It's been quite a long time since my last post here. I've been reading and enjoying Mile High Report since I discovered this place back in the crazy shock of the Shanahan firing. As the years have gone on I've slowly drifted further and further away, watching more and more of my favorite contributors take to new shores and start offering their writing to appreciative eyes, where it won't get swamped by a comment section of instantaneous judgement spawned by glance-over readers.

Now this doesn't apply to everyone, and there are still some stellar contributors here, and people that literally work their butts of providing coverage, insight, and creative perspectives on all thing Broncos. But the general reader-base has shifted from being a majority of interested Broncos fans willing to listen and have gentle-MANLY debates about our favorite team... Now those are the minority, and when I glance over a comment section (which is the MOST I do these days) I feel like i'm back in Iraq/Afghanistan observing/participating in guerrilla warfare. It's just depressing, and truly unfortunate; because it lessens my interest to try and read as many fanposts as I have time for (which usually have several great points in them, no matter what perspective they are advocating).

I used to complain to John Bena that he needed to find some way to make the fanshot section pop out more, because I would always forget to check it (or sometimes not even see it) while I was diving through fanpost after fanpost. However, now the only thing I really do is check on the fanshots from my phone. I probably log in to MHR on my computer once a week - if even that often. I am not sure what has changed. Whether it has been an influx of less-than-savory readers or just the recent turmoil of our franchise playing out in the hearts of fans... it has just gotten... worse. And it gets uglier every week.

The debates over the QB position ever since McDaniels came in and Cutler pulled out his punk card have really been the biggest cause of division on this site. There is a place for differing opinions and interestingly creative sports debate; but too many personal things get brought into the mix and it doesn't even feel like it's a sports debate anymore. When I visit MHR as of late, it feels as if it's a fanbase comprised 90% of cranky four-year-olds who missed their afternoon nap.

Anyways... I suppose this is a bit of a rant, but I eventually wanted to get to the point that: is Manning vs. Tebow really worth fighting over and throwing around harsh words just to fire-for-effect? I don't think so. Manning has pro's and con's, Tebow has pro's and con's... only time will tell which choice was the right one... and we might be able to reap the benefits of a coexistence of both players for the NOW and the FUTURE.

It just doesn't make sense why there is so much anger and hatred. If you're pissed about the organization's decisions, then write to Elway or Bowlen, stop buying merchandise or tickets. Actually direct your frustration at it's source. Don't flame your hate on the Joe-shmoe who post's an on-the-spot idea or opinion about a pro or con of either QB (or ANYTHING Broncos for that matter). It's fricking ridiculous - pardon my Navy - when I see some of you trashing each other over some of this stuff. Honestly, what is the point anymore? I got enough flame during my last year here that I keep my opinions and my Broncos thoughts, predictions, and wishes between myself and a couple other friends these days. Which is a bummer because I greatly enjoy writing, and getting feedback to continue driving, molding, and shaping my own thoughts on this or that.

I wish I could find a place like 2008 MHR where a man (or woman) could conveniently post their thoughts and opinions of the Orange and Blue and have an intelligent, friendly debate/conversation. A place like that currently doesn't exist... but I keep checking back in here from time to time... hoping it will exist once more.

I love and appreciate many of the contributors and readers here, but unfortunately I don't have the time (or patience) these days to sift through the trash to find treasure. MHR used to be a fine jewelry bazaar, now it's a gold mine; not only do you have to dig up your own gold, you've usually got to shape and work it a little before it resembles something worth admiring. Again, that is not directed to EVERYONE. There are still some great insights here, it's just a pity they are so hard to find.

Best of luck to the Broncos this off-season. I'm excited for Manning-watch, excited for improving our team in FA, and excited for the upcoming draft. Last but not least, GO BRONCOS, and GO TIM TEBOW.

I know it's been forever since I've posted anything on here. But a recent fanshot inspired a bit of thinking in me, and since we're heading into a Patriots week I thought I would touch on the topic one more time. It's short and hopefully concise, but I think I'm saying a few things here that I haven't read much of anywhere else, hope you enjoy it. And NO this is not a insight into how awesome McDaniels was for drafting Tebow or how horrible he was for tanking a team that had a good deal of talent on it. (Note: I posted this as a comment response to one of the recent fanshots, but felt like it needed it's own light, so here it is:

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This fanpost started in a comment on a fanshot and I really liked the premise, so I decided to elaborate and turn it into a full blown post of its own. Basically I wanted to find a way to take Tebow's extremely small sample size and use it as a basis for making a baseline of expectations for the remainder of the season. Obviously this isn't going to be anywhere near realistic... but if gives a decent idea of some things moving foward as well as a fun peak into the future based on stats that aren't non-relevant to winning. Let's jump!

