Name: Darrell Hackney Height, Weight: 6’0″, 248 Position: Quarterback Age, Experience: 2, 24 College: Alabama-Birmingham

Darrell Hackney joined the Denver Broncos in 2007 and spent the first half of the season on the practice squad. After Jay Cutler‘s leg injury against the Detroit Lions in Week 9, Hackney was signed to the active roster and served as the team’s 3rd quarterback under the NFL’s rules. This policy allows Hackney to suit up in addition to the 45 active players at game time, and in the case of injuries to both the first and second string quarterback, Hackney can come in and play (while restricting the return of the other quarterbacks unless Hackney only plays in Q4). Anyone watching long snapper Mike Leach warm up for passes on the sideline during the Detroit game knows that Hackney’s presence as a backup option was a comforting proposition.

The Good: Hackney broke school records as a quarterback at Alabama-Birmingham in passing yards (9,886).  He finished with 71 touchdowns and 33 interceptions for his career.  Many scouting reports listed him among the strongest arms coming out for the draft in 2006.

The Bad: Hackney was arrested for a DUI in December of last year.  In three preseason games (remember, all among third stringers on offense and defense), Hackney completed 10 of 22 passes (44.5%) for 113 yards (5.1 average), 1 interception and 0 touchdowns.

Status: Practice Squadder.  Signed an undisclosed contract in 2007.  Hackney wasn’t activated in any NFL games, so he is still eligible for the practice squad.  Darrell Hackney was born on August 7, 1983 in Atlanta, GA.

As always, we invite you, the readers, to partake.  Do you like Hackney as the third string QB or do you want someone more reliable?

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After Javon Walker‘s weekend of partying and subsequent days of hospitalization, details are beginning to surface regarding the events that led to his fractured orbital bone and related robbery.

Walker has estimated that he lost around $103,000 in cash and jewelry after he was grabbed and forced into a car, then beaten and robbed. He was carrying $3,000 in cash and over $100,000 in jewelry (check out his watch in the photo – click to enlarge).

Reports indicate that the extent of Walker’s injuries include a moderate concussion and significant facial injuries.  It has already been reported that Walker suffered a fractured orbital bone.

Some had wondered why Javon Walker was found lying in this seemingly nondescript intersection. Piecing the story together, it seems that after Javon’s assailants were through with him, they left him unconscious in this area and drove off, likely blocks or even miles away from where Walker was first grabbed.

Walker has been unable to give an official statement to this point, only briefly talking to police, and says he’s still quite confused about what happened.  The police hope to interview him more extensively today.

Walking around Las Vegas with over $100k – most of it visible – is just plain dumb.  Everyone knows better.  I’m sure Javon knows better.  I’m not saying he deserved it, no one does, but there were a million different things he could have done to prevent this (lower profile, not being found alone, etc.).  He’s paying for his mistake in spades.  I feel sorry for the guy, and hope he has a speedy recovery.

A few images of what Javon Walker was up to this past weekend.  Another interesting note I did not realize was this piece of history.  Sad circumstances indeed:

Walker asked Broncos coach Mike Shanahan for permission not to attend Williams’ funeral in Texas, saying he was too distraught. Walker flew to Las Vegas the weekend of the funeral and was seen at Tryst. – Vegas Confidential

According to various sources, Javon Walker was on his second straight night of spraying Dom into a crowd at a night club (isn’t he supposed to be getting ready for the season?). As reported earlier, he had also done this at Tryst early Sunday morning, while Monday morning it was Body English. According to some reports, he was racking up $15,000 tabs on both nights.

What makes this all the more troubling is that it has been reported that Brandon Marshall and his cousin had sprayed the crowd at a night club the night that Darrent Williams was shot and died in Walker’s arms. This ’spraying’ of champagne is the suspected impetus of the drive by shooting.

When Darrent Williams was put to rest, Walker begged out of going to Texas for the funeral and instead was later seen at Tryst in Las Vegas. – MVN

The entire situation summed up via Deadspin.

