Before HD televisions and DVDs, Champ Bailey watched grainy film on VHS tapes.

The Denver Broncos recently joined the iPad playbook revolution and have given every player a ‘Pad for studying film, plays and more.  For the younger, tech-savvy players, the iPads are an easy adjustment.

But for some of the veterans, including eleven-time Pro Bowler Champ Bailey, the iPads will take some period of adjustment.

“When I came into the league, we were still looking at the VHS tapes, taking them home and everything,” Bailey told The Daily’s Chris Corbellini on Thursday.  “And then they converted it into DVD.  After that, they started putting some film on the iPads. Now we’re getting everything on the iPads.”

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(Field image courtesy of Getty Images)

In 2007, the Denver Broncos signed kicker Matt Prater off the Miami Dolphin‘s practice squad.  Five years later, Prater is the team’s starting kicker and just signed a four-year deal with the team.

Now he can move out of the hotel he has been staying in since signing with the team five years ago.

“I’m actually in the process of looking for a condo or townhouse, because I’ve actually lived in a hotel for the last five years,” Prater said in a radio interview with CJ and Kreckman on 102.3 The Ticket on Friday afternoon.  “So I’m excited about moving out of the hotel.”

Prater went on to say he lived in a hotel for so long because he had signed back-to-back one-year contracts earlier in his career and didn’t want to deal with the hassle of moving if Denver moved on from him.  He’s now locked up through the 2015 season though, so he can move into a more permanent abode.

With $4.25 million of his $13M deal with the Broncos fully guaranteed, Prater can afford his own condo now.  The Broncos would probably like to keep Prater as far away from hotels as possible, so it’s a win-win for Prater and the team.

Quotes courtesy of SportsRadioInterviews.com.  H/T to IAOFM.

Not to be outdone by NFL Network’s meaningless Top 100 list, ESPN has been revealing their Top 40 players from each division in the NFL.  On Friday, they ranked the AFC West.

Ten members of the Broncos made the list, with quarterback Peyton Manning ranked first overall and linebacker Von Miller coming in at No. 4.  Complete list of Broncos that made the cut after the jump.   Click here to read the rest of this entry »

(Image courtesy of Shadd Ring/Broncos Planet)

Forget Madden video game covers, our favorite quarterback is on the cover of a cereal box.

Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning appears on the Wheaties boxes being sold in Colorado, according to our friends at Bronco Planet.  The box, with Wheaties’ fittingly orange background, shows Manning in workout attire with a football in hand.

This is the second time–which we are aware of–that Peyton has graced the cover.  Legendary former Broncos John Elway, Terrell Davis and Steve Atwater had that honor in the late 80s and early 90s.  Three other players — linebacker Jack Del Rio, cornerback Ty Law and running back Tony Dorsett–appeared on the cover before joining the Broncos in their respective careers (Del Rio joined the team as a coach).

Among the observations to be drawn from the box is the fact that while the league is now officially outfitted by Nike, Manning is still endorsed by Reebok — he’s wearing one of their shirts on the cover.  This offseason, Manning has clearly shown that he is not yet ready to part ways with his Reebok cleats.

A second observation is that Manning takes full advantage of off-the-field endorsements.  According to Forbes, Manning earns $10 million annually from companies including Reebok, Sony, Wheaties, DirecTV, Gatorade and Papa John‘s.  Combine that with the $18 million the Broncos are paying him this season and Manning will make more than $28 million in 2012.  Not bad.

Will you buy a Wheaties cereal box featuring Manning this summer?  Let us know in the comments below.

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

Denver Broncos News

THE THREE STOOGES | Mile High Sports
Matt Prater often calls home to Florida to see if his dad has seen any hawks. No joke. Prater’s nickname is “Hawk” for that very reason.