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So I logged in to my brother's Game Rewind access at about 11pm MST to watch next week's opponents for the Broncos, the Miami Dolphins - but was disappointed to find out that although all of Sunday's games are available by midnight of the same day, NFL.com does not post the Monday Night Football game until 24 hours after it airs. I had to go dig into the fine print a little to figure out the exact details. 

While doing so, I also found out that purchasing the Game Rewind for the 2011 Regular Season also includes all the archived footage from 2009 and 2010 (not that most Broncos fans have ANY desire whatsoever to go back and rewatch that mess... that is... unless you are an MHR diehard with a fresh story in mind). Initially I just wanted to skip through the first game and watch Stokely's game winning catch that lifted us over the Bengals in the final seconds of the game... but it dawned on me that there were actually quite a few amazing moments from the 2009 (and even 2010 season) that would be worth looking at again.

As I began the stream of the game, I hesitated before dragging the slider to the final minutes of the game... You see... I was curious. My memory was quite foggy (probably intentionally). I just couldn't recall all the events that led up to that amazingly warm and memorable Broncos moment. I remembered vividly why that memory had been so easily pushed back into the deep recesses of my mind, but I wanted to remember why it felt so good. So I didn't budge that slider one bit. I watched every single second of that game (with the exception of skipping several ten-second intervals between snaps of empty talking heads and no action or sideline shots). At first I began to make a few comparisons to our 2009 team and what we have now. Remembering a very bright and pleasant 6-0 start got me thinking... where did we go wrong? What happened that year that toppled our young, new, and confident 2009 Josh McDaniels led team that began the chain reaction of misery? 

What made that team any different than the team that started out this year with such a hopeful preseason? And more importantly, what are the differences happening on the field between these two teams that differentiate them. Both are rebuilding efforts with the same endgoal... but the last one failed and failed MISERABLY. So I want to take a look on a game by game basis comparing as many different factors as I possibly can between McDaniels first two years. And John Fox's first two years. This is probably the largest task here at MHR I have ever imposed upon myself, but it's just too intriguing to deny. It will be considerably more challenging given the fact that I am currently 5 games behind. I've already taken down my notes from Game 1 of 2009, so after a refresher on 2011's Game 1 I will pump out the first article this week and try and knock out two or three games per week to get on track with the 2011 season. Let's jump.

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Brandon Lloyd for a 6th round pick are you kidding me?!?! EFX is brainless! Xanders is a worthless 4-12 GM. Fox has no idea what he's doing. And Elway, don't even get me started on Elway! Denver continue to go to the craphole! We won't win a single game for the rest of the year without Brandon Lloyd! And only a 6th round pick for him? What a complete and UTTER failure by our Front Office. What the hell can we get for a 6th round pick? James Starks (RB)? Zach Miller (TE) Spencer Larsen (FB) Joe Mays (LB) Pierre Garcon (WR) Corey Williams (DT) Marques Colston (WR)Terrell Davis? Shannon Sharpe? Tom Brady? WHAT GARBAGE. 

We could have had a 3rd round pick like Deon Butler (WR), Kevin O'Connell (QB) or Tony Hunt (RB)! Why are you so stupid Brian Xanders?!?! Clearly, McDaniels wasn't the personnel problem. That only leaves YOU Xanders. No wonder the Broncos are 1-4 this season. No wonder we keep falling into the dismal abyss of the NFL basement. It's all your fault! And now Fox and Elway are on the hotseat because they are letting you run this team into the ground!

Worst decision ever! What are we going to do without the best player on our team?!?!?! Didn't anyone see how stupid it was to get rid of Jay Culter, Brandon Marshall, and Peyton Hillis? They are all doing AMAZING on their new teams, that could be US! And what about Marqaund Manuel and Nate Webster?!?! They are on their way to becoming ALL-PROs now!

This is so stupid. Good job staff. Way to run this ship into the ground. They better HOPE I even tune in for the Miami game!

