The Broncos are preparing for quite a challenge this Monday Night – one of the greatest quarterbacks, EVER, rested from a bye, on a one-loss football team. The fans watching, however, may be facing an even tougher challenge: the ESPN booth announcers.

The trio of Tony Kornheiser, Mike Tirico and Ron Jaworski promised better chemistry this season. They also promised a more strict selection process in their celebrity guests who join them in the booth. So far they’ve done nothing but give football fans headaches.

I understand Monday Night Football is a bit of a different animal. A little more flash. A little more sizzle. Targeted towards the mainstream before the hardcore football fan. But when your guest celebrity (Russell Crowe) even looks disgusted to be present, and talks more about his own rugby team than football, you have to wonder if you’re really appealing to the mainstream.

Jimmy Kimmel a few weeks back actually offered a few laughs. You could say his schpeel on Theismann‘s dismissal and whether his fellow boothmates could gamble on the games was at least entertaining. Yet he’s since received a lifetime ban from the booth for his “classless” act on the air. So which is it, ESPN, entertain or inform?

You’re certainly not informing. I remember the Monday Night Game the Broncos played in the preseason against the 49ers. By the second half, the announcers had forgotten about the game completely. They were interviewing John Lynch and Champ Bailey on the sideline as all the backups real fans were hoping to watch were minimized to a quarter of the television screen. At one point, a penalty against the Broncos on defense kept the 49ers squad on the field on a third down. What was the penalty? Against whom? Beats me – the announcers failed to let us hear the ref, discuss the penalty, or even let us view it ourselves, TiVo and all. With our game viewing experience conveniently filled with 80% orange filler, it was impossible to tell what the hell was going on with the damn game!

They actually did a half decent job on the Cowboys-Bills game. As this writer put it, they let the game breathe for itself. Two weeks removed from that lesson and you have the Colts-Jags, where they talked more about Tom Brady then Peyton Manning. Seriously. At one point, Manning impressively adds a touchdown to the score, and Kornheiser has the ridiculous notion that that was a message to Brady, saying “I’m pretty good too.” Are you kidding me?

FOCUS ON THE DAMN GAME, ESPN. I don’t want to hear about The Hugest Biggest Game Of All Time Ever in a week. I don’t want to hear about Brady’s 12 touchdowns the day before. I want you to tell me how our cover corners are going to match up against the Packers passing game, and what the Broncos can do to get their injury-riddled running game going. If you inform me, I promise, I’ll be entertained.

I’m not counting on it though. Mute button at the ready.

• Wow, Rockies.  Not a very good showing last night as Josh Beckett and the Red Sox took it to you.  Boston 13, Colorado 1.
• Dre Bly and Tony Scheffler participated fully in practice Wednesday.  Travis Henry sat out, and Champ Bailey was limited.
• Shanahan said Rod Smith could play as early as this Monday Night against Green Bay.
• Is the Broncos youth movement the reason we turn this thing around?
• Jarvis Moss is biding his time, and hopes the Steelers game is the catalyst for his rookie success.
• Teammates, coaches, and the man boy himself all react to Brandon Marshall’s arrest.
• For John Lynch, the California wildfires hit close to home.
• Grady Jackson has no clue why the Falcons cut him, and neither do his teammates – DeAngelo Hall rips the coaches pretty good.

Rocktober is in full effect tonight, as the Colorado Rockies face the Boston Red Sox in Game 1 of the World Series. I’m not as avid a fan of baseball as football, but I’ve always been a Rockies fan and am thrilled my team has finally found some success in the tenth month of the year.

Felt the occasion was worth a post, game “kicks off” in one hour (at 8PM ET / 6PM MT). I’ll be at work tonight, but I’ll try and post a comment or two as the game moves long.

I picked the Rockies in 5, with us losing this game and then winning the next 4.  But what do I know?!  Let’s go Rockies! On to 22 of 23!

@

Green Bay Packers (5-1) @ Denver Broncos (3-3)
Monday, October 29, 2007 at 6:30 PM MT*
ESPN | 850 KOA AM | Sirius 124

WEATHER FORECAST (weather.com):
Sunny
Temp: 65° F high, 40° low
Chance of rain: 10%
Wind: SSE 8 MPH

INJURY REPORT:
Coming Friday

SCORING TREND**:
Green Bay 25.50, Denver 17.75

*Time will move to 6PM if World Series goes to five games
**Based on points allowed, scored

The Denver Broncos (3-3) will host their second consecutive prime time game as they face the Green Bay Packers (5-1) on ESPN’s Monday Night Football. It is the first of three Monday Night Football appearances the Broncos are slated to undergo this season. It is also the second of five prime time games on their schedule, and the second time in straight weeks the team has faced a one-loss ball club coming off their bye.

