Just a quick observation for my friends at MHR - NFL.com are reporting that former Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels has been schmoozing with his former employers in New England.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d825c8850/article/rams-oc-mcdaniels-meets-with-belichick-in-line-to-join-pats?module=HP11_headline_stack

As many more informed reports on MHR have previously stated, clearly the boychild has some ability - look at the stats for Kyle Orton and Brandon Lloyd under his tutelage - but as a head coach, it didn't take Einstein to realise that McDaniels was well out of his depth in that role. Nonetheless, he has demonstrated enough ability as a co-ordinator.

And so, after setting the Broncos back more effectively than a tsunami, it seems that Belichick may yet pull the trigger and reinstate McDaniels in the soon to be vacated Offensive Coordinator post with the Clambakes, now that O'Brien has agreed to take the reins at Penn State.

But enough about that lot - it's time to get ready for the playoffs. I'm off to reserve a spot on the couch. The New Orleans-Detroit game promises to be a thriller, even though it won't finish till well after 4am here in the UK. Better get a comfy spot on that sofa then, 'eh?

And fingers crossed for tomorrow night. Let's hope Tebow reverts to his form of a month or two ago, and that Roethlisberger twists his ankle getting off the team bus tomorrow....

Go Broncos!

Morning guys - just thought I'd post this in case it had escaped your attentions - seems like the Microsoft-sponsored 'hawks have re-signed one of our alleged top FA priorities in Brandon Mebane.

http://eye-on-football.blogs.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/22475988/30982668 

I hope the link works, and if the report is true, then we could really be scrambling for DL talent in the free-for-all that's going on. There doesn't seem to be much more quality in the DL market beyond the likes of Cullen Jenkins, but surely he's going to be out of our price range, especially since the discount we thought we might get from taking Orton off the wage bill doesn't look like that trade is going to happen anytime soon!

Anyway, sorry to be the bearer of (what I think is) disappointing news. Can't fault Seattle for keeping one of their own, mind! Oh well, the fun of being a Broncos fan, 'eh??

Santa is a Bronco, and Christmas is Coming!! (In April!)

Continue reading this post »

Sweet Lord! What voodoo curse did McDaniels incur this week??

The commentator has just described the Raiders game as a comedy of errors. That's being polite, and I'm not laughing. It's utterly abysmal. One of those days when everything goes as badly as it can for you, and as well as it can for your opponent. You can be as nice as you like, but let's call it what it is. Horrendous. I'm wondering if this will start the calls for McDaniels' head.....?

On the positive, the Broncos can't play as badly again next week when I get to watch them in London. But 38-0 midway through the 2nd quarter?? Against the Raiders? Jeez, that's just not good enough.

Yes, the more softly spoken on this site may say I'm being hard, but really? The injuries are one thing, and I'm the first to admit that as a result of that, I've always thought that we would struggle this year. We are just not putting any consistent pressure on the QB, we can't run the ball and our home record is marginally better than the Lions' away form. But at least our special teams have improved this year - notably the punting!!

Aaaaagh!! This just ruins the week. Let's hope the Niners don't show up next week.

But what's this?? Dear Gawd, the Broncos have scored. Saved by Moreno. Bang goes my critique! What a powerhouse we are. Or aren't. You can decide.

Perhaps this is the start of an NFL comeback of exceptional proportions perhaps....?

Exhale. Relax. Breath. Go Broncs.....

At least I'll have McD's ear next week in London!! Please, please don't play like this again. Ever.

Well, that's the first instalment of the soap opera they call the NFL Draft over. I sat up and watched it from start to finish here in Britain (until just after 4am), and to tell you the truth, I don't know what to think, or how to rate the Broncos' performance.

Granted, these things are crapshoots, but my first impressions were that the Broncos' trading down was netting them some useful picks in what everyone has been ranting on about as one of the deepest ever drafts. I had hoped for Rolando McClain, but once he was off the board, I knew that McD was never going to pull the trigger on taking my other coveted player, Pouncey. I accept that 11 was too early to go grab a center no matter how good he is. So a trade down seemed perfect. Good, I thought. That was the first trade with New England.

Then came the second trade with the Eagles, and whilst I welcomed the bounty of two extra 3rd, I started to wonder if we hadn't moved down just a little too far.... and lo and behold, those damned Steelers sat tight and Pouncey fell into their laps. Sitting there in the middle of the night watching the live webcast, I was absolutely gutted, and while I was still getting over that, all of a sudden we'd taken WR DeMaryius Thomas from Georgia Tech. Some had him as a 3rd, but to be fair, I think he was a need pick for us, and although Dez Bryant may be the better player, we simply couldn't have taken the risk on him, so I think the pick is fine. My only query was that in picking up an extra 2nd and an extra 3rd, why couldn't we have left the WR spot until that stage, especially since there had hardly been a run on wideouts? Anyway....

Still I thought, Kyle Wilson's still available. Another young DB for Champ and Dawks to groom, or Dan Williams, or Sergio Kindle to help take some pressure off Doom (and arguably be an insurance policy in case he ups and leaves after next season!!). Maybe even Jimmy Clausen (though as I say with Tebow next, this would have been a similar luxury pick - and PS, I can see the Raiders making a move on him now....!) Or heaven forbid, even Mt Cody. But nope, and this is slightly unfair of me, since us Brits don't know that much about Tebow apart from the very polarised opinions people and the MHR community seem to hold on him, we plumped for what will very definitely be a backup player next year. Am i wrong to think that your 1st rounder should be an immediate contributor? Jeez, he's supposed to be one of the top colegiate players in the country and he has to sit on a bench?? C'mon, the money they pay 1st rounders, you can't have them sitting. And this is what concerns me with Tebow. Virtually everyone thinks he can be good if he can be moulded and corrected in a few places. But the expectations - as I've just alluded to - are that #1 picks should be playing. So I'm not at all convinced by the Tebow pick. I'm not against picking him up, it's just I think it was a little early.

Now, I know Sayre is high on him, but as others have said, he's not ready to play, and may have been a 2nd or 3rd pick, despite the rumoured interest from Buffalo. From what's been said, Tebow is the antithesis of Cutler and Marshall, but did we need that panacea so early in the draft? Are we that fragmented in the locker room?? I doubt it.

