(Image courtesy of NFL Network)

Quarterback Peyton Manning is under contract to make $18 million in Denver this season.  According to ESPN, he turned down an offer from the Tennessee Titans worth $25 million a year — $7 million more than what the Broncos offered.

That says a lot about what Manning thinks about Denver’s front office and confirms that he was not just looking for the “highest bidder” during his free agency tour during earlier in the year.  That’s exciting news for the Broncos, and Peyton’s new teammates.

“I’m looking forward to (playing with him this season),”  wide receiver Demaryius Thomas said on NFL Network Tuesday.  “He’s a Hall of Famer and he didn’t have to come to Denver.  So for him to choose to come to Denver and for me to get to play with him, I’m excited.”

Thomas went on to note that he was nervous when he first met Peyton (he called him “Sir”) and that he and Manning have developed a “good rhythm” together by working together unofficially.  Manning is currently in Tennessee (recording a commercial and working out), and Thomas said he is going to “try and get out there” to run routes with him before training camp starts up later in the month.

“He’s the biggest leader I’ve ever seen.  When we’re working out together as a whole team, his voice will be over everybody’s.  I’m excited about having somebody like that that’ll push me, I feel like it will make me better,” concluded Thomas.

If Manning really did accept seven million less to join Denver than Tennessee offered him, we should be pretty excited about the state of the Broncos franchise.  60 days, 22 hours, 22 minutes, 27 seconds and 312 milliseconds!

We’re celebrating some of the greatest hits in Denver Broncos history.  Today, we remember Rahim Moore‘s big hit against Buffalo.

Be sure to check back tomorrow for Hit No. 13!  After the series is over we’ll top it off with one big hitastic video.

Remember when we told you on Thursday that quarterback Peyton Manning earns $10 million annually by endorsing Reebok, Sony, Wheaties, DirecTV, Gatorade and Papa John’s?  Add Buick to that list.

The above footage is a little bit of a behind the scenes look at a new 2013 Buick Verano commercial featuring Manning that will air on Wednesday, July 11 during the ESPY Awards on ESPN.  Buick was kind enough to give us an early look at the completed commercial and it was a winner.  There’s actually not much in the ad that wasn’t shown in the video above.

This isn’t the first time Manning has been featured in an ESPY commercial.  We fondly remember the ads for The Darkside.

Over the next two weeks, we’re going to be celebrating some of the best hits from Denver Broncos history.  Today, we remember Darrell Reid‘s big hit in Philadelphia.

Be sure to check back tomorrow for Hit No. 14! After the series is over we’ll top it off with one big hitastic video.

Be sure to follow me on Twitter for more Broncos updates throughout the day.

Denver Broncos News

Ex-Alabama A&M linebacker hopes the NFL calls | Huntsville Times
Lumpkin, who spent two seasons at A&M before transferring to Carson-Newman College after the 2010 season, has made himself available for the NFL Supplemental Draft after being ruled ineligible for the 2012 season. The draft will be held Thursday.

NFL Attendance Numbers Dropping, Football Losing Popularity? | Yahoo!
In recent days there’s been some attention paid to the fact that NFL attendance numbers are the lowest they’ve been since the league expanded to 32 teams in 2002. That year, 16,883,310 attended a total of 256 games.
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(Image courtesy of the Denver Broncos)

After recording an 8-8 record and a playoff berth last season, Denver’s top two 2011 coordinators — Mike McCoy and Dennis Allen — suddenly became head coaching candidates.  The Oakland Raiders were granted permission to interview both coaches (and they ended up hiring Allen) and the Miami Dolphins considered signing McCoy.

Allen was considered the one responsible for Denver’s somewhat of a defensive turnaround last season and McCoy was credited with creating a potent offense by evolving his playbook to tailor to his players’ unique skill-sets.  Heading into the 2012 season, McCoy remains a 2013 head coaching candidate and the man who replaced Allen — new Defensive Coordinator Jack Del Rio — could be on track to returning to the top of the coaching food chain.

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(Image courtesy of Bob Gathany/The Huntsville Times)

The league’s 2012 Supplemental Draft will be held on Thursday and eight players are eligible to be selected.  One of the prospects in the draft is former Alabama A&M linebacker Larry Lumpkin, who was ruled ineligible for the 2012 college football season.

The draft gives players often labeled as character-flawed a chance to rectify their football careers.  Players who were unable to petition the league for early entry into the NFL Draft and find themselves ineligible for their upcoming college season may enter the Supplemental Draft as underclassmen.

Players are rarely selected in this draft however as teams are wary of players who were not held in high regard by their college coaches.  After the Supplemental Draft order is finalized, teams wishing to select a player submit the name of the player and round they want to select him into the league.  The team that bids the highest round pick is awarded that player and that selection is forfeited from the team’s corresponding round of the next year’s NFL Draft.

And if you’re still reading, yes, this is all relevant to the Denver Broncos because the team has reportedly shown interest in one of the players eligible for the supplemental draft. Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Ever since iTweetGate, fans have become increasingly adamant that nine-year linebacker D.J. Williams should be shipped out of town. In one of our recent polls, 55% of fans voted in favor of D.J. being taken out of the starting lineup all together.

My response has been that the team values D.J.’s on-the-field performance higher than his occasional off-the-field mishaps — meaning he’s not going anywhere.  One of our top commenters on the site, Troglodyte has a different theory.

The caveman believes that Williams’ performance (piling up the tackling stats) is normal linebacker production and called D.J. a “just above average” outside linebacker.  This opinion apparently is shared by Mile High Sports’ Brandon Spano.

After reviewing film from the last few seasons and looking over some in-depth stats, I stand by D.J. and my previous statements.  Williams is not “just doing his job,” he is excelling at his job.

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Ah, San Diego.  How easy you make it for us to mock you.

In a desperate attempt to sell tickets, the Chargers are aggressively marketing to Kansas City Chiefs fans.  Yes, San Diego is trying to fill their stadium with fans of their rival in order to make money.

The Chargers are trying to get Chief fans to buy group packages to their Week 9 game against Kansas City to avoid a blackout.  San Diego appears to be the front-runners to relocate to Los Anglees in 2013; perhaps the club is looking for extra cash to purchase a new stadium?

At any rate, selling tickets to fans rooting for the other team makes the Chargers look like a joke, but their fans don’t really seem to mind.

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(Images courtesy of AP/Getty)

Since 2008, eight different quarterbacks have passed through Denver.  And all three of the Broncos’ top three quarterbacks from last season are now employed elsewhere.

Last summer, Kyle Orton, Brady Quinn and Tim Tebow were all competing to secure Denver’s starting quarterback position.  Orton ended up winning the job and held it mid-way through the season until Tebow finished the year under center.  Quinn never saw the field.

This offseason, Orton signed a lucrative three-year, $10 million deal with the Dallas Cowboys and Quinn signed a one-year, $1.5 million deal with the Kansas City Chiefs.  After those signings, the Denver Broncos went out and signed Peyton Manning and traded Tim Tebow to the New York Jets, where he’ll earn around $5 million through the 2014 season.

To replace Quinn and Tebow, the Broncos signed Caleb Hanie and drafted Brock Osweiler.  Second-year quarterback Adam Weber is also back with the team after spending last season on the practice squad.

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