I only became a member this Spring so I am not sure if this is something that has been done before, but as a result of various comments on various posts I thought it would be fun and yes, cheesy (but without all the w(h)ine!) to create an Unofficial Nickname Thread.

As the nickname in the title implies this is "Just for Fun" and is in no way intended to be an instrument to "jinx" any players. Knock on e-wood now please.

With Moreno and Hillis now in the same backfield most of us immediately thought, "Thunder and Lightning."

In the round four draft thread here on MHR HT eloquently pointed out that:

The Panthers have Thunder and Lightning. Let’s be orig.

I happen to agree and so did LenDale White last year. Now that we have more than ten seconds to be creative I am curious to see what our collective Bronconciousness can come up with.

The only thing I ask is to keep the comments related to nicknames, monikers, epithets, handles, tags, appellations, and yes, sobriquets are encouraged and remember there is nothing diminutive about our Broncos!

Now that all "serious debates" have been left at the door let's have some old fashioned English/Marketing class "FUN!"

UPDATED 5/2/09 at approximately 12:04 pm MST.

Here is a rough list of the nicknames posted so far:

Josh McDaniels:

• HCMcD
• Jedi
• Jedi McD
• Hoodie Jr.

Brandon Marshall:

• B-Marsh
• Brandon "The Beast" Marshall
• Big Money
• Brandon "Money" Marshall
• Big Mac (to go with Royal w/ cheese and McBroncos and McDaniels, etc.)

Eddie Royal:

• Eddie Royal with Cheese
• Eddie "Casino" Royal
• Royal Majesty
• Eddie Royal "Gorge" (goes with Mount O-Line and Fourteeners)
• Eddie the Royal treatment (ex: Eddie is giving the defense the Royal treatment)
  

Kyle Orton:

• Neckbeard
• "K.O."
• Kyle Horton (hears a hoo-ray!)
  

Chris Simms:

• The Spleen
• The Comeback Kid
  

Knowshon Moreno:

• (The) Bullet (goes with Hillis being the Boulder)
  
• The Moreno Tornado
• Know-"I'm ROY"-Shon
• "Gotta Know More Shon" Moreno (SNL)
  
• Special K
• Special K slogan: it comes with 5 yards per serving and all the TDs you need in a day.
• Know!Shon!! (which I would pronounce like the guy who announces soccer goals; Knoooooooooooooooooooooooooow!Shooooooooooooooooooon!!)
• Flash flood (part of Force of Nature)
• GoShon
• Knowshon "The Tide" Moreno
• Bulldawg

Peyton Hillis:

• Rumblin’ Redneck
• Cowbell
• Boulder (goes with Moreno being the Bullet)
  
• Rocky Mountain Hillis
• "Gotta Have More Cowbell" Hillis (SNL)
• Peyton "Mack Truck" Hillis
• Peyton "The Tank" Hillis (when older: Peyton "Over the" Hillis)
• Avalanche (part of Force of Nature)
• Mt. Saint Hillis
• Slingblade (?)
• "What the" Hillis [this or that]
• #22 - "The Double-Deuce Moose!”

Moreno & Hillis combo:

• Hog and Dawg
• just HogDog, or
  
• The Hog and Dog Show
• HogNDog: The comfort food
  
• Beauty and the Beast
• First dodge bullets (Moreno) and then try dodging boulders (Hillis)!
• Shock & Awe
• GoShon and the Backwoods Beast
• Sonic & Knuckles
• Force of Nature (Moreno & Hillis)
• The Broncos line up in the Hog 'N Dog formation
• Black and Blue ("Two of the most punishing running backs to play the game" - HT)
• Thunderbolt & Lightfoot
• Shake & Bake
• Juke & Nuke
• Hammer & Sickle
• Dash & Gash
• Fox & The Hound (for all the young, Disney and Bronco fans out there)

Brian Dawkins:

• Weapon X

Champ Bailey:

• Saw others in a comment in another post - need suggestions
• Champ "Corner of Death" Bailey
• 2/3 of the Earth is covered by water and the other third is covered by Champ Bailey.
  