I hope to be proven wrong, but at this raw stage, I think it was more than a few picks too early to grab Tebow. All in all then, I'm not exactly sure how I feel. Have we addressed our needs - interior OL and DL? No, but surely Matt Tennant must be in our sights now with the 2nd round pick? Or maybe Terrence Cody as an insurance policy for big Jamal? What about WR? Yep, but I think we could do with another body (and that's why I'm a little disappointed in the 2, 3 and 4 picks thrown to Baltimore by way of the Tebow trade-up. Then there's the glaring hole in the middle of our LB corps. Not addressed yet. And with the recent trade of Tony Scheff (by the way, is it me or are the Lions seemingly doing a great job of patching up their team??), we have issues at TE too. I'm not sure we had enough ammunition to address these areas to warrant what strikes me as a luxury pick of Tebow.

I don't mean to sound anti-Tebow at all; he sounds like a great kid and will be a very positive influence on the team IMO, but how does everyone else think we've done in terms of either a) addressing our needs, or b) getting the best player available?? Personally, I don't think we achieved either, and ended up somewhere between these two criteria. I think we'll see some more wheeling and dealing tonight though....

C'mon the Broncs. Offensive line, ILB have to be the next positions addressed....Please????

Go Broncos.

The National Football Post is reporting that the Seattle Seahawks remain very interested in acquiring the services of Broncos' wideout Brandon Marshall, with suggestions that a pre-draft trade remains very much on the cards.

http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/Report-Seahawks-still-interested-in-Brandon-Marshall.html

The report infers that the lack of demand shown in Marshall to date may force the Broncos' hand in terms of settling for a lesser value draft pick, but it remains to be seen whether the Mile High brains trust will lose face (again!) and accept a second or third rounder in exchange for the focal point of our offense.

Personally, I don't think we should lower our terms. If the Seahawks want a top notch, premier playmaker, then they are going to have pay for him. I don't care that the Ravens only had to give up a packet of Doritos, a crate of beer and a tin of cat food to obtain Anquan Boldin. I'm sorry, but Boldin is not the same player that Marshall is. That said, my obstinacy must be caveated by the fact that we are all more than painfully aware that BMarsh is but one misdemeanour away from a lengthy suspension, so the more prudent of us might suggest that we should cash in our chips while we still can get some semblance of value for him, and before he can walk away as an unrestricted free agent.

So, anybody out there think BMarsh is headed for the Land of the Rising Skinny Latte?? Surely BMarsh must have more suitors than just Pete Carroll and the Microsoft crew? For God's sake, even Terrell Owens had more interest at the height of his problems!! Or is this all a big smokescreen for the Redskins to pounce?? Or what about the Patriots  - could they throw us a couple of 2nd rounders to bolster their wide receiver corps?? Or what about the Dolphins? Might they be interested?

Whatever way this whole episode goes, hopefully we can pick up an infusion of talent next week. Perhaps, if BMarsh is traded, we might have a more active draft than we are currently set for! Go Broncos.

http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/Ryan-Torain-invited-to-Redskins-minicamp.html

Well, perhaps this is the lull before the (draft) storm, but until the seismic McNabb trade, there wasn't too much happening on the NFL front this holiday period. But there are a few titbits that may be of interest to the MHR crowd, the first of which is the link above, which has Ryan Torain being invited along to the Redskins for a workout. Seems like an overstocked RB fridge there - albeit a little long in the tooth - but given Shanahan's predisposition towards Torain - remember the "as good as TD" comparisons? - it's good to see a guy get a chance, especially when it just didn't seem that luck was on his side when he was with us. Hopefully he can do something at FedEx.

Also, I see that Bobbie Williams has agreed terms to stay with the Bengals. A few posts had expressed some interest in him as an interior OL upgrade for us, but nothing ever materialised.

And while we're on the subject of offensive linemen, the rumours seem to be getting stronger that Seahawks' OG Rob Sims has agreed his 4th round tender offer, which will pave the way to a trade, most likely to the Bears or the Lions.

One news titbit that will undoubtedly have ramifications for the top of the draft is the Rams' release of Marc Bulger, which would tend to suggest that they will target Sam Bradford rather unashamedly. The next three weeks will tell if that is the case.

But the big story of the last few days has undoubtedly been the trade of veteran QB Donovan McNabb to the division rivals Redskins (and the apparent disinterest from the Eagles in making a trade of Albert Haynesworth, as was seemingly offered by the Redskins' front office...) Ignoring the $100m defender, this story has quite a few echoes of last year with our eviction of #6, don't you think? Quite possibly the most under appreciated quarterback - at least by his own front office, fans and city - Donovan McNabb gets the immediate chance to wreak some retribution on his former paymasters - and twice a season at that! At least we weren't quite that stupid, plus we got more than adequate compensation.

From Donovan's perspective, I'm glad to see that the trade rumours that had him going to Oakland were very much just that, pure, unadulterated rumour-mongering by the media. What a waste of a talent that would have been. All of a sudden though, Washington seem to be piecing together a reasonably solid nucleus of veteran skill players, although I still have reservations as to how a dedicated McNabb will mix with the likes of a Larry Johnson and Clinton Portis, and also the urgent need they have to develop an effective OL. Like most of us MHR posters, we will all want Coach Shanahan to do well, and despite getting lambasted for not being particularly active in free agency as has become their signature, I think he already has them on the right road, given the noises coming out of DC in terms of training regimes and the like. All of a sudden, the 'skins have an air of professionalism about them.

One thing the McNabb deal does do, in my opinion, is takes Washington out of the Brandon Marshall sweepstakes. There is no way they are going to trade a #4 overall pick for him. This weekend's business would strongly suggest that they will be addressing the weakness that I identified above - the offensive line - and my money would be on a Bulaga, Williams or Okung. Things seem to be shaping up nicely for the annual crapshoot...

Happy Easter (belatedly) from Northern Ireland. Go Broncos!

