• Matt Prater is confident he can defend his job.  [DenverBroncos.com]
• Information on Marcus Thomas‘ statement to police after his arrest, and why the Florida prosecutors dropped the case.  [Denver Post]
• “Nothing new” on Spygate?  I tend to disagree… [Rocky Mountain News]
• Matt Walsh told the Commish that Bellichick and company knew they were cheating, more than just a misinterpretation of the rules.  [Hashmarks]
• A summary of Roger Goodell‘s remarks.  [Hashmarks]
• San Diego extends its long snapper.  [Yahoo!]

It’s been brought to our attention that there is no professional football in May. Or June for that matter. Some would call this the “off” season. While this might be true for the sport itself, and our Denver Broncos, it most certainly is not the case for this blog.

Do you stop being a fan during these months? No, you say? Is this a fan-driven web site? Why, yes it is! The news front may be quieter this time of year, but we’re going to continue to work just as hard to deliver the best possible material to Denver Broncos fans.

Here’s a lineup of things to come:
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Update (2/10/13):  This article is over four years old but has been getting a lot of traffic in resent days, we assume because of Elam’s appearance on the TV show “Buying Alaska“.  For more on Elam’s current status, go here.

A lot of fans, including myself, were scratching their heads at Jason Elam‘s departure this offseason. As we all know, he’ll be kicking for Atlanta now, while the Broncos will be relying on a few untested guys to battle over camp and win the job. The Broncos had an offer on the table – a good one at that. So went wrong?

In a recent interview with CBS4 Denver, the potential Ring of Famer cleared the air, and said that naturally money was factor, but that the length of the contract was a bigger one.

“In the end there was more money. I’m not saying that didn’t factor in. Certainly it did. But it was a level of commitment that the Falcons were willing to give to me. … I felt like the Broncos were very fair to me over the last 15 years. They gave me an offer that they felt was fair. But my personal feeling was that it was (really) a one year deal, and I wanted a bit more of a commitment.”

Mike Shanahan pointed out that the Broncos contract offer would have made Elam the 3rd highest paid kicker in the NFL. For a guy that doesn’t do kick offs, that’s an extremely sweet deal. He also speculated that the contract the Broncos offered was a better deal over 2-3 years, and hypothesized that Elam might have been seeking a one year deal to finish off his career, so signed with Atlanta because of their larger offer up front.

Elam denied those claims, saying he intends to honor his contract with the Falcons.

Great story by the CBS4 team, which sheds some light on the Elam situation. The Broncos did everything within reason – and then some – to try and keep Jason in Denver. Ultimately it was the up front money, plain and simple, that lured Jason to Atlanta.

After a long week of finals and my wife’s graduation (she’s awesome), I have enough pent up blogging energy to start up three new Broncos blogs. But I like you guys, so I’ll keep it here. Get ready for a wild week!

• Mike Shanahan‘s daughter and President George W. Bush‘s daughter were roommates in NY, and subsequently the Broncos coach got a presidential invite to Jenna Bush‘s wedding. [9News]
• D.J. Williams is working on a cause close to his heart. If you happen to be in or around Parker on Wednesday, stop by and get autographs from Williams, Louis Green and Nate Webster and help raise leukemia awareness. [CBS4 Denver]
• Great article on Peyton Hillis, one of the Broncos 7th rounders. [Arkansas Democrat Gazette]
• Did the Redskins take a page out of Shanny’s draft strategy book? [Hog Heaven]
• McBroncoFan is learning the ropes in Raiders mini camp. [Yahoo! Sports]
• Meanwhile, Michael Bush isn’t ready to just hand him the job. [Inside Bay Area]
• NFL: Research is underway to prevent turf related foot injuries to players. [Yahoo! Sports]
• MLB: Rockies 1, Padres 6. I hate losing to San Diego, NFL or otherwise. [Yahoo! Sports]

Recently the only news on the Broncos has revolved around DT Marcus Thomas and the fact that the drug charges from March have been officially dropped. I’ve posted a couple times on the subject and we’ve had some lively discusses on the topic.

Today I feel like it’s only fair to give Thomas the last word on this subject…

On his initial thoughts when he heard the charges were finally dropped:

“I’m relieved.”

On the support of his teammates and coaches:

“As soon as I talked to Shanahan and Shanahan said, ‘If you’re innocent, we’re with you 100 percent and we’ll get through this together,’ I was relieved….I had to let it play out. But right now, I’m just happy the coaches stuck with me the whole time”

On what he learned:

“I just know I can’t continue to hang out with the same people I hung with back in high school,” Thomas said. “And I just have to stay out of Jacksonville, really.”

On the timing of the charges being dropped:

“I’m just glad it didn’t go all the way to camp. I didn’t want any distractions. This is the first time I’ve been able to be here in the offseason, and I’ve been working really hard.”

On Denver’s upcoming mini-camp:

“I can’t wait. Last year, I didn’t even play half a year of football because I was suspended from Florida. And I wasn’t really working out because I didn’t even plan on getting drafted. But I feel really confident coming into this season. I’m a lot stronger, well-conditioned. I’m pretty much ready to show what I’ve got going on now.”

The last time a group of guys named Shanahan, Kubiak and Gibbs teamed up they ended up with a couple of rings. In 2008 this combination will try to duplicate that success. Of course, I’m referring to the Houston Texans and not our Denver Broncos and the Shanahan I listed is Kyle Shanahan not Mike, but the other two are originals and I think it will makes for a pretty impressive offensive coaching staff.

