• Mike Klis lets us know that the Broncos are still in pursuit of Dewayne Robertson in his Broncos Brief. [Denver Post]
• Panther’s Defensive End Julius Peppers was in town, and nobody is quite sure why. I thought we were pretty deep at DE after last year’s draft. [Rocky Mountain News]
• MHR has a great writeup on the Broncos’ Zone Blocking scheme. They really did their homework, while dispelling some of the cheap shot myths. [Mile High Report]
• Not Broncos news, but still Denver NFL news: State Native Lendale White had a run in with Denver police last night. [Denver Post]
• The Raiders look to be getting stronger in the secondary. They have a principle agreement to acquire DeAngelo Hall from the Falcons for a second round pick. [ESPN]
• Mike Sando is saying this season will be a big test for the “controlling” Shanahan. [ESPN]
• Jeffri Chadiha berates the Raiders and warns they will regret signing Javon Walker, especially for that kind of money.  He’s not too fond of us signing Colbert to the 2nd receiver spot either.  [ESPN]

In her latest blog entry, Josina Anderson of My Fox Colorado reports that Marcus Thomas may have been in possession of illegal drugs after the Broncos drafted him in 2007. Thomas’ recent arrest in Florida brought his previous run-ins with the law back to the surface. Now it appears, according to league sources, that this wasn’t his first encounter with illegal substances since he joined the Denver Broncos last April.

Multiple NFL sources have “indicated” to me now that [Mike] Shanahan reportedly received word of more bad signs about Thomas after they drafted him.

“The guy even after they drafted him was still driving around with drugs in his car…so this was still inevitable,” said one of those NFL sources.

Thomas was arrested March 1st after a traffic stop. The police found cocaine in the vehicle and arrested both Thomas and the driver of the vehicle. Since the arrest, Thomas’ representative claims that the driver confessed to owning the cocaine. Thomas is scheduled to appear in court this Wednesday, where formal charges may be filed.

Wow… you really have to hope that this isn’t true. It very well might not be. But Josina Anderson has been dead-on in the past. Thomas might be looking at a league suspension if he’s charged, and worse if he steps out of bounds again. Whether he was associating with drugs earlier doesn’t matter in that regard, but it matters to the fans. As one of them who happens to own and operate a web site dedicated to the team and its players, let me just say that I’m pretty pissed off that he’s doing this, and that he needs to straighten up.

The nj.com Star Ledger is reporting that the Broncos are still interested in Dewayne Robertson which is old news by now. The Jets were strongly pursuing Foxworth for filling the team corner back or safety needs. The interesting detail stated in the article is that the Jets and the Broncos were in extensive talks that came to a sudden halt when it was announced that Ted Sundquist would no longer we with the Broncos. Shortly thereafter it was reported that Foxworth was taken off the table. Talks are still underway to possibly bring the defensive tackle to Denver but without Foxworth in the mix.

This leads you to wonder if it was Ted Sundquist all along that was putting Foxworth out there for trade bait this off season. He was initially a piece of the trade that would’ve sent defensive tackle Shaun Rogers to Denver from the Lions, and now this report. Was it Shanahan that wasn’t comfortable with the idea of trading our 3rd corner, keeping depth at the position which he initially pushed to draft? It has also been said that Mike is high on Paymah as a player, so it’s hard to identify how strongly the head coach feels about Foxworth. Was it this situation that led to the final strain in the front office? Only people close to the organization and specifically the brass will know for sure. We may only find out if details about the team’s personnel decisions emerge. One thing is for sure, we’re still moving forward on talks for Robertson and need to fill a big hole at defensive tackle with or without Sundquist.

The Broncos remain unswayed in guaranteed money with Elam, so he moves on to Atlanta for now. [Denver Post, My Fox Colorado, Rocky Mountain News]

Known Shanahan hater Mike Florio is calling the coach’s firing of Sundquist desperate. [Sporting News]

Real Football is wrapping up their poor series of 5 Broncos questions with the red zone offense. [RealFootball365.com]

Mike Klis points out that the 2008 Browns can follow in the footsteps of the 95 Broncos by not having the first 3 rounds of picks. Take note of the blurb that the Denver war room could do anything if Jake Long and Ryan Clady aren’t available at pick 12. [Denver Post]

• Great read about life at the top for Mike Shanahan, and what the recent firings mean for the Broncos organization. The bottom line (figuratively, and literally in this article) – “Whatever happens, it’s going to be Shanahan’s way. It’s worked before.” [Denver Post – Photo Courtesy]
• Meanwhile, Shanahan is still taking some pointed criticism for the moves. [Rocky Mountain News]
• Chris Myers escaped the jaws of Texas without a contract offer.  [Denver Post]
• Nice look at the kick/punt returners available in this April’s draft.  [Rocky Mountain News]

Al Wilson has filed a grievance against the Denver Broncos regarding the neck injury he sustained in November 2006, the Denver Post reports. The suit claims that Wilson was not properly informed by the Broncos’ physicians of the seriousness of his condition, stating that he further aggravated his ailment by playing in the following 3 games.