Scout.com are reporting that one of the reasons behind the Seahawks' recent release of starting safety Deon Grant was to save a bit of money to help with their pursuit of #15. Here's the extract:

Seattle Seahawks

Monday: Signed TE Chris Baker, signed WR Ruvell Martin, released S Deon Grant, re-signed DE Darryl Tapp, waived LS Matt Overton, waived FB Tyler Roehl.

The release of Grant is somewhat surprising since that leaves FS Jordan Babineaux and Jamar Adams as the only safeties left on Seattle's roster. Grant was signed through 2012 and carried a base salary of $4 million for 2010. A source believes the reason why the Seahawks cleared Grant's $4 million in base salary out is because they plan to sign or trade for WR Brandon Marshall.

Not so sure this isn't media types at their work trying to drum up a story. For the life of me, I can't figure out why the 'hawks need to reduce salary costs if there's no salary cap in place....

All in all, probably a non-story if you ask me, but thought I'd keep you all posted.

Happy St Patrick's Day from Northern Ireland!

Mmmm, not sure about this article being reported on National Football Post - especially in light of Wiegmann's signing with the Chiefs yesterday. That said, it underlines the fact that the pickings left on the street are wearing thin. The Broncos have sought to pick up bigger bodies on both sides of the ball, and whilst, for the most part this has been successful on the D-line, we haven't fared so well on the O-line. Perhaps this is giving our draft strategy away? Anyway the article below makes reference to the fact that Hank Fraley is planning a visit to Missouri. God love him.

If we can't grab anything soon, I'd be tempted to part with our 4th Round pick, and post it to the Seahawks for their OG Rob Sims. Think he'd be a good value pick, based on analyses from so-called experts like Mel Kiper. Any of you guys know more about Sims??

http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/Fraley-may-visit-Chiefs-next.html

http://sports.espn.go.com/boston/nfl/news/story?id=4979830

ESPN - and Adam Schefter - are reporting that the Broncos have signed two defensive linemen - Jarvis Green, formerly of the Patriots, and DT Jamal Williams, previously of the Chargers. I hope the brains trust see more in these re-treads than I do. I remain to be convinced...

Anybody have any more information on the status of Rex Hadnot and Dwan Edwards? Any team picked up their tabs yet? Last I heard, Hadnot was visiting the Cards, but was being offered a reserve/backup role. Surely he'd be looking at a starter role in Denver as a center....?

In terms of AFC West rivals, a couple of reports rumours have Thomas Jones signing with the Chiefs, and LT to visit with the Vikes.

Several sources reporting that New England have agreed contract terms with UFA OG Stephen Neal, which may come as a blow to some in the MHR community. No major surprise really though. Meanwhile the Raiders have retained OT Khalif Barnes and the Bungles are looking at, wait for it, Terrell Owens or Antonio Bryant, to replace the waived Laveranues Coles...sounds like a match made in heaven with those headcases!

Hopefully today will bring some clarity to the BMarsh situation. Lot of talk in the media and on MHR about what the Broncos might realistically expect to recoup from any potential trade. Bottom line is if the Hawks want him, then they are obliged, in the first instance, to meet our trading expectations, namely their #1 pick, which happens to be #6. After that, if the two teams provisionally agree to a deal, further discussions can be entered. It seems that a few commentators are saying that the Boldin deal with the Ravens will have an impact on WR negotiations, but I don't buy that. We are entitled to a #1 pick, and that's just the entry fee into the BMarsh sweepstakes. For a player of his calibre and production, a #1 isn't too much of a stretch to be fair, especially when you wager that against an unproven rookie. Everyone and their dog know we want rid of #15, but it's really a high pressure poker game, with us trying to maximise his value before he (inevitably) screws up somewhere along the line...

Personally, I think the Broncos front office has played this one exceptionally well, provided they stick to their guns and don't waver from a minimum of a #1. If they do, and don't pick up at least a #2, a #3 and a starter, then they will have blown it. A few options I read last night included the Hawks second #1 pick (14th overall) and combining it with a 3rd and/or their young OG Rob Sims. Yes, we have a need at the interior line, but I don't buy this. Make it two separate deals. They want a 4th for him. If we rate him, pay that. If they want BMarsh, they have to part with a number 1. Sorry, but that's the rules of engagement. Yes it would leave us with a huge void to fill, but we would need to pick up a couple of talented WRs through the draft (Thomas?) to soften the blow. Perhaps the rise of the new Three Amigos...??

But heck, the draft is still 7 weeks away. Free agency is all about positioning yourself as well as possible to enable you to have choice in the draft, and not be cornered into a 'need' pick. It has to be all about the best player possible. The versatlity principle which McD has expounded from day one is another key requirement.

Here's to another exciting day of free agency. A few names I'd like to see us ink deals with might include, in no particular order - DE Dwan Edwards and OG/C Rex Hadnot, and OG Rob Sims (see above). The latter has a 4th round tender placed on him. I think we should step up to the plate for a measly 4th....?? Hadnot appears to have had a good visit, but no contract was signed. Get it done Xanders. Edwards would be a nice bonus, and we need to do something to take the pressure off Dumervil on the edge.

The way the draft is shaping up, if we get the 6th pick, I can see us targetting a top-flight QB, a Dan Williams or a Rolando McClain in the first, and filling out the roster with the remainder of the draft. Or perhaps grab one big name in Rd 1, and trade the second #1 for a #2 and a #3 to pick up more depth. All very interesting times, huh?? Enjoy today's entertainment.... Go Broncos!

Here's a couple of rumours swirling around over at National Football Post.com about Anquan Boldin adn Rex Hadnot. According to these sources, the Patriots are close to sealing a deal for Boldin (makes sense with all their 2nd round armoury) and the Broncos appear to be close to extracting that all important autograph from Mr Hadnot. Here are the respective sites....

http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/Source-Patriots-are-the-frontrunners-for-Boldin.html

http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/Source-Hadnot-getting-closer-in-Denver.html 

Should we get involved in the Boldin deal, now that it looks like the market for BMarsh is starting to take off? And is Rex Hadnot - what a great name incidentally - the best solution for out interior line??

Fox Sports are reporting that the Bears and prized DE Julius Peppers have reached agreement, but that the terms of a contract remain to be finalised. Been a busy day at Halas Hall - contracts have already been signed by Chester Taylor and Brandon Malumaleuna in what suggests that they intend to use free agency as their preferred vehicle to restock their roster. Still need some big men up front on both sides of the ball I'd suggest.