Matt Prater’s new Broncos deal a long way from nearly being cut by Shanahan | First and Orange
When the Broncos signed kicker Matt Prater to a new four-year, $13 million deal Monday, it was a testament to how far Prater has come in the NFL.
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(Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

Last week, Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jared Allen—who led the NFL with 22 sacks last season—was asked how many sacks a player could record in one season.  To which Allen responded, “I think 25 is possible.  Somebody will eventually reach that, it will be reached one year.”

How about this year?

In 2011, four different players recorded more than 16 sacks.  No player in the NFL recorded 16 sacks in 2010 and Denver’s Elvis Dumervil led the NFL with 17 in 2009 (Allen’s 14.5 were the second-most).

Times are changing — the league is becoming more pass happy and defenses are utilizing pass rushing specialists better than ever before, which has resulted in sack records becoming endangered.  Allen believes 25 sacks in a season is possible, as does Dallas Cowboys outside linebacker DeMarcus Ware, who recorded 19.5 sacks last season.

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1st Lt Ben Garland, right, is officially sworn in as a member of the 140th Wing of the Colorado Air National Guard by Brig Gen Trulan A. Eyre, 140th wing commander, at the Denver Broncos training facility. (US Presswire photo by Ron Chenoy)

Happy Independence Day to you and yours.

Here’s to America, the men and women serving in our military, our school teachers and firefighters across the country.

Take pride in your country — especially with summer Olympics quickly approaching — and America’s Game, football.  Imagine if football was an Olympic sport, oh how proud we would be of members of our beloved Denver Broncos dominating the world.

Enjoy your family picnics, fireworks and family reunions.  Now go into the world and make your loved ones as proud of you as we are of Ben Garland.

All of us at BroncoTalk give a Mile High Salute to the American flag, the U.S. Military and the American people.  Go USA! Go Broncos!

Over the past week, we conducted a Speak Up Series on the blog addressing all of the basic positions on Denver’s roster.  Below are the results of our fan polling:

• Nobody knows what the offensive line should look like —

Fans were in a dead split as of Tuesday afternoon on what the offensive line should look like this season.  Fifty percent of fans voted to keep the 2011 unit in place and fifty percent suggested moving players around.  It’s probably safe to say that the jury is still out on the offensive line.

• Dumervil, Warren, Wolfe and Ayers should be the main pieces on the defensive line —

Sixty percent of fans voted to have Elvis Dumervil and Robert Ayers as the starting defensive ends with Ty Warren and Derek Wolfe as the main defensive tackles.  A rotation of Justin Bannan and Sealver Siliga at defensive tackle received the second-most votes (fifteen percent).

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

Denver Broncos News

Broncos sign kicker Matt Prater to four-year contract | Denver Post
He was a kicker three NFL teams released before he arrived in Denver, so Matt Prater has lived the day-to-day, sometimes hour-to-hour, life that comes with the position in a league with little patience.

Prater Ready to Kick Off 2012 Season | DenverBroncos.com
Kicker Matt Prater talked about his feelings on signing a four-year contract with the Broncos on Monday.
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(@WoodDro52)

The Denver Broncos and kicker Matt Prater agreed on a four-year deal Monday.  Terms of the deal are now available.

Prater’s deal is worth $13 million — including a $3 million signing bonus, according to The Denver Post.  That’s $3.25 million per season for those doing the math at home.

With a new deal, Prater is now the fifth-highest paid kicker in the league annually, behind Sebastian Janikowski ($4M), Phil Dawson ($3.81M), Stephen Gostkowski ($3.4M) and Connor Barth ($3.3M).  Prater is now also one of nine kickers in the NFL earning $3 million or more per season.

“I’m very thankful and gracious and ready to prove myself and why I got a long‐term contract. I need to show everyone that I’m worth it,” Prater told the media via conference call on Monday.  “I’m really excited to get back to work.”

Prater’s teammates are also happy to have him back.  Fifth-year linebacker Wesley Woodyard tweeted the image seen to the right with the caption, “Good to have the real Prater back because our statue wasnt holding up… Congrats and welcome back!”

Congrats, indeed.  We were kinda hoping we wouldn’t have to rely on that Adi Kunalic guy.