In Super Bowl XXXII ten years ago, these two clubs faced off, and the Broncos will be facing the same quarterback they did then – Brett Favre, who is having a record-setting year thus far. The Broncos went on to beat the Packers 31-24 en route to their first club championship behind MVP Terrell Davis‘ three touchdowns and veteran Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway.

The Packers offense ranks 11th in the league, but it’s the passing offense that has them winning games. They rank 2nd in the league in pass offense, while the Broncos rank 2nd in pass defense. Meanwhile, the Packers rank 32nd in the league in rush offense, and the Broncos rank 32nd in rush defense. The Broncos defense matches well against the Packers’ strengths, but our low ranked run defense may be just what the Packers need to finally get their ground game going.

Series history: The Packers have won 3 of the last 4, but the Broncos own a 5-4-1 regular season mark against the Packers, with a perfect 5-0 at home. Neither team has won an away game against the other, and the Broncos have the only postseason victory in the series in Super Bowl XXXII.

Much more in the week ahead.

Photo Courtesy

Various reports indicate that WR Rod Smith returned to the practice field for the first time today. Smith has been on the Physically Unable to Perform list since Training Camp after undergoing hip surgery during the offseason.

Andrew Mason reports that Smith’s return brought a chorus of cheers from the defensive backs squad during practice, as Smith leapt to grab a pass from Jay Cutler.

“It’s awesome,” John Lynch said. “He’s one of the great teammates I’ve ever been around. I’m glad he was around and stayed vocal and a leader when he was hurt, because he’s kind of the pulse of this team; the heart and soul, whatever you want to call it.

“It’s a comforting feeling when he’s around, but whenever he’s back on the field — I don’t know whether it’s this week or whenever, that place will erupt, and it’s going to be awesome.”

Now that Smith was able to practice, the Broncos have three weeks to activate Smith or place him on Injured Reserve. Here’s hoping Rod can return to make an impact in the absence of Javon Walker!

EDIT: Bumped because it’s today.

Programming note – NFL Replay will re-air Sunday’s game at 8PM ET (6PM MT) Wednesday night. The NFL Network program airs abbreviated versions of the 5 best game from the past Sunday. So far this season, every game but the Week 5 loss to the Chargers has been selected to re-air on the program.

Careful, Reggie Bush, or Jackson might eat you.

In a surprise move, the Atlanta Falcons released defensive tackle Grady Jackson yesterday (report). The 11-year veteran is a run-stopping specialist who measures in at a beefy 6-2, 350 lbs. His resume is impressive, including leading the league in tackles for loss as recently as last year.

The move is speculated to come in wake of Jackson’s lawsuit against the Falcons this offseason. Ultimately the suit was settled over training camp. Coach Bobby Petrino is expected to explain the move today.

My opinion? Assuming two things: 1. Jackson is healthy, and 2. Jackson is not retiring, the Broncos should definitely pursue the big guy to help our run defense where it’s needed most – at the line of scrimmage.

As good a win as we had Sunday, our defensive tackle rotation is probably the worst I’ve seen from the Broncos, ever. You could visibly see original starting DTs Amon Gordon and Sam Adams getting manhandled out there, and offensive linemen had no trouble getting to the second level and getting in D.J. Williams‘ face. Sunday was better (how about that Alvin McKinley), but it still wasn’t great as the Steelers had no trouble wiping a 14-point lead away.

Add the fact that from 2004-2005, Jackson was a member of the Green Bay Packers, coached by current assistant coach Jim Bates, and you literally have a match made in heaven. The learning curve would be low – in fact, he’d be the most seasoned in the scheme and would be giving everyone else pointers before needing assistance from them.

He’s on waivers, meaning the Broncos would have to put in a bid and hope no one else selects him ahead of us (the waiver order is the same as the 2007 NFL draft order, so Oakland would get first chance, then Detroit, etc.). If he clears waivers he can then sign with anyone.

Sign him, Shanahan. Release Burton or Gordon (who was deactivated) or even loudmouth Rice, I don’t care. He has the size and ability to be the best run-stopping defensive tackle on our roster, and that’s simply not something we can afford to pass up.

• The red zone offense was perfect Sunday night, a welcome respite from the 7 of 16 performance in the 5 games before.
• The Special Teams weren’t half bad either.
• Adam Schein warns you – Don’t go sleeping on the Broncos in the AFC West. Great, great article.
• Denver Post Mailbag, with questions about our defense not putting teams away and if 9-7 will win the AFC West.
• Mike Tomlin must be wondering: did I get outcoached, or did I overcoach?
• Oakland has gangs. It may be wise to wear bulletproof vests to Raiders games, lest you fall under the same fate as these four tailgaters.
• With wildfires forcing half a million southern Californians to relocate, along with more than half the Chargers staff and team, where will the Chargers play this Sunday?