But what about the prized scalp of Julius?? I say it's no big deal. Cutler will still throw picks.....discuss!

It's being reported that in addition to Benjamin Watson's UFA status, the Patriots have just released former Jet TE, Chris Baker, leaving two unknowns to hold the ship. I'm just wondering on the back of Tony Scheffler's same round tender status whether the Pats might not be interested in our Tone, given their plethora of 2nd round picks...

Admittedly, such a use of a high draft pick isn't the normal Belichick way, but getting a proven TE with receiving skills would be a boost to the Pats passing game, and offers some insurance if Welker doesn't return to form. The other rumour I hear is that the Pats will use one of their Rd 2 picks to chase the rookie TE Hernandez from Florida.

Forgive me for what might be seen in a court of law as plagiarism, but I just came across this comment from 'Journeyman' on National Football Post.com, and thought it might add an extra dimension to our mock draft considerations...

"I have a crazy theory that just came up on a Packers discussion board, and I was wondering what you thought of it.

Say you're a perennial bottom-end team, like the Detroit Lions, who usually pick in the top five of the draft. After giving Matthew Stafford his contract last year, you're not sure if you can handle another top-two draft pick and the financial commitment (and risk of busting out) that comes with it.

So what do you do? Target a restricted free agent who just received a first-round tender, like Brandon Marshall or another position of great need for you (like anything on defense). Offer them a contract and then try and outbid the player's original team for his services. It should be plausible to do, because you'd be willing to pay anything less then the accepted contract for a No. 2 pick. Sign the player and ship your No. 2 to that team. Congratulations, you've just acquired a proven star player at lesser cost then it would've been to get him in the draft, and the 'financial albatross' of a top-two pick is now hanging around somebody else's throat.

The catch, of course, is the Lions passing up the chance to get whatever player they have ranked highest or second highest on their draft boards. And if they believe that player is better, or could be better than any new player, it's not in their interest to make the trade. But if they don't have any player ranked as high as they do the man who's currently an effective player, why not go for it?"

The credit for this train of thought belongs to the aforementioned 'Journeyman', but it makes you wonder, doesn't it? I could see this working under normal salary cap years, when after repeated years of high draft picks and high salaries could conspire to a point where the ownership simply cannot afford yet another high paid rookie, but in the current downtrodden economic climate combined with the ongoing CBA dispute, I doubt very much that the Lions, Rams or Bucs are going to, in effect, hand us the keys to a potential Ferrari! But you never know....

Evening all! Some interesting news coming out today about the various tenders being offered by the Broncos, but that's being looked at on many more informed posts than mine. Thought I'd have a little fun and try to assemble a makeshift roster of free agents sourced from NFL.com earlier today, although new names seem to be getting added as we go...just a bit of fun really. Be kind with your critiques. The recommended starters are in bold.

Offense:

QB - David Carr UFA; Kyle Boller UFA; Chad Pennington UFA; Jason Campbell RFA; Kyle Orton RFA (ok, so yes I'm biased!!)

RB - Ronnie Brown RFA; Willie Parker UFA; Lendale White RFA; Kevin Faulk UFA; Brian Westbrook UFA; LaDainian Tomlinson UFA; Thomas Jones UFA (to be confirmed!)

FB - Justin Griffith UFA; John Kuhn RFA; Verron Haynes UFA

WR - Brandon Marshall RFA (see Kyle Orton - and might as well get one last game out of him before he departs, huh?); Miles Austin RFA; Torry Holt UFA; Vincent Jackson RFA; Kevin Walter UFA (the new Eddie Mac?); Lance Moore RFA (a faster slot man to replace Stokley?); Malcolm Floyd RFA; Terrell Owens UFA

TE - Owen Daniels RFA (was lighting up the league until his injury); Ben Watson  UFA; Bo Scaife RFA; Tony Scheffler RFA (you noticing a trend here among Broncos players?); Brandon Manumaleuna UFA

OT - Marcus McNeill RFA; Donald Penn RFA; Tyson Clabo RFA; Jammal Brown RFA; Mark Tauscher UFA; Chad Clifton UFA

OG - Stephen Neal UFA; Max Jean-Gilles RFA; Rex Hadnot UFA; Rob Sims RFA (very under-rated); Logan Mankins RFA (very over-rated IMO); Jahri Evans RFA; Kynan Forney UFA; Chris Kuper RFA

C - Chris Spencer RFA; Rudy Niswanger RFA; Kevi Mawae UFA

Defense:

DE - Julius Peppers UFA; Marcus Spears RFA; Dwan Edwards UFA; Ray Edwards RFA; Nick Eason UFA;

DT - Anthony Hargrove RFA; Tank Johnson UFA; William Joseph UFA; Jimmy Kennedy UFA

OLB - Elvis Dumervil RFA (yep, don't need to say anything do I?); Thomas Howard RFA; Aaron Kampman UFA; Shawne Merriman RFA; Thomas Davis RFA

ILB - Gary Brackett UFA; Ahmad Brooks RFA; DeMeco Ryans RFA; Karlos Dansby UFA; Larry Foote UFA; Derrick Johnson RFA (Is this the strongest area of the squad?)

CB - Dunta Robinson UFA; Leigh Bodden UFA; Marlin Jackson RFA; Richard Marshall RFA; Ellis Hobbs RFA; Ken Lucas UFA;

S - Antoine Bethea RFA; Atari Bigby RFA; Kevin Kaesviharn UFA; Hamza Abdullah RFA; Ryan Clark UFA; Jermaine Phillips UFA; Darren Sharper UFA (but he's done!)

K - Neil Rackers UFA; Jay Feely UFA; Billy Cundiff RFA; Stephen Gostkowski RFA; Shayne Graham UFA

P - Hunter Smith UFA; Sam Koch RFA

PR - Josh Reed UFA

KR - Darren Sproles RFA

So. There you go. I must say, I'm not too disappointed with this roster. Some expansion teams weren't this strong! Have a bit of a laugh at this, but when you get into it, there are a few positions which stand out as being just a little threadbare - DT is particularly sparse. Shows you that teams are hanging on to those gems in the middle of the trenches, which is sadly where we need them the most. I wonder if this revelation will lead us to draft a DT in April....??? And given the dearth of talent there, I think my team's going to have to play the 3-4 whether we like it or not!!!