(On a serious note: before any of you even BEGIN to bring up the "odds debate" about the much greater chance we have of drafting a bust than a star in the 6th round. CAN IT. We have missed SO MANY times in the late rounds that we are about DUE a star player from rounds 4-7 or UCFAs! And if you want to be totally realistic, teams landing star players in the later rounds is completely by chance, its not like there is a steady rotation. So when it all boils down to brass tax, you either landed a great player or you didn't. The odds are ALWAYS 50/50. Better to take a 6th for a player who was going to walk anyways, than hold out and get nothing but a cranky vet for 11 games. You are all entitled to your own knee-jerk opinions, but that doesn't mean I have to like them! Better yet, I don't even have to CONTINUE reading a post that I don't like or don't agree with, much less comment on it in a completely non-constructive way. GO BRONCOS!!!)

Let me start off by saying that throughout this whole Orton/Tebow debate, I strove never to take a side standing with a certain player. They are both Denver Broncos, Tim and Kyle, and I was and am still rooting for both of them. As long as they are wearing Orange and Blue (with a white horse on the helmet) I will be their fan. Even when they play horribly... I will wish and hope they play well. I did that today when Orton was starting and not playing well, and I did it still in the second half when Tebow kept under-throwing his receivers. I don't expect either of them to be perfect. They are both human, they are both just as flawed as I. Throughout this firestorm of an off-season and the early games I supported Orton starting because that's what Elway and our coaching staff deemed best. They are also Denver Broncos, and I always wish and hope whatever decisions they choose to make end up panning out. I did it when Shanahan was in the end of his tenure, and I did it through the length of McDaniels' reign, even to the very end. So just as I didn't side with the debate on our current QBs in the beginning, I will not do so now. I simply try to make reason out of nonsense, so join me after the jump and let us see what we can determine.

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The next episode of our Denver Broncos Soap-Opera has arrived. The organization put together a poor outing against the current Superbowl Champion Green Bay Packers. Orton's interceptions have added about as much fuel to the fire as could be done in a single week. Then add in John Fox's post game press conference to put the cherry on top. Fans are in an uproar if they have ever been before. They are posting up billboards, whining, complaining, pleading, writing letters to the owner... You name it, this fanbase has done it.

I wonder if the "Ain'ts" fanbase reacted this way, or maybe the atrocious couple of decades the Lions had ended up causing their fanbase to rupture and burst like ours has? Who knows?

What I won't do, is jump on the bandwagon heading out of town. I won't hop off the Fanatic train that circles Broncos Country. No way. Not over four games of a sixteen game season - at least that's how I view it, anyways. I'm not like other people though. There are others that look at it as four MORE games on top of the two years under McDaniels, there are even some that will slap in the whole post-Elway era of Shanahan's reign. Those are the kinds of people that hold grudges. Those are the people that can't let go of the past and move on. They can't look forward to the future because their eyes are so glassy and blurry from all the pity-party crying over spilled milk they are currently doing.

I have seen a 2011 Broncos team that has gotten better every game. I have seen a team that is OBVIOUSLY reviewing game film and learning from their mistakes. There hasn't been a single week that they have not improved the major mistakes they made the previous game. Turnovers happen, even to the greatest teams in history. They are, most-often, a sign of bad luck rather than a sign of bad execution - though execution definitely plays its part. We just haven't been getting any balls bouncing in our own direction lately, and its made a huge impact on the last few games.

We may not have been winning games, but we have been improving. We haven't been winning games but we have been putting together effective game-plans (especially compared to what I saw in the last year under McDaniels). Our coaches are studying opponents film and giving our players exactely the kind of insight they need to perform - but they just aren't there yet. It takes time to change a culture of losing. Ask the Lions or Saints or Cardinals. It takes a LONG time. We haven't yet fallen as far as they did into the abyss, but its gotten pretty ugly. Especially for a fanbase that started out at the bottom and fought and clawed their way to the top. Falling back into mediocrity is twice as painful for us as it for franchises that have only been their once. We can't stand it, and we will do anything to keep from going back there.

We'll even throw our second year QB right into the fire, and into a myrriad of extra-cirricular challenges just because we don't have the patience to wait for our team to grow and contracts to finish before we see what he can do. I swear, everyone thinks he's 35 years old. I know Tim is as mature as a 35 year old Quarterback, but he's still got nearly two decades of football in him. ESPECIALLY if we give him time to learn and develop good passing habits and not force him rely on his legs to win and take the extra uneccessary hits and punishment.