The Power Rankings are back after a week off, and changes are in the midst. The Broncos bounce back a bit; the Giants move up huge; the top 3 remain unchanged, as do most of the bottom feeders.

1. Indianapolis Colts (6-0) | PREVIOUS: 1

The Colts haven’t lost a game since December, yet no one is talking about them. The Patriots have as breezy a schedule as one could have, while the Colts are dominating the best division in football. Indy’s defense is improved; their offense has barely lost a step despite huge injuries and a certain left tackle retiring… they’re the best team in the NFL, hands down.

2. New England Patriots (7-0) | PREVIOUS: 2

Is there a more polarizing team in the NFL? If you live in the Northeast, or work for ESPN, you probably love them. Everyone else – you probably hate them. I’m jumping on the bandwagon for the latter – something about the Pats is just oozing with dirtiness this year. From Spygate to running up the score (seriously, two minute drill up 35-7 as the second quarter winds down? Going for it on 4th and 1 up big in the 4th?), I would love to see these guys in January.

3. Dallas Cowboys (6-1) | PREVIOUS: 5

Dropoff from 2 to 3 is huge, but no one else really belongs up here. The Cowboys have beaten every quarterback not named Tom Brady, and beat #4 handily in Week 1.

4. New York Giants (5-2) | PREVIOUS: 14

The Giants’ win streak is almost as impressive as how they’re doing it – a ferocious defense led by to-date MVP Osi Umenyiora, and Eli Manning‘s best season so far.

5. Tennessee Titans (4-2) | PREVIOUS: 9

The Titans defense are keeping them in games – far and away the most underrated defensive unit in the league. Even with Vince Young out, the Titans dominated the Texans for three quarters.

6. Green Bay Packers (5-1) | PREVIOUS: 6

The Packers lost a crucial division game a few weeks ago, but they bounced back and eeked out a win against a good Redskins team before the bye. They’ll head into Denver where the Broncos, hopefully invigorated, will hope to pressure Favre all game long.

7. Pittsburgh Steelers (4-2) | PREVIOUS: 3

The Steelers may have out-thought themselves. Were they anticipating Champ Bailey being out, or did they just decide they were better than the Broncos and could beat them any way they wanted? Luckily for Denver, we don’t face another star back (or running game) until Kansas City in November.

8. Jacksonville Jaguars (4-2) | PREVIOUS: 4

They got handled last night, but everyone knows they would have put up a better fight with David Garrard behind center. Their one scoring drive came when they finally decided to run up the middle repeatedly… curious, eh Jack Del Rio?

9. San Diego Chargers (3-3) | PREVIOUS: 13

The Chargers are dealing with a wildfire situation, and are practicing in Arizona and may even play this week’s game there. Thoughts and prayers go out to all the families in SoCal for their safety and, maybe, a little luck with regards to their homes. I live in Northern AZ, where a wildfire threatened my home last year. Had to pack up all of my belongings, my pets, all of my important paperwork and documents in case the fire kept spreading. Three days of nervous hell, going to work 30 minutes away… I was lucky (and blessed to have such hardworking firefighters in the area). It pales in comparison to the half million who have had to evacuate their homes, so my thoughts and prayers (and everyone here at BroncoTalk) go out to them.

10. Washington Redskins (4-2) | PREVIOUS: 8

The NFC East is stacked, too, the second division to find 3 teams in the Top 10 (the other being the AFC South). The Redskins defense is solid, their quarterback has improved huge, and they’re beating good teams at home.

Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Hat tip to Andrew Mason for pointing this out – I wasn’t quite thorough in encouraging fans to vote for Tim Crowder and Jay Cutler for weekly NFL awards earlier (full post). It appears DE Elvis Dumervil and Coach Mike Shanahan are nominated as well, for the GMC Defensive Player of the Week and Motorola Coach of the Week Awards respectively.

Dumervil registered two sacks and led the defensive line in tackles, along with forcing a fumble that was ultimately returned for a touchdown. Shanahan’s post-bye week game plannning is renowned, and the Broncos put up their best numbers of the season against a very good football team.

As mentioned before, Tim Crowder was nominated for the Diet Pepsi Rookie of the Week Award, and Jay Cutler was nominated for the FedEx Air Player of the Week Award.

Note that they are all nominated for different awards, so vote for all 4! Be a homer and vote!

VOTE FOR ELVIS DUMERVIL HERE
VOTE FOR MIKE SHANAHAN HERE

*ALSO*

VOTE FOR JAY CUTLER HERE
VOTE FOR TIM CROWDER HERE