Please free to laugh out loud at my selections, but don't expect a prompt answer until tomorrow - it's gone 11.30pm here in Northern Ireland. I'm off to bed. Enjoy the read....Go Broncs.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4922396

I'm sure there are more than a few other MHR readers that are more qualified to assess the skills set of the Titans' G Eugene Amano, but having seen his name bandied around on many recent posts as a potential FA pickup for the Broncos, this report from ESPN is a bit of a kick in the teeth.

That said, I can't see too many teams willing to let their free agents go too easily with the uncertainty surrounding the CBA. Better the devil you know, and all that...

I guess this will bring us back to the raucous clamouring for Logan Mankins again... Personally, with what he would cost, I'd prefer to see us target an OL in the draft instead. Someone like Pouncey (who could double up as G or C), or the oft-mentioned Iupati. Anyone out there have any other interior linemen options, be that free agents or possible draftees?

So #44 is now in the Hall of Fame. Like many other Bronco fans, can I offer him my congratulations on a most deserved election. As a Brit, my experience of out first franchise back has been restricted to the Youtube era and articles well presented by fellow MHRers, but can I add that it was not before time - although to be honest, I thought his chances had gone.

But great news on the eve of the Superbowl, and whilst I was disappointed not to see Shannon elected, my view is that had he got in this year, Floyd Little would have been on ths outside looking in. Again. It strikes me that there's no way that, after getting two Broncos in over the years, the electorate weren't about to double our representatives in one year. Politics with a small 'p' appears to be why Shannon didn't get in.

I don't buy the theories that voters viewed Sharpe as a receiver. He was, and always is, a TE. Given his stats, his rings with two different franchises, and his national profile will see him elected in the next two years I would imagine.

Are we on the cusp of a Broncos' avalanche of players into Canton? Players like Gradishar, Mecklenburg, Louis Wright, Dennis Smith, Steve Atwater, Jason Elam, and coaches like Dan Reeves (is he already in?) may all have more of a fighting chance than they had in previous years.

Let's hope we get a few more enshrinees over the next few years, and that the current team offers up a few more in the years to come.

Enjoy the Superbowl everyone. 

Ok, ok, so it may not be viewed as good news for the majority of the users on this site - but for us overseas fans, it's the best news we've had since the Broncos played the Rams at old Wembley Stadium in the late 1980's!! (1987 from memory). Yeah - the Broncos are coming to Britain for a meaningful game!!! God bless Pat Bowlen...

Yep, as John Bena's cover story details, the Broncos are going to be playing the 49ers at the new Wembley Stadium on October 31!!  I've already lodged my interest in getting a couple of tickets - last season there were something like 500,000 applications for the 90,000 tickets for New England - Tampa Bay.

And since the Broncos are designated as the away team, you homefield guys won't lose one of the sacrosanct eight home games - the 49ers give up one of theirs....does this make it a win-win situation?

Personally, it gets even better - as a late celebration for my 40th in June, my wife has already offered to treat me to the weekend in London for the game if we manage to wangle a few tix. Can't ask for anymore, can I?

So what does everybody think about this? Good, bad or indifferent? I'd be interested to see how the opinion shapes up.

Well, wild card weekend is behind us, and as disappointing as it was to all of us, the Broncos weren't involved. Indeed, the only good news Broncos-wise was Doom's 3rd place in the NFL Defensive POY. Next year Elvis, next year....!

But, as I watched last weekend's games, it struck me how eminently beatable both AFC home teams were. The Jets were comfortable winners against a lacklustre Bengals team, who have lurched from one trauma to another this season (so what's new there huh?). This team deserves a break, and I for one was hoping that they would get some form of redemption by way of a victory against the pesky Jets who only got into the playoffs because the Colts played their second- and third-stringers against them. Bah humbug and all that.

On the other hand, the Welker-less Patriots looked lethargic, uninspired, outcoached and positively un-Patriots-like. The cotton-wrapped Brady plays like a rookie off the bench, they generate no running game at all, and do very little defensively to thwart a, let's admit it, one-dimensional offense. If Orton had played as badly in any game for us this year, he'd have been run out of town. I guess it helps to be a so-called superstar! But, regardless of that, from the get-go, the Ravens simply flattened the Pats, and looked impressive in doing so, despite my own misgivings about their corners. Ray Rice is a menace, and that D can still bring it when it needs to. This team is a dangerous customer methinks!

But anyway, to my reason for posting tonight - do you think the Broncos would have had the same success against either the Pats or the Bengals, and if so, where do you think we could have gone? Personally, I think we could have easily handled both teams, but that we would have struggled to make the grade in this week's Divisional matchups, regardless of who we played.

Hopefully, next year, we'll have no need for a 'what if....?' column!

Sadly we're now toast and officially an also ran (or should that be ran over after Jamaal Charles' spectacular efforts today?), and as we've grown accustomed to of late, that's it for another year.

So how has this season gone for our beloved Broncos?

Well, unfortunately we were the media's darling for far too much of the year - both offseason and during the regular season - and I think we petition the NFL to dispense with bye weeks. Everything was rosy - and even McD and BMarsh were talking cordially up to that point (see later!). Six wins - count 'em - and no defeats against several playoff-destined teams. The defense looked good, the offense slightly above average and the special teams our usual mediocre standards. (By the way, can anyone tell me when we last blocked a FG or a punt??)

Then we travelled to the Ravens and got handed our tail, and from then on it was pretty downhill. The sad fact of it is though, we were well in control of our destiny but got handed our papers by the Redskins and then embarrassingly, the Raiders and the Chiefs at home. There's no excuse for that. And yet we still gave two premier sides in the Colts and the Eagles a lot to think about in those matchups.

So what do we need to do to correct our failings this time out? I see several glaring problems which, once exposed, left us open to abuse from other savvy teams. I've offered a glimpse of the best and worst of the Broncos game this year. See if you agree with my comments. 