Article XLIV of the Collective Bargaining Agreement states that any such diagnosis must be related to the player in writing. The case for the grievance is already a week into its proceedings, with more testimony to follow.

Had Wilson been made aware of the seriousness of his condition, he claims he would have avoided further injury and ready to play in 2007. He is suing the Broncos for his 2007 base salary of several million dollars.

More gut wrenching news from Broncos camp. I clearly remember the Broncos saying they were surprised that Wilson failed his Giants physical… claiming their physicians cleared him might be their only chance to escape this.

Wilson’s chances of a return with Denver were already slim to none… now they’re jjust a lot closer to none.

For the next several weeks leading up to April’s draft, BroncoTalk will be profiling some of the hottest prospects out there, particularly ones that could potentially be available for the Denver Broncos in the first two or three rounds of the 2008 NFL Draft. Today we feature Boise State OT Ryan Clady.

We now turn the mic over to Christopher Hart, who covers the Broncos draft at The Beat. Enjoy!

When it comes to Ryan Clady, there isn’t a better fit at the tackle position in this draft. If the Broncos are serious in investing in a left tackle that can protect Jay Cutler for the next decade, Clady is that prospect; but it’s likely after a fantastic Pro Day workout that he is now out of our reach.

There are a lot of things to like about Clady. First and foremost, he has fantastic size at 6’6 – 310 pounds and has the ability to put on more weight if need be. Along with his size, Clady is extremely agile and has no problem getting to the second level. He displays good footwork and looks extremely flight on his feet for a big man. Those qualities together make Clady a perfect fit for Denver’s zone blocking scheme. Clady’s a determined hard worker who has the aggressive demeanor necessary to succeed at the NFL level.

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Domonique Foxworth is not only off the table – he may be getting the longterm extension in Denver he’s always wanted.  Newsday’s Jets Blog reports that a source close to the negotiations between the Broncos and Jets says that Foxworth will not be traded.  Instead, trade talks are continuing for DT Dewayne Robertson, with another unnamed Broncos player in the mix.  We’ll keep you posted.

Riddle me this, batman, how exactly does a Head Coach fire a GM?

I ask this question because in 99% of the organizations around the NFL the position of GM is above the position of Head Coach. So, for example, in San Diego it was the GM that fired Schottenheimer not the other way around.

The answer, of course, is that your Head Coach must also hold the title Executive Vice President of Football Operations (as Mike Shanahan does). But, as many people will tell you, the EVP title for a Head Coach is about as rare as an intelligent Raider fan.

Now, it has long been understood that Shanahan is the top decision-maker on all things Orange and Blue. It is also well known that he has spent his time in Denver surrounding himself with well-trusted people that will do his bidding (which is not necessarily a bad thing).

But I have heard a BUNCH of fans (mostly comments over on the Post and on forums) beating Ted up and celebrating his departure. They site high profile failures like, Javon Walker, Sam Adams and the draft of ‘o3. But these are all items that Mike Shanahan HAD to have approved of (if not initiated) as the EVP. Sundquist did not have free reign to do as he pleased without oversight. That is even more clear today by Ted’s comments about bad personnel decisions…

“I’m personally willing to stand up for the decisions that have been made, but understand I don’t necessarily agree with them. The military taught me a lot about how to handle situations like that… The question isn’t whether Mike is getting the right advice, as much as how it is being used.” — Ted Sundquist 3/12/08

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Trade talks with the Jets have been “resurrected” for defensive tackle Dewayne Robertson. New York is still trying to deal Robertson before his 3 million dollar roster bonus is due and he doesn’t fit their 3-4 scheme. They are interested in taking Foxworth to position as a corner back or safety, both positions of need for the rebuilding team. They had a deal in place with the Bengals for 4th and 5th round picks in exchange for the DT but it fell through. This one is probably going to depend on whether the Jets sign Ty Law back to their club and if Denver thinks Robertson’s knee is healthy enough to warrant an offer. It is believed he has a bone on bone condition.

I’m not real keen on trading such a good team player after seeing this interview yesterday, but we definitely still need to address our defensive tackle hole to rebuild our run defense. Robertson is a complete force to deal with in the middle when he’s healthy and could really help Marcus Thomas come along in the middle of that line. This may be a trade we have to make.

Newsday Article