webster has the top MIKE slot.
* Marcus Thomas has earned a starting DT spot beside Dewayne Robertson.
* As expected with Lynch’s absence, Hamza Abdullah and Marlon McCree have the Strong and Free Safety slots.
* Roderick Rogers has stayed ahead of Josh Barrett in the backup fight at Strong Safety.
* John Engelberger & Elvis Dumervil will get the first team reps at DE.
* Domonique Foxworth hasn’t yet overtaken Dre Bly… yet.

SPECIAL TEAMS:
* Sam Paulescu & Matt Prater have won the punting and kicking duties.
* Eddie Royal is on top for both punt and kickoff returns.

HERE is the full Depth Chart.

What do you think? Any surprises here? If this was your starting line up for the 2008 season, how would you feel about the team?

• If you missed the news, Brandon Marshall is expected to receive a 2-3 game suspension.  [BroncoTalk]
• Mike Shanahan remains confident in his team when an outsider’s view wouldn’t be as optimistic.  [ESPN]
• Marlon McCree is just glad he’s had the opportunity to compete for a starting job.  [Longmont Times Call]
• Denver/Boulder residents – Stefan Fatsis, author of A Few Seconds of Panic, which we reviewed right here, will be appearing at the Boulder Bookstore on Tuesday and the Tattered Cover in Denver on Wednesday.  – Details [StefanFatsis.com]
• Sirius Satellite Radio subscribers – the training camp tour hits Denver tomorrow at 11AM MST, don’t miss it.
• KC: The Chiefs are reeling after Branden Albert and Glenn Dorsey have both gone down to injury.  Luckily for them, it appears neither will miss too much time.  [Kansas City Star]
• SD: Chargers RB Darren Sproles has been impressive in training camp.  [San Diego Union Tribune]

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Saturday’s winner: Pat: “I told Spud the day i make it in the hall of fame is the day we get him fixed. Sorry boy.”

Brett Favre lands in Wisconsin.

Your wittiest, most cleverest captions in the comments.