For starters, we struggled to consistently shut down running attacks. Look at the recent games against the Raiders and today's dismal effort against the Chiefs. The interior of our D-line was overpowered in simple terms and our LBs overpursued in the way that teams used to against TD! Every time Jamaal Charles made a cut this afternoon, he was pretty much in open field.

Secondly, we need to get much, much more production out of a #1 running back. I don't particularly blame KnoSho, and at times it did seem as though our O-line wasn't sure if they were still a zone blocking team or a power running team, and believe me, we are not yet big enough up front to claim to be the latter. On an individual basis, I think the loss of Ryan Harris - which coincided with the Ravens' loss - was as big a blow to the team's prospects as any others you may care to mention. Chris Kuper played steady enough this year, but despite Pro Bowl accolades for Ryan Clady, I honestly felt that the line regressed some what this term, and given the failure to commit to a certain blocking scheme, this might not have been unexpected. Clady set himself a tough act to follow from his rookie year, and at times, looked lethargic this season. Hopefully, he can up his game for next year. Ben Hamilton and Casey Wiegmann are likely gone, and this might also spell the end of the line for Rick Dennison as line coach - and give McD another opportunity to put a nail in the leftovers from the Shanahan legacy.

At QB, and to put it bluntly, I felt that Kyle Orton took a lot of sh*t in my opinion. At the end of the day, if we judged him on his final stats for this season, we'd have taken them in a heartbeat, and to me that justifies that he did a good job IMHO. But like all QBs, he needs a good supporting cast around him. Sometimes he had them, sometimes he didn't, and other times, his head coach decided that he was going to pull the rug from under him just to see how he would handle some adversity. For the most part, Kyle Orton was not the problem - described as the bargain QB of the year. Then again, he wasn't the solution either. The next few months - both the CBA and negotiating a new contract - will tell how McD viewed the situation.

In respect of the receivers, some great stats were put up by BMarsh, but as we all know, this week's preparations have been conducted in the full glare of the national media. Eddie never seemed to get going, and too often we had critical drops at critical times. Harsh but true you might say. I genuinely hope that we haven't seen the back of BMarsh and that this is all posturing - but I can't help but feel that we've seen the back of #15. If that is the case, he'll be hard to replace - despite Gaffney's cameo today. On his day, Marshall cannot be covered by any DB in the league. All we can hope for is a high draft bounty if we can't tie him down pre-CBA and if he is to go. Stokley still has great hands, but as friends have said to me, if he'd still got his speed, we would have beaten the Raiders, instead of settling for a paltry FG. On the upside Brandon Lloyd looked good, but then you and I would probably have looked good against Brandon Carr today!!

Tony Scheff looks to have outstayed his welcome too. In part, I was glad to see another season out of him, since his close affinity to Cutler seemed to have him on the trading block for most of the preseason. This time, I can't see him staying around after this week's insubordination allegations. Some commentators have him going to Miami - a 3rd round pick perhaps? Daniel Graham may be regarded as a top blocker, but I just don't see the production out of him to justify the salary. I love him for his commitment, but he's getting old and slowing down etc etc...Sorry DG!

On the other side of the ball, the much-maligned D-line performed admirably for the most part, holding up plays to let the LBs make the plays, using an array of stunts and blitzes, but they began to wear down as the season went on. Personally, I was disappointed not to see more out of Chris Baker, who I'd followed closely.

In the LB corps, Dumervil's sack record came as a highlight and he was well worth it for the havoc he caused for most of the season. However - and I don't mean to be too gloomy about it all - but as in today's performance - there were too many times when he went off the radar. But, given he has achieved a Pro Bowl berth in a brand new position, my hat is most definitely off to the Doom. McD - give the man a new contract! DJ played his heart out as usual, and again, kudos to his Pro Bowl recognition. Long overdue may I say. Woodyard, Davis (despite a solid early/midseason) and others just didn't get it done - particularly against the run - frequently enough.

And then to the strength of the team this year - the DBs. For so long, the Achilles heel of the team came together, with some great performances from Andre Goodman and especially Mr Dawkins himself. The Champ was steady as ever, and Renaldo Hill was a pleasant, steadying impact in the middle of the field.

As kicker, Matt Prater has doen very well in his second season, and may well have been in Pro Bowl contention, although I'm still not sure about his nerve in the real pressure cooker moments we all used to call Elam moments! But he's still young, with a rocket for a leg, and the sky's the limit.

Sadly, the same cannot be said about the punting game. Simply too erratic.

The return game was inconsistent but gave us a few highlights, so perhaps we're turning the corner there too.

In general, the 2009 rookie class underperformed with the exception of Moreno and possibly McBath, and we will need to see more out of them next year. I'm rooting for Alphonso Smith to come through for us with the guidance he has around him in the shape of the greybeard DB corps. The problem with potential is that sometimes it isn't realised. Ask the Raiders!!

And so we come to the Head Coach, the head honcho, the main man, Coach McDaniels....

Funny game this NFL. Demonised by the media early on and under the spotlight from the get go with the high profile Cutler trade, Pat Bowlen must have wondered what he'd done in turning his beloved team over to a pup. But, to his and his team's credit, the 6-0 start soon wiped away any doubts. Winning, as we all know, eases everything. The offense did enough - and surely we must expect it's efficiency to improve with another preseason under its belt - while the defense adjusted better than any other team in the third and fourth quarters to put the clamps on our opponents - see the Cowboys, the Colts and Eagles games for testament to that. Accolades cascaded in from the media world - coach of the year citations and all of the jumping on the bandwagon that goes on amongst the so called 'experts'! And then the sky fell down, and with it - ultimately - our cast iron playoff berth! At the same time, the column inches dedicated to the Broncos started to increase not in respect of our footballing nous, but to our in-fighting. In short, this has to stop, or at least be handled in-house. Prior to this week's events, I would reckon that most of us had chalked up an easy win against a weak opponent. All that McDaniels did in making a point of highlighting the Marshall and Scheffler controversies was to distract his team from the job at hand. We were in effect in a playoff. If that was how we were to perform, perhaps it's no bad thing to have lost today...