Does anyone recall the few plays Eric Decker made the last few games? No, I'm not talking about his touchdowns and spectacular catches; I'm talking about the time he went out and got a "blocking downfield" penalty for thinking Orton called a run play. Or the time he ran the completely wrong route and left the timing-pass up for grabs for whoever could have been standing there. Or maybe the the overthrows and underthrows were he wasn't quite in the place where Orton thought he would be. You know why those plays happened? Because Decker got BARELY any first team reps coming into this season. He didn't get to work with Orton hardly at all besides during the lockout, so the overthrows and underthrows are the fault of both men not knowing what each other is going to do.

In training camp Decker didn't receive many first team reps. You know who got even FEWER first team reps? Tim Tebow. This kid is going to go through SO MANY growing pains as he gets familiar with his receivers, learns the offense, learns to read NFL defenses, and gets a feeling for the pocket pressure and protections etc... If Tim gets a FULL offseason of first team reps as the go-to starter, many of these issues will be taken care of. The offensive knowledge, timing with his recievers, and time up against a first string defensive pass-rush, which ours isn't too shabby last time I checked. That gives him less extra things to worry about and more time to focus on improving his game and beating the opposing defenses.

I believe that the people who want to start Tebow NOW, are just plain impatient. I believe that they truly care very little about the challenges Tebow will face, or care at all how his confidence will fair during this learning process. One of Tebow's greatest strengths is his confidence, and that confidence can get shattered in a hurry after a handful of picks and no solid production. Just ask Brady Quinn, a guy who is just now starting to show signs of healing from his experience in Cleveland. We have a guy on our very own roster who was the middle of a true QB controversy and shows the battle scars from that emotional/intellectual war; yet so many want to do the same to thing to Tim. There is no controversy in the lockerroom, only with the fans. They want to feed him to the wolves with even less first team reps than Quinn had going into his first couple of years. They want to send Tim into sharkwater because Orton is so boo-hoo bad, that their poor little fan ear, eyes, and hearts just can't take any more losing. Let me tell you, we have BARELY BEGUN to lose. This is nothing compared to what some other franchises have gone through. What a selfish desire, with no thought to Tim Tebow - who has PLENTLY of time, by the way, to acheive success and become a dominant QB in this league.

I think people also tend to forget that the very QB who shredded our defense yesterday was a guy who sat on the bench for three years. THREE YEARS! Tim hasn't even come close to sitting for even two full years. Yet still they cry. Still they are enraged. Still they call our coaching staff incompetent. It's all somebody's fault... there is always a finger to point, right?

Where has all the patient wisdom of this fan-site gone? Where is the calculated reasoning I used to enjoy reading? There are so many knee-jerk reactions flooding even MHR these days. All because of Orton, or Fox, or Bowlen, or (enter name of your choice here). And for what? Where does it take us? Nowhere. I can see why people would want to quit being a fan, or jump off the bandwagon, or take a break... not from the Broncos, but from MHR.

I love my Broncos and will watch EVERY MINUTE of EVERY GAME no matter how horribly they play. Because I want to go along for the ride, even if the tracks take us to the bottom of the abyss, because I have faith we will rise out of it. When this team finally does rise into greatness (regardless of who is playing QB) I will have about zero respect for all the whiners and complainers that come crawling back because the team is finally doing things "their way" or finally sees eye to eye with them.

Nobody is holding a gun to anyone's head and making them watch Orton lead the Broncos, nobody is forcing you to buy your season tickets. Though, you all do realise that the stadium won't get emptier, right? There is a LONG line for season tickets. I HOPE you all stop attending. I HOPE you all give up those tickets and the stadium can get filled with fans that are willing to ride through the muck along with the team. We don't like it anymore than you do, but we're not going to sit here and cry and bitch about every little thing we don't like either. Especially when we see progress.

We finally see our team stopping the run, which everyone was bitching about; yet why don't we hear about that? We are finally generating pass pressure - again, barely even talked about. Our defense has gone from the bottom of the barrel to the top 15 or 20, and is showing signs of going north still. Yet it's all about how bad Orton is playing or how bad of a coach Fox is because he isn't doing exactely what we want him to do. Yes he isn't winning games, but that doesn't mean he's not improving this team. We as fans have very little insight as to whether a bad play is more from coaching or execution because we aren't given the playcall. If we were, THEN and only THEN could we decide if it was a bad call or just badly exectuted by the players. Until that happens, all else is just assumption and speculation. And it shows, to me, the true colors of the fans against Fox... which is that they personally don't like his style, or they don't like him because of the QB situation or how he's handling it.