• A really nice video story and tribute to Darrent Williams yesterday on NFLN – check it out here.  [NFL.com]
• Javon Walker had a “large amount of cash and some jewelry” stolen.  [Yahoo! Sports]
• Raiders blog takes a closer look at Javon’s injuries.  [Thoughts from the Dark Side]
• Broncos are ranked an early 19th in FF Defense/Special Teams.  [ESPN]
• MLB: Ugh.  Rockies 1, Braves 7.  [Yahoo! Sports]

Oakland Raiders wide receiver Javon Walker was found unconscious on a Las Vegas street corner Monday morning, Fox 5 News in Las Vegas reports.  He is currently under hospitalization and is listed in fair condition after suffering an orbital fracture.

Police are not certain how the former Denver Broncos player received the injury to his eye socket. There were reports of him partying over the weekend: Walker was seen Saturday night spraying the crowd at Tryst at the Wynn with some of the 15 bottles of Dom Perignon Rose champagne he ordered.

After a rough departure from the Broncos in March, Walker signed a lucrative $55-million dollar deal with the rival Raiders.

UPDATE: Walker was apparently robbed, according to police, and was seen partying until around 6 AM Monday morning in another bar. The police said he sustained “significant injuries.”

All smack talking aside for the moment, we want to wish Javon the best of luck. Honestly, we’re saddened to hear about this, no matter what may have transpired in the past. The guy has just been a mess since Darrent Williams.

NFL Player Found Unconscious [Fox5 Vegas via PFT]

Name: Louis Edward Green Height, Weight: 6’3″, 237 Position: Linebacker Age, Experience: 5, 28 College: Alcorn St.

Louis Green is a backup linebacker for the Denver Broncos who primarily sees the field on special teams. An undrafted free agent out of Alcorn State, Green spent his first few years in the league bouncing back and forth from the Broncos’ practice squad and the free agent market. In November of 2004, he was finally signed to the active roster of the Broncos and has remained there ever since.

The Good: Special teams. Green’s an ace. He’s the type of guy that doesn’t have all the talent in the world, but works his tail off to keep his spot on the roster. In his three full years with the Broncos, Green has tallied 25 special teams tackles. He’s always around the ball on special teams. Meanwhile, Green was nominated by his teammates for the Ed Block Courage Award in 2006 “in recognition of his perseverance through the offseason passing of his mother following a long illness.”

The Bad: Green is not a starter or even 2nd string material at linebacker, but he gets the job done on special teams. He’s not old by any means, but for a strictly special teamer Green will be considered a wise old vet when he turns 29 this September.

Status: Special teamer, potential camp fodder. Signed a 3-year contract last offseason that runs through 2009. There are a lot of young players joining the Broncos this year that could use special teams work while they’re groomed; Green will have to show he’s invaluable in that area to keep his spot. Louis Green was born on Sept. 23, 1979, in Vicksburg, MS.

As always, we invite you, the readers, to partake. Is Green’s impressive special teams work worthy of a roster spot, or should the Broncos give a younger guy a chance?

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Since 1995, the Broncos have had a top 5 rushing attack 9 times. Cue Ed Rooney. 9 times. Doesn’t matter who it is toting the rock. Everyone from superstars like Terrell Davis and Clinton Portis to relative nobodies like Olandis Gary and Mike Anderson have succeed here. 9 times. With that in mind, why doesn’t every single free agent running back have Denver as their preferred destination?  Why don’t they say to their agents, “I don’t care what it takes, if the contract is comparable, I want to be a part of that team.” Poor to average RB’s (Gary, Tatum Bell) are pretty good here. Good RB’s (Anderson) are great here. Great RB’s (Davis, Portis) are otherworldly.

Why would a guy in his prime, Edgerrin James for example, want to go to Arizona, stutter-step into every clogged running lane and fall forward for a 3 yards per carry average, when Denver is in the mix? Because they offered an extra year or an extra couple of million? I don’t understand that notion. I do understand that the NFL is a business, but wouldn’t you give up some dough (you’re already a multi-millionaire anyway, right?) for a chance at being one of THE greats?

Michael Pittman on the other hand, totally gets me.

“You get a chance to come here and, I mean, this is like a running back’s dream. Of course I want it to be me, it’s why I came here.”

Denver is not averse to giving out big contracts to big name free agent running backs. That might not be the case anymore, thanks to the nightmarish signing of Travis Henry. However, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that they’ll talk to the next big time guy.  That guy would be wise to consider Denver.