But, to be fair, I think McDaniels has certainly put us on the right track. I read many articles on this site ranging from 2-14 to those on the Kool Aid who had us 15-1 and 16-0, all the way to Miami. I haven't agreed with how he has handled certain aspects of what a head coach faces, but let's be honest, given the schedule we had and where we have come from with the recent defenses we've put out there, 8-8 is at least creditable. In respect of the upcoming draft - I can't believe I've gone from playoff candidates to anticipating the draft on the same night - I still regret the the cost of the trade to get Alphonso Smith and Richard Quinn, who really did little to merit the value of their selections, and sadly, the Bears have probably only thrown us a high teen pick, when for much of the year, we were looking at a top 10 pick.

But so goes the life of a Broncos' fan, 'eh? There is no roller coaster on earth that can compete with our team! I hope I haven't been too damning in my comments, but I imagine that most will agree with this very brief overview. End of term grade? C+, with room for improvement. Needs to focus on the job at hand, and less daydreaming with those at the bottom of the class.

A belated Happy New Year to all Bronco fans from a disappointed Northern Ireland Bronco. There's always next year.....! Jeez, it just seems so far away now!!! Good night!

Ok, so we're still a few days away from a serious test against the pass-happy world champ Steelers, and the staff and players are no doubt beavering away at producing a winning gameplan and perfecting the execution that this will require, but let's get to part of the game where we, the fans, can really play our part.

For the Broncs to 1) get into the playoffs and 2) go deep into the playoffs, we need Invesco Field to become a fortress, in the way Mile High always used to intimidate its victims. Damn, it always felt like we started off every game up by at least a score psychologically.

How things have changed I'm sad to say.

Homefield advantage is not something that seems to have transferred across the parking lot since the old stadium was razed. It's almost as if other teams enjoy coming to our place and handing us our butts. If we want to see our team go places this year, then we need to help where we can - and that starts with making the opposing team feel unwelcome. Oakland has its Black Hole, Cleveland its Dawg Pound, but certainly they shouldn't be any match for our great fans.

But yet, the last time our next opponents - the Steelers - were in town for Jake's AFC Championship game, it seemed like half the stadium was waving those damned yellow rags. Turned my stomach, and it should do the same to any self-respecting Bronco fan. And even this season, when the Cowgirls were in the house, you'd have thought the game was being played in Texas, given the cheers when the Pokes went 10-0 up.

My point is that we need to rally together, and really make Invesco our impenetrable sanctuary, a place synonymous with pain and defeat for visiting teams, not somewhere were we roll out the red carpet at every opportunity to meet and greet our kindly guests. Enough of that sh*t already - let's see the fans reclaim our stadium and help our team wherever we can. Opponents third downs? Damn, I remember Shanahan having to plead with the crowd to calm down for fear of getting penalised!! That hasn't happened in a long time.

Now, it's all very well me making these rousing battle cries, but I msut admit that there's a serious flaw in my argument. Well two actually. The first is I'll not be there, so there's your first opportunity to get back at me! I'll be there in spirit, but not body I'm afraid. Since I'm based in the UK, I ain't going to be there unfortunately, so I guess I'm a bit like a foreign cheerleader in that respect, exhorting all you locals to get there and sacrifice your hard earned cash and your voice to scream for the Orange. One of the reasons I began following the Broncos in 1984 was the dedication and commitment I saw from their fans - turning out in blizzards (and throwing the odd snowball at opposing kickers - I still love that!!), and I hope we're not becoming a legion of what commentators over this side of the Atlantic tend to call the "prawn sandwich brigade" - the corporate fan who has no affiliation to the team and whose only purpose in life, as I see it, is to price out real fans from getting tickets. Please don't let us go down that path (Memo to Mr Bowlen...?)

The second flaw is more pragmatic - and also possibly worthy of Bowlen's attention - the current economic recession doesn't make attendance a given, but come on people, let's not be selling off your seats to these in-bred visiting fans....I appreciate it costs a lot of money - but if you can go, go. If you can't, sell your ticket to another Bronco fan, and he can scream on your behalf. Hell, set up a Ticketmaster outlet on MHR....!

Anyway, I hope I haven't offended anyone, that's not my intention at all. It's just I really think we, sorry, you fortunate local ticketholders - can make a difference in what is already becoming a season to remember. Let's not make it a season to remember for another team. It's Orange or bust.

While I'll not be there, rest assured I'll be sitting up and watching the game live on Monday night - rather, Tuesday morning - kickoff here in Northern Ireland will be after 1am - and I really hope I see a blanket of orange to drown out that hateful black and yellow! Paint the place orange. Please!!! Go Broncs.

We did it - and what a great team effort on both sides of the ball. Orton played great again. Moreno - bar the fumble - looking better each week. BMarsh and Eddie back in the groove. And then there's that D. Talk about a mirror image of the Dallas game? Good coaching too.

Any recommendations for MVP? Did Orton do it for you?? I'm giving it to him based on the s**t he's had to endure from day one. Imagine - Kyle Orton knocking off Tom Brady?? Boy, our D is stepping up to the mark.

From here in Northern Ireland - Go Broncs! Yee ha!!!

Well? Seemingly, nobody but readers of this site thought we could do it, but there we are, still undefeated after 4 weeks. Just superb, and everyone from the owner to the new staff to all three sides of the game deserve the credit. This post is just a few of my thoughts on yesterday's game...

First off, the good.

Well, 4-0 is a pretty fine way to start any season, let alone one in which we were meant to languish in the NFL cellar amidst backstabbing, infighting and mutinous behaviour. Ok, so it hasn't exactly been the 1998 version of the offense, but I'm liking what I'm seeing so far - and best of all, my heart rate isn't as high as it was on many occasions last year with #6 at the helm. The thing I like most is that for the first time in many a years, we really are playing like a team and showing a balance that we've missed for a long while. I think we all should tip our hats to Coach McD (and Coach Nolan!) for this. Credit where credit's due and all that....

The balnce in the gameplan was good too, and though we're not exactly the Cards or the Colts just yet, we have certainly kept every opponent so far off balance, and that can't be bad. Maybe it's that teams haven't anything to go on when they're piecing their gameplans together, but next week's match up against the mentor will tell us all where we really are.