• "Champ"

Boss Bailey:

• Boss
  

Elvis Dumervil:

• Doom
• Elvis "The King" Dumervil
• Elvis "The King of Doomervil"
• Legion of Doom

D.J. Williams:

• need suggestions
  

Robert Ayers:

• Robert "Stayers Way to Heaven"
• Robert "In The" Ayers
  
• or Robert in the Ayers like you just don't cares!
• Robert "Yay"ers

Ryan Clady:

• Iron Clady

Ryan Harris:

• need suggestions

Some sort of Ryan and Tackle combination:

• Ryan's-R-Us

The Offensive Line as a whole:

• The Continental Divide
• The Front Range
• Ironsides
• All starters referred to as "Mount [last name]" - Mt. Clady, Mt. Hamilton, Mt. Wiegman, Mt. Kuper, Mt. Harris - Odarol mentioned that this one works with our downhill runners as well
  
• The Fourteeners
• The Secret Service. Just because the guy with the Football has changed doesn’t mean we don’t have the Men in Blue any more.

Offense as a whole (assuming success):

• Severe Thunderstorm Warning
• McAttack
• Also the Real McCoys (since McCoy is the OC)
• The Padawans

Defense as a whole (assuming success):

• Amoeba with Attitude
• Gandalf: "Thou shall not pass!" (or for the secondary)

The Broncos as a whole:

• McBroncos
• The Real McCoys

Secondary:

• The Four Horsemen (of the apocalypse)!

Andra Davis:

• Andra "Don’t call me Shirley" Davis

Brandon Stokely:

• The Slot Machine
• Brandon "Small Fries" Stokely
• Brandon "The Original Wes Welker" Stokely
  

Buckhalter, Arrington, Jordan:

• The Three Blind Mice
  

Injured Reserve Running Backs:

• The Gurney Squad
• The Galloping Gurney Squad (don't these apply to last year - what I am saying is this better not apply this year - knock on more e-wood please.)
  

Correll Buckhalter:

• "Buck up Sally" Buckhalter
  

Renaldo Hill:

• Renaldo "King of The" Hill

Andre Goodman:

• A. "Few" Goodmen
  

Alphonso Smith:

• Prime
• The Phonz
• Alphonso "INT" Smith
• Alphons "O-NO!" Smith
• Alphonso "Can we have our ball back?" Smith

Richard Quinn:

• Richard "Just Win" Quinn
  

Darcel McBath:

• Darcel “DARTH” McBath

Chris Baker:

• Gloom (goes with Doom and The Four Horsemen)
  

Darrell Reid:

• Darrell "Reid My Lips"
  

Wesley Woodyard:

• Wesley "Woodshed" Woodyard
  

Spencer Larsen:

• The Stomin’ Mormon
  

Tony Scheffler:

• Tony "The Swedish" Scheffler
• Tony "am I on the trading block or not" Scheffler
• Bork
  

Daniel Graham:

• The Graham Reaper
  

Ryan Torain:

• Ryan "The Train" Torain
• "All" Torain "Vehicle"
  

Jack Williams:

• Jack "M'Fing" Williams

Class of 2009:

• Smart Bombs
  

Any of the other 2009 rookies:

• need suggestions

All other Bronco nicknames:

• Mark Jackson, Ricky Nattiel, Vance Johnson: The Three Amigos
  

I will continue adding the suggestions to the list as they come in and as time permits. As I said in a comment please post all nicknames new and and old, used and never heard... so far so good... keep em' coming!

p.s. Do not hesitate to add your favorite Bronco nicknames of the past as well!

Here is an account of the Broncos draft weekend trades. What we received and what we gave up according to NFL.com. Here is a link to all of the trades over the weekend <Draft trade tracker: All the moves>

Continue reading this post »

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Draftek with a dose of common sense whilst operating against a fast approaching deadline produced my first ever mock draft so with no further introduction here is my Official 32 Team First Round Mock.