And you all can defend yourselves however you want to, and I don't really care how you retaliate to such an accusation; because the bottom line is that many of us here are still willing to ride through mud in order to see the stars when we come out the end of the dark tunnel... and there are a good majority that won't - or at least will bitch and complain the whole ride there. And you know what, that's fine. That's your American right, to believe whatever you want, and act however you want about it. I know, because I spent four and a hal years defending such rights for you. You can keep stirring the pot as furiously as you'd like, but I'm not jumping in. I'll sit aside and watch. Too be perfectly honest, your frustration amuses me. It always astounds me when people get upset about things they have no control over. It's silly and shows a child-like approach to adversity. If there were any good things my time in the Marine Corps had for me, it was seeing people grow from this type of mentality into one with resolve, patience, and determination to act WHEN and WHERE they could. It served them no good to go and piss-off the people around them that were on their side - their fellow Marines experiencing it with them.

Yet I have seen no comparison in the civillian world of this. People constantly bitch to their coworkers, to their fellow fans - who are going through the exact same thing and are equally powerless to do anything about it, and they irritate the crap out of each other. I just don't understand it.

Let me start off by saying this is not really a fanpost at all, and I probably would have just posted it in the fanshot section... but I wanted to leave it open so I could continue to add in more images as I went instead of posting 5 or 6 different fanshots and pushing all of the important quick news off the screen, thus my choice for a fanpost instead.

So I decided (much like the rest of you) that Sports Authority's stadium sign and logo did practically nothing to compromise with the look and feel of the Broncos other than toss in some mountains in the background. So I took it upon myself to do MY OWN version of the logo with what I consider to be an unfair amount of compromise. Lol. I also did several other version that were a bit in between their version and my own versions, but I like these two completely Broncos ones better. (Honestly I would have been jazzed if it was exactly how they made it, but with Orange instead of red. I don't mind "at Mile High" as long as its all orange and no red. It's not like fans attending the stadium are going to mistake an orange Sports Authority logo for a completely different franchise and chain. I mean seriously... they could have at least made it orange. Anyhow, enough of my ranting. Here they are. Tell me what you like and don't like. I am currently working on an MHR logo that will match the stadium logo as well. Enjoy!

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The most polarizing player has never had such a headline-grabbing off-season in his entire football career. After the Denver Broncos season became a wash last year in their most embarrassing statistical season in recent memory (maybe of all time), the up-and-coming Tebow got the nod to start over an ailing Kyle Orton. The Heaven's opened up, the trumpets were blaring, and even though Kyle has been officially named the starter for week one, still his fans, followers, and antagonists continue to drag the story (or lack thereof) out with any statistic, article, thought, or emotion they can get their hands on.

I had no idea the kid's clock was so short.

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After watching all four preseason games (the first three, a few times over). The guys are listed in the order I prefer to keep them if there is a little adjustment based on how many we keep per position that differs from how many I think we will. These are they guys that stood out to me, made the most impact, and seem to hold the most talent on our roster worth keeping:

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... that don't want Orton to start. 

1) People who just plain don't personally find Orton exciting/entertaining/elite enough and MAY bring up any statistic or past play they can find to try and prove it.

2) People who just love Tim Tebow (or Brady Quinn I suppose) so much that it doesn't matter how well Orton has or hasn't played, they want Tim (or Brady) to start, and they MAY bring up any statistic or past play of his to try and prove it.

That's it. Those are the ONLY two possibilities of a Bronco Fan not happy with Orton starting over Tebow/Quinn. The NFL has plenty of cases that are proof enough that past statistics, film, etc doesn't mean crap about the future. This is a league that can completely change in the matter of a week. And that's why we all love it! It's man-drama, and that's all there is to it.

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Let me start this off by saying I am EXCITED. Incredibly, undeniably, and utterly EXCITED. I am excited that Broncos football is back. I am excited with our new coaching staff. I am excited about Tim Tebow. Hell, I'm even excited about Kyle Orton. I'm just an eternal optimist and their isn't a naysaying sword in the universe that can slay my 6-0 start soul. The Broncos are good. They are undefeated!! And I don't even have to explain why!

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