• Congratulations to the Colorado Rockies for winning their first pennant! On to the World Series – Deadspin
• The Rockies may have no bigger fans than the Broncos – CBS4 Denver
• Breaking down the looming challenge that is the Pittsburgh Steelers. Winning this game will be tough. – Rocky Mountain News
• Luckily, though, the coaches have been working hard during the bye, and the players are already back at work. – DenverBroncos.com
• Discussing the Jim Bates system in detail, including all the pros and cons (fan reader contribution). – Mile High Report
• Fan blogger suggests Shanahan enter rehab to realize he should quit. Talk about jumping ship. – Thin Air
• Commissioner Roger Goodell discusses possible league changes, including the possibility of a Super Bowl overseas, shortening draft pick time limits from fifteen minutes to ten, and removing one or two preseason games. – AZCardinals.com
• San Diego’s middle men are hurting. NT Jamal Williams underwent arthroscopic knee surgery and C Nick Hardwick is still waiting on news regarding his hurt foot. – BoltTalk

The Denver Post reports that the roster spot opened by the release of D.D. Lewis will be filled by free agent linebacker Jordan Beck. Beck (6-2, 233), a 3rd round pick of the Atlanta Falcons in 2005, was among nine linebackers who visited with the Broncos in the last two weeks.

After making the original 53-man roster for the Falcons, Beck was released on September 3rd.

Jordan Beck comes from Cal Poly, where he enjoyed quite a bit of success. He was awarded the Buck Buchanan Award, which is presented annually to the nation’s outstanding Division I FCS (formerly Division I-AA) defensive player. He was the centerpiece for his team’s flex defense and led the Mustangs in tackles all four seasons he played. He set school records for tackles in a game (23 at Montana in 2003), season (135 in 2004) and career (449). At the 80th annual East-West Shrine Game at SBC park in San Francisco, he recorded a team-high six stops for the West. [Source: Wikipedia]

Jordan Beck was born April 18, 1983 in Mount Hermon, California.

“I’m not where I want to be. But with a couple of more sessions of treatment and working out, I’ll be well by Sunday.”
-Champ Bailey

The good news is that Javon Walker practiced through the pain during Monday’s practice. The bad news is that Champ Bailey wasn’t able to do the same. I’m not encouraged by Bailey’s words – frankly, I’ve heard the same things days before both Javon Walker and Ben Hamilton sat the bench all season long. These two were far and away the MVPs of our win against the Steelers last year (Walker tallying nearly 200 all purpose yards, including a 72-yard reverse, and Bailey having two clutch red zone picks). I’m optimistic we’ll have Javon back on the field, but now I’m seriously concerned whether Bailey will play or not.

For now I’ll take him at face value and count on him playing this Sunday. Cross your fingers.

Source: Mason’s Morsels

There are some seriously talented YouTubers out there. Everyone loves to egg on Travis Henry and his nine babies and his toking ways, but this one simply takes the cake.

RMN reports that backup linebacker D.D. Lewis expects to be released by the Broncos, his agent announced. After signing with the Broncos in the offseason, Lewis has yet to register a tackle in the 2007 season despite starting on special teams each week.

At one point during Training Camp, Lewis looked like the favorite to win the strongside linebacker spot for the team, but that position was ultimately won by Nate Webster. Jamie Winborn, who was signed by the Broncos only a few weeks ago, has registered 4 tackles on the season. He has seen more work on defense and taken more snaps in practice, according to the report.

The move is likely in reaction to Lewis’ lack of impact on the field, along with a desire by the coaches to make room on the roster. I would anticipate either an offensive lineman* (Adam Meadows or Greg Eslinger) or another linebacker would take Lewis’ spot.

We’ve taken a sneak peek at weeks 7-10 and weeks 11-14 of the Broncos schedule. Time to finish up with the final 3 weeks of the season, which could be critical if the Broncos want to make the playoffs.

I’ve predicted a 5-3 mark down this 8 game stretch. That would bring us to 7-5 and dangerously on the playoff edge. After poor showings this past week, the Bears and Titans give me hope for victory, but we’ll still need to take care of business to finish the season strong in order to make that big push.

Week 15 – @ Houston Texans (3-3, 2-1 home)

Average Points Scored: 22.2 (12th NFL)
Average Points Allowed: 22.7 (18th NFL)
Remaining Schedule: TEN, @SD, @OAK, BYE, NO, @CLE, @TEN, TB

The Gary Kubiak Bowl. The Rick Smith Bowl. No, the Jeb Putzier Bowl! There’s no doubt this Thursday Night game on NFL Network will be personal for all the front office brass involved. It’s hard not to think of the Texans as the little brother of the Broncos, but our first matchup against our former offensive coordinator and scouting boss (and tight end) will be all about the Texans proving themselves to the Broncos.

After a huge start, the best in franchise history, the Texans have gone 1-3 after treading through a tough schedule and being decimated by injuries. Andre Johnson should be healthy and playing long before our Week 15 matchup. Matt Schaub looks like the real deal, and once their running back crew is healthy they could pose a real threat offensively.

They were playing better defense through the first three weeks of the season, but have struggled to stop the run or pass lately. This has the feeling of a shootout written all over it. I like the Broncos 41-35.