And let's be honest, despite the excuses coming out of the media now that Dallas were hurting, we still bossed a game against a team that, on paper at least, should still have had enough to beat us. Personally, I think Coach McD is getting great mileage out of the old "Them and Us!" pep talks...

Other good: 1) BMarsh celebrating with Coach McD - this can only be a good thing for us, surely? 2) BDawk and Champ in the secondary have helped revitalise the D. The front seven seem to be playing with more reckless abandon, knowing the players behind them are more than capable (and unlike last season...). 3) DJ and Doom are playing great, but let's give some credit to Ronnie Fields and the D-line and another unsung hero, the tackling machine that is Andra Davis. Just a bit of an upgrade on Nate Webster methinks! Our pass defense - so suspect over the last few years is looking tight. And let's not ignore the defensive effort after being dominated in the first 15 minutes. This held the key to the win. How many turnovers so far? 10? Just great. 5) Brett Kern's punting? Got us out of a few holes yesterday. 6) And then San Diego lost!! Again!

On the bad side, what exactly do our boys have to do to get some credit, huh? We beat the Bengals in Cincy, and dominate a game apart from one drive, and it's us who are lucky? Then we have these 'expert' rankings with Cincy ahead of us? No doubt, some will still have Tennessee ahead of us after Sunday's games too. Blah, who cares. Rankings schmankings! Perhaps I'm guilty - like many it seems - of putting too much emphasis on a so-called experts ranking list when over the years we've grown accustomed to featuring regularly in the upper echelons...

The other thing that got under my skin - and reminded me of the downside of soccer over here in the UK - is the so-called 'prawn sandwich' brigade! In common speak, these are the corporate types who show no affiliation, loyalty or passion to the Broncos. Not only do they not scream their lungs out in support of our heroes, but they are just as likely to pass off their prime location seats to the supporters of our opponents that day. It happened in the 2005 Conference Game against the Steelers, and by the sounds of things yesterday, it happened again at Invesco Field. Now, I can't comment on this really, and in a sense, I'm only playing Devil's advocate cos I've never been to I.F., but surely this never happened - either in terms of regularity or level - at old Mile High? Perhaps that's another argument, but from some of the recent posts on this site, I saw several calling for people to stomp and make more noise like the cacophany that regularly had umpires pleading with Shanahan to calm the crowd down...anyone any comment on that?? I was sickened by the level of applause that greeted the Cowgirls' early scores yesterday. What did you guys think?

Bad: 1) The O took a while to get into sync yesterday. We need it to get going from the start. 2) Need to get BMarsh and Eddie more into the game. 3) Buckhalter's injury looked painful. Let's pray it's a sprain and nothing worse. Poor guy doesn't deserve it, and he's really been a spark this year.

And finally to the media. I don't know about you, but no matter how our team goes over the next month or so, I can only see the media writing stories characterised by "told you so!" soliloquies, but in all honesty, who gives a toss. We've already exceeded most of their phoney forecasts for us, so to hell with them, and let's just keep playing the solid football we're playing. The more they criticise, the more likely it is that this team will get closer and closer together as a unit.

The Critics: 1) Nobody 2) Here 3) Cares!

Let me know what you think guys! In Orange Heaven!! Go Broncs!

Well, that's a wrap! Unbeaten and we're heading into October now! Nice to listen to the silence of the critics and so-called experts!! Having said that, now the big guns are coming our way, and they've also got a little more information on us to try to gameplan with, but 3-0 is 3-0 no matter. Bring 'em on!

Only downside was that Knowshon didn't crack the ton. Still, he did score his first (of many..) TD against the Raiders, so that was a bonus!

Keep the faith!

Well, it seems like we've entered a relative period of calm in Bronco Nation what with free agency (for the most part) and the Draft over, but I'm hoping that someone can answer a query for me in relation to the one of our pillars of strength - the O-line. Can anyone confirm if Casey Wiegmann has signed a contract extension yet?

And while we're on, has there been any update on the alleged interest we were showing in ex-Bungle, Levi Jones, who I seem to recall had piqued Shanahan's interest a few years ago at draft time?

Thanks in anticipation.

I've been looking forward to tonight for months now, but what an anti-climax!! I'm starting to think of every conspiracy theory under the sun!

The 09 draft is fast going south, and we still haven't picked up a proper DL or really helped the pass rush..

And it was all looking so promising three hours ago. Moreno at 12 was an okay pick, but if anything, I had us taking him at 18. Orakpo or Jenkins (who sickeningly went straight after) would have been my picks. Then at 18, the trendy pick of Robert Ayers might tick the DL need box, but c'mon, I want my first rounders to be capable of getting after the QB. Ayers doesn't have that speed. Solid, but not flashy seems to be his M.O.

And then things really started to go pear-shaped. Alphonso Smith is getting a lot of kudos on NFL Network, but  at 5'9, he's going to have to wear stilettoes. (Sean Smith, anyone??) Did we really need to take a DB so soon - and then came the worst part of the pick - we've given up a #1 for it. Jeez, maybe Bowlen is turning into Al Davis, and McD is a double agent for the Patriots, making sure that the Broncos won't be competitive for a decade. This kid now has a target on his back. And Maualuga goes with the next pick.

And then we get our 4th pick of the first two rounds, and fourth of the first 48 picks. Who do we pick? Darcel McBath??

???

His mother hasn't heard of him! Dear God! Look at the options we had open to us before Darcel's name was handed in - Jarron Gilbert (yes, please), Michael Johnson, Paul Kruger, William Moore, and my personal fave - USC's Fili Moala DT!

So, to recap on what appears to be a very depressing first day - why have we picked up no obvious defensive big hitters. The only thing that's keeping me sane is how poor the Raiders choices have been (but they have only had two picks so far)....

Can't believe this is going so poorly. Day two better be good - Sammie Lee Hill, Vaughn Martin, Sherrod Martin, Rashad Johnson, Jasper Brinkley, Frantz Joseph, David Buehler would all be welcome additions. But boy, have we missed a trick! Anybody out there feeling as depressed as me?? Plus it's just hit 2am here in Northern Ireland. Think I've put more commitment into this draft than McD and Xanders have....Think I'm in shock.