Kyle in particular is becoming a fast rising offensive talent, starting as the WR coach and the receiving a promotion to QB Coach before last season and a promotion to Offensive Coordinator this year. At 28 he’s the youngest OC in the league (beating his father’s rise to OC by 4 years). He brings his father’s work ethic and the quiet intensity that the elder Shanahan displayed when he was a position coach and Offensive Coordinator. He also reminds me of Kubiak. He seems to play the QB’s best friend and confidant role that Kubiak did so successfully in Denver.

And speaking of Kubiak, Gary certainly knows a little about working with a Shanahan on the sideline, and likes some of the same attributes in the son as he admired in the father. As for Gibbs, although he promised his wife he’d try retirement – he just could make it work. And if you’re Alex Gibbs and are looking for a new start with familiar faces, then Houston makes perfect sense.

Mike Shanahan agrees…

“I think it will be the best thing that ever happened to my son. Gibbs will make him a better coach and [Kyle] will get a chance to work with a guy who’s been [in the NFL] a long time.” — Mike Shanahan

It will be interesting to watch the Texan’s offense this year under these three men with heavy Denver ties. And, although I only have room in my life for one obsession, it’s hard not to get excited thinking about what they could do this year.

Here is a video from the teams website when Kyle was promoted:

And here is him handling a press conference on their 3rd round picks this year. He handles himself extremely well, and looks like he’s really grown into his new position rather quickly (he seems much more polished and professional here):

As our readers have mentioned in the comment section of my last post, Bill Williamson is reporting on ESPN.com that the Florida state attorney’s office has officially dropped its case against DT Marcus Thomas.

Thomas, who has dealt with off-field issues in college, was arrested in March in Clay County Floriday for possession of cocaine and charged with a third-degree felony.

Mike Shanahan was supportive of Thomas as the details were revealed – although you’d have to think he wasn’t very pleased with the situation.

Thomas didn’t have anything to say prior to this weekend, but his agent made this statement:

“Marcus is so appreciative of Coach Shanahan’s support and he is happy this thing is over. He’s looking forward to the future with the Denver Broncos.” — Richard Burnoski (Thomas’ agent) 5/9/08

Well, this ends the criminal aspects of this case and most likely any league discipline has now been avoided. This is good news for Denver fans as Thomas can now focus on the off-season program without this hanging over his head.

While I’m pleased we’ll have this talented DT on our team this year, I feel like this whole issue points to Thomas’ lack of judgment and maturity. You’d think that being suspended for drugs in college would have been enough to teach Thomas to make better choices. And if that didn’t work, maybe being dismissed during his senior year for failing to follow team rules after his suspension. But even though those issues cost Thomas not only playing time and serious money when his draft stock fell, it wasn’t enough to keep him from going down to Florida and getting busted in a car with cocaine carrying friends.

My only concern going forward is that, if all those other things weren’t enough to change Thomas’ behavior, do you really think this incident will?

Today we concude our look back at the 2007 draft class. As we’ve covered the past couple of days, Shanahan’s highest priority during the ‘o7 draft was along his defensive line. Picks #1 & #2 were both defensive ends while pick #3 was a good prospective OT that would add security behind Lepsis (who was making a return from an ACL injury from the previous season).

So, with that in mind Shanahan started Day Two of the 2007 draft and shocked everyone by trading both our 6th and 7th round picks as well as our 3rd round pick in 2008 to the Vikings to obtain, the 22nd pick of the 4th round (121st overall). More shocking than the trade for a 4th round pick was the actual pick – DT Marcus Thomas from Florida.

As before, here are some of the things Kyle and I wrote a year ago as we reviewed Shanahan’s only second day draft choice…

KYLE 2007: Reminding most Broncos fans of Maurice Clarett, the selection of Florida Defensive Tackle Marcus Thomas is full of controversy. Our second Florida Gator selected, Thomas is infamous for being kicked off the team in 2006 following a second positive test for marijuana and an unauthorized road trip to Jacksonville (his hometown). Athletically, he has the measurables and production of a first rounder, potentially about Amobi Okoye. But his off-field issues merited him a Day 2 selection to the Denver Broncos.

These [character] issues aside, Thomas is a phenomenal player on the field. He posted 4 sacks in the 5 games before the suspension (and remember, he is a DT not a DE pass rusher). He played at below 300 lbs. but would likely stay at his current 315 lb. range because Bates likes big space-eating Defensive Tackles. His upside is huge, but at the great cost of his downside (off-field incidents). If he is able to keep himself together, he could have the biggest impact of all our draftees in 2007 and beyond.

JON 2007: We traded several picks (including a 2008 pick) to jump into the fourth round and pick up a kid with an admittedly spotty past. On the surface that appears to be poor judgment; however, there are a couple of things to consider. One, Thomas is the right size and has the right skill set to fit into Bates new D-line. Two, he would have gone somewhere in the first round if he hadn’t missed most of 2006 because of his suspension. Three, there’s a friendly face already in Denver with Jarvis Moss in town.

I think everyone can agree he has a wonderful upside, now the 10 million dollar question is: Was he worth the price?
Click here to read the rest of this entry »

The above video is the entire press conference where Jay Cutler addresses the sports media on his disease and how he will continue to fight it.  It goes along with the earlier post in addressing how Jay realized he had Type 1.  This video is courtesy of diabeteshealth.com

• Kyle Shanahan is well on his way to climbing the NFL coaching ranks. [Rocky Mountain News]
• Alex Gibbs just can’t seem to find it in himself to retire these days.  [Rocky Mountain News]
• Floyd Little is among other retired players involved in a new NFL screening program to help keep themselves healthy.  [seattlepi.com]
• Jay Cutler is starting to use the lime light for the greater good.  [Rocky Mountain News]