1. Lions: Matthew Stafford
   - Already a done deal.

2. Rams: Jason Smith
   - Some stability is always nice.

3. Chiefs: Tyson Jackson
   - I'm listening to last minute rumors here.

4. Sea hawks: Mark Sanchez
   - Best possible fit for Sanchez.

5. Browns: Aaron Curry
   - What falls from heaven? Curry does.

6. Bengals: Andre Smith
   - We don't check credit in Cincy

7. Raiders: Brian Orakpo
   - Can you imagine Orakpo in those wrestling shoulder pads with spikes protruding outward?

8. Jaguars: Michael Crabtree
   - Another guy I did not think would last this long.

9. Packers: B.J. Raji
   - Will the Broncos wish they traded up to the eight spot to get this guy?

10. 49ers: Eugene Monroe
    - Tickled pink there was not a run on tackles early.

11. Bills: Aaron Maybin
    - The Bills went for value here instead of the best player available.

12. BRONCOS: Malcolm Jenkins
    - I am a true believer McDaniels wants his first to pick to be of SUPER high character. What was his quote? He wants "good people" in the locker room?

13. Redskins: Rey Maualaga
    - Snyder likes his Hollywood Stars.

14. Saints: Chris Wells
    - I jumped on the band wagon - it does make a lot of sense.

15. Texans: Brian Cushing
    - Seems like just the kind of motor Kubiak likes.

16. Chargers: Michael Oher
    - The feel good story of the draft. I hope he becomes the best of the four drafted personally.

17. Jets: Jeremy Maclin
    - Now lets hope they have a QB that can get him the ball.

18. BRONCOS: Robert Ayers
    - Ayers or Brown. Brown or Ayers. Brown is of high character and Ayers had some issues that have been resolved. Both are said to have evolved into leadership roles. It boiled down to two factors. The first being who would do better in the 3-4 and other factor being what my gut says. Now you know the answer.

19. Buccaneers: Everette Brown
    - Morris is happy to eat McDaniel's leftovers.

20. Lions: James Laurinaitis
    - If anyone needs a leader it is the Lions and I do not think the Lions should gamble. They might miss the superstar, but a solid starter should be the expectation.

21. Eagles: Knowshon Moreno
    - Complimentary goods do well.

22. Vikings: Darius Butler
    - Leaned on Draftek and other mocks for this one more than anything - really just a lack of knowledge regarding the CB position this year.

23. Patriots: Clay Matthews
    - It just seems like "pedigrees" belong in Boston.

24. Falcons: Vontae Davis
    - I'd rather have Macho Harris or Sean Smith, but every expert has Butler and Davis going before them.

25. Dolphins: Hakeem Nicks
    - A legit target for Pennington? I see touchdowns in their future.

26. Ravens: Larry English
    - Is able to meet the versatile expectations the Ravens will place on him.

27. Colts: Peria Jerry
    - I deferred to Styg here - he said that Jerry is an undeniable talent as 4-3 3-tech.

28. Bills: Brandon Pettigrew
    - Will the Bills have some weapons this year or what?

29. Giants: Percy Harvin
    - I think the Giants will take a pothead over a guy that likes to shoot himself any day.

30. Titans: Evander Hood
    - Fisher will have a field day with Hood. A great fit if you ask me.

31. Cardinals: Clint Sintim
    - Versatility is the word of the day and isn't this guy one of the few "tweeners" with actual 3-4 experience?

32. Steelers: Connor Barwin
    - I hope the Steelers find a way to utilize all this guys talent. He reminds of a Mike Vrabel/Spencer Larsen kind of player.

I just saw this advertised on ESPN and wanted to spread the word if anyone is able to catch it.

On April 16th one of Jim Rome's guests will be Jake 'The Snake' Plummer. I wonder if we are in for a glimpse into what Plummer's thoughts are on Denver's offseason. If this is the case, I hope they talk about the team as whole and do not permeate the Cutler/McDaniels saga. I am hoping they go into La La Land and just focus on the positives!

via thefeed.blogs.com

And for some reason I decided to chew up 15 minutes of free time and found this amazing resemblance - like it is the second coming or something...

via img17.imageshack.us

I was looking for a place to make this comment and in the end decided to try another fan post.

Amid all the speculation surrounding the current fiasco in Bronco Land I would like to bring attention to yet another one. Of course, the following theory, if correct, is at most just a piece of the pie and perhaps even just a bite.