Punters and Kickers also have no excuse to go anywhere else.  How could you not want to kick at 5280 for half your games?  Imagine Darren Bennett blasting 80 yarders here 8 games a year instead of just 1.

Kyle here. Thanks again to Herc, who will be guest blogging here from time to time.  When he’s not adding his two cents at BroncoTalk, you can find him at the hilarious Denver Broncos blog Orange Bucksnorts.

• Marcus Thomas is in the best football shape he’s been in in years..  [CBS4 Denver]
• TMI, Brandon Marshall. TMI.  [Deadspin]
• June workouts recap, with links to all the photo galleries and vids from the official site over the past several weeks.  [DenverBroncos.com]
• Niko Koutouvides hasn’t earned the starting MLB spot yet over Nate Webster.  [Pro Football Weekly]
• MLB: Rockies 5, White Sox 3.  Rockies win their eighth in eleven games.  [Yahoo! Sports]

Place your bets, everybody. The point spread for the Denver Broncos‘ week one skirmish at the Oakland Raiders on Monday Night Football is set, with the Broncos as a one-point favorite.

In general, home teams are given a 3 point advantage, meaning on a neutral field the Broncos would be a 4-point favorite. Note that this is a very early spread and will almost certainly change as the season approaches.

It just confirms that this game is going to be intense, what with all the smack talk taking place – on both sides – as we get ready to kick off the 2008 season.

Yea, yea. I’m skipping game 1 — I don’t want to think too much about that game. The team we face that day won’t be the team every other opponent they have faces that day. Too much trash talk. Just like the old days, but it makes it really hard for me to guess what’s going to happen.

So that moves us on to our other division rival. The San Diego Chargers. Right now they’re the AFC West team to beat.

…I’m not actually sure the Bolts are going to be the team to beat again this year.

1. I still don’t believe Norv Turner is actually a good head coach. The team struggled a lot last season trying to implement Turner’s system and they didn’t really succeed until he scaled that back and went back to Marty’s system. Head coaches are, by their nature, highly entrenched into the idea that Their System Works, so I would expect to see more of that.
2. For two, Phillip Rivers isn’t showing the right qualities to be an elite NFL quarterback. While it’s true that he has, to some extent, lacked targets, Antonio Gates and Chris Chambers are both elite wide receivers. (Yes, take that one as you will). Vincent Jackson makes a quality #3 WR. Which is enough decent targets to shine. I don’t think he will, unless he somehow stops making the bevy of mistakes he made last year.
3. For three, their O-line, while good, lacks quality depth, and last year they had issues with motivation. This goes back to Turner, I think, and I predict this problem will intensify. Mark this: Around mid-season, an O-line starter will get benched for seemingly no reason. (Reason: Lack of effort due to dissatisfaction).
4. For four, we’ve stopped Ladanian Tomlinson before, and that was with Lorenzo Neal. We’re going back to the scheme that was successful against LT. So the question marks are going to be DJ Williams and Niko Koutovides — K2 is going to be the key guy to to stop LT. Boy, I’m putting a lot on that guy’s shoulders, aren’t I?

My bold prediction:

Sun, Sep. 14 is going to be one HELL of a game. Defense will win the day; both teams have the right tools to shut the other team’s offense down. San Diego’s DL + LB core is superior to our OL core, unless Ryan Clady turns out to be All That And A Bag Of Chips in only game 2. We’ll put up some pretty good plays because Brandon Marshall is The Man and we’ll have an enviable group catching the ball, but their defense will successfully keep Jay Cutler from having enough time to throw the ball and there will be lots of really good drives stopped in a short field. A couple of touchdowns will get through here and there, but this’ll be a day of field goals.

And we’ll do the same to them; our secondary will smother their receivers and they won’t get enough of the running game to make the difference. Antonio Gates will make one absolutely amazing touchdown and Chambers will get the other.

Final score: Broncos 26, Chargers 23.

(Incidentally, I predict we’ll only get one touchdown on offense. The other will be either Dre Bly or Champ Bailey picking off a bad Rivers decision). I’ll count this pick as being right if the pick nets a really short field and are able to pound the ball in with a power running back.)