Week 16 – @ San Diego Chargers (3-3, 2-1 home)

Average Points Scored: 22.8 (11th NFL)
Average Points Allowed: 19.8 (15th NFL)
Remaining Schedule: BYE, HOU, @MIN, IND, @JAC, BAL, @KC, @TEN, DET

This, more than any other on our schedule, has become a must-win. Looking at the Chargers schedule, they have a lot of tough games ahead of them (IND, @JAC, BAL, @KC). The sleeping giant has been awoken to some extent, but they’re not the same team as last year, this much is clear. They now lead the AFC West, but only by a thread. However, if we can’t win this game they will own the tiebreaker over us, and it’s hard to conjure a scenario where the AFC West sends a wild card to the playoffs. No, this is a must win game, plain and simple.

Click here to read the rest of this entry »

If you would have told me 12 months ago the Broncos starting offensive line would consist of Montrae Holland, Chris Myers, Chris Kuper, Erik Pears, and Matt Lepsis, I would have told you our team was in trouble. With season ending injuries to LG Ben Hamilton and C Tom Nalen, the Broncos find themselves with only one player across the offensive line with a season’s worth of starts in the Denver system.

To really hit this home, the depth across the offensive line has really become an issue that warrants discussing. The fact that Nalen stayed for the entire San Diego game despite tearing his biceps should tell you something: first, he’s one tough S.O.B., second, we didn’t have a game day depth chart ready that made Shanahan feel comfortable letting Nalen sit it out.

Our backups now consist of brand new signees P.J. Alexander and Isaac Snell, both guards who joined the squad last week (Alexander, of course, returning to the Broncos after he was waived by the club in August of last year). Oh, and rookie Ryan Harris at tackle, who has struggled with injuries thus far this year as well. That’s all folks.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see Greg Eslinger get elevated from the practice squad to the active roster. I can’t imagine another plan if Myers were to go down in the middle. (On that note, if these severe injuries along the interior are not enough to get him on the active roster, it’s time to cut the young pup and move on).

I’m confident in our starters to get the job done. Holland has really bounced back after a few touchy weeks there (best performance in San Diego, for sure), and Kuper’s name has been called by fans for weeks now. Lepsis and Pears are holding their own. The real concern is Myer’s switch to center, and how Jay Cutler will adjust to a new exchange and also having a bigger role in calling the line changes and formations.

That being said, I’m concerned about the depth of this team. Either one of our tackles goes down and we’re asking a rookie to fill their shoes (one who, so far, has been little more than a china doll). Anyone along the interior goes down and we’re plugging in someone who wasn’t with the team a week ago. And that’s a scary thought.

I’d feel a lot more comfortable with this depth chart if the team would resign Adam Meadows as backup Tackle and promote Eslinger from the practice squad. Otherwise we’re looking at extremely tough situations if, God forbid, one of our boys were to go down.

• OK, Broncos. The bye is over. Time to get back to work and show everyone you’re not just championship caliber on paper. – Rocky Mountain News
• We’re down but not out. Remove hand from panic button. – Denver Post
• Maybe he didn’t mean to, but either way – Green Bay CB Charles Woodson has called out Champ Bailey. – Denver Post
• Chris Myers says taking control of the center position will be a snap. – Denver Post
• Today’s view of Colorado sports looks like something from the Twilight Zone – Colorado Homers
• Tatum Bell has asked for a trade out of Detroit. – ESPN
• Rockies are a game away from their franchise-first World Series. – ESPN
• Congratulations to Tony Gonzalez for breaking our own Shannon Sharpe‘s tight end touchdown record. – Arrowhead Addict

If you happen to stop by today, drop a note on any of the games.

At least the Broncos won’t lose today!

I’ll be spending a little quality time with the wife, finishing some tasks on the honey do list, and hoping to catch the baseball game tonight.

Go Rockies!

This week’s edition of the picks won’t have the same graphical enhancements as most – simply both Jonathan and I are busier than usual with the stuff we get paid to do.

Or in my case, homework. And midterms.

It’s not like these will help you in your office pool anyway – consider them for the public record when I claim to go 13-0 next week! (By the way, last week I went 11-3 and Jonathan went 9-5).

CIN (-3) @ KC – These teams are polar opposites of one another – one has a great defense and offense and vice versa. I like the Bengals offense more than the Chiefs defense, so Bengals bounce back and win their second game on the season.

HOU @ JAC (-6.5) – Love Jaguars in this game.

MIA @ CLE (-4.5) – The Dolphins are really bad. If it weren’t for Buffalo and New York Jets in the division, it’s hard to find a spot where they would win their first game.

MIN @ CHI (-5) – I don’t know why, but I have this gut feeling saying upset/much closer for the Vikings.

PHI (-3.5) @ NYJ – Call it my upset special of the week. Both playoff teams from last year are struggling big time this year, and I have a sneaking suspicion this is the game Thomas Jones gets it going.

BAL (-9) @ STL – Ravens defense may kill Frerotte.

TEN @ TB (-3) – Were the Bucs exposed last week?

WAS @ GB (-3) – Toughest game to pick.

CAR @ ARI (-6) – Arizona’s defense is the real reason behind their success.

NE (-5.5) @ DAL – Neither team has beaten a team with a winning record except Dallas’ week one victory over the Giants.

OAK @ SD (-9.5) – Chargers pound on the Raiders.

NO @ SEA (-6) – I’m thinking NBC is wishing their flex scheduling was this week for Cowboys-Pats.

NYG (-3.5) @ ATL – Atlantas has improved, but not that much.

Jonathan’s:

Cincinnati
Houston
Cleveland
Chicago
Jets
Baltimore
Tampa
Green Bay
Carolina
Dallas
San Diego
Seattle
Giants

So Jon and I disagree on HOU-JAC, TEN-TB, GB-WAS, CAR-ARI, and DAL-NE.

OK Denverocks – who ya got?