IF management did want Cassel and were willing to pay him $14.65 million this year (without renegotiations) is it fair to say this opened the door for Bus Cook to secure big money for Cutler in a long term deal as some suspect?

Cassel's 2009 contract is simple - 1 year at $14.65 million.

Cutler's is not so simple considering all the incentives. The main one being a $4 million bonus for taking 70% of the snaps this year.

7/27/2006: Signed a six-year, $47.86 million contract. The deal contains $11 million guaranteed, including a $1.7 million signing bonus. 2009: $1.035 million (+ $100,000 workout bonus), 2010: $1.4225 million (+ $4 million roster bonus), 2011: $1.81 million (+ $12 million roster bonus) 2012: Free Agent. 45% of the deal's max value is performance incentives. Among them is a $1.95 million escalator for any year of 2006-2010 that he finishes in the top five in any of the NFL's major passing categories, as well as a $4 million bonus for taking 70% of the snaps in 2009. There also is a $500,000 bonus available 2006-2010 for taking 70% of the snaps and either taking 70% of the snaps in a Super Bowl or winning a Super Bowl.

When his base salary of only $1.035 million is combined with his $4 million playing time bonus, $1.95 million for top 5 passing rankings, and $1.83 million signing bonus ($11 million signing bonus averaged over the 6 year contract) Cutler's 2009 earning potential is approximately $7-10 million. Cassel's earnings will still dwarf Cutler's.

In terms of respect and the NFL pecking order, should it have been expected that Cutler would expect to be paid similarly if the Broncos "sincerely" want Cutler to be their starting quarterback and not "half" as much?

I can relate to the circus that comes with a storied program’s coaching change.

It is hard enough to accept changes of any sort and especially hard if you think no change is warranted. I would like to commit sociological cardinal sin by drawing a comparison that will lead to a generalization.

Nebraska Nation was thrown upside down when we canned Frank Solich back in 2003 after a 9-win season. Then we welcomed the tornado known as Bill Callahan who was unwilling to adapt to the “Nebraska Way” and tried to install his “own system” to no avail. Last year we welcomed “The Savior” known as Bo Pelini with a HUGE emphasis on DEFENSE.. Instead of installing his own system he consulted with Dr. Tom and brought back the “Nebraska Way” as best he could.

The main point I initially wanted to make was that it is much harder to accept a change when the perception of the program is still a positive, winning one. In my comparison this is the firing of Solich and Shanahan. In both cases, these firings were unexpected but ultimately necessary. Nebraska is definitely back on the right track with Pelini at the helm.

In the spirit of optimism, I think the hiring of McDaniels is exactly what Denver needed in order to avoid a “Callahan Era” in Denver. Two examples shine brightly.

The first is the emphasis on Defense. Both Pelini and McDaniels have made establishing a hard-working defense a priority. There was another post I saw on MHR that showed the records of QB’s records when the opponent scores more than 30 points – enough said. With the offenses Nebraska and Denver have had recently I always say, “if we can just keep them under 30 we have a damned good chance of winning.” The Orange Crush is coming back!

The second example is that despite what a lot posts seem to think, I do not think McDaniels is trying to change the culture in Dove Valley. There is and always has been a “Bronco Way” that is and has been the envy of many other professional programs. (Being optimistic again) I think McDaniels knows this. Do you think Bowlen would let him forget it? He retained Dennison and Turner – the staples of Denver’s running attack and zone blocking. Despite my personal opinion of Nolan as a coach, McDaniels did bring in a DC that has been part of the “Denver Way” in the past. Just as Pelini consulted with Osborne, I hope McDaniels is taking every advantage to pick the brains of those who know the “Bronco Way”. It appears so.

I ended up writing more than I anticipated, so thanks for reading. Opinions are welcomed – do you think the reaction of the fans has anything to do with the perception of a winning or losing program? After Callahan, Nebraska needed a Savior. Does Denver really want things to get worse before they get better so they can have a “Savior” too?

Here’s an optimistic hint: McDaniels might be Denver’s “Savior”. We just don’t know it yet!