Perhaps the most pivotal matchup in Sunday's game against the Jets was how our backup center Casey Wiegmann, in his 13th season, would match up against someone who firstfan described as, "one of the best Nose Tackles in the entire NFL."  How would a 6'2 and 285 lbs Wiegmann match up against a 6’4” and 349 lbs Kris Jenkins?  The outcome of the game depended on it.

The answer? (drum roll please) 

As Broncoman reported in his "No Respect (and I like it that way)" post,

"Stat line for Jenkins: 0 tackles 3 assists". 

Or as Clark Judge from CBS Sports explained,

"...veteran center Casey Wiegmann, who in Sunday's 34-17 rout of the New York Jets did what nobody believed he -- or almost anyone, for that matter -- could, which was to handle Kris Jenkins...Wiegmann was nothing short of remarkable."  (thank you spock for the link to that article). 

WOW!!!  And it's not like the Broncos necessarily went out of their way to avoid Jenkins.  Now I'll admit that there were times in the game where, as John B from Gang Green Nation described,  "Jenkins and Sione Pouha threw Wiegmann around like a rag doll."  In the end Jenkins reportedly complemented Wiegmann on his heart and tenacity.  That sounds like admitting defeat to me. ;-)

Which got me thinking (scary I know)...who has been more essential to the Broncos success this year?  Okay, I'll give you Cutler and maybe a few other offensive players.  But would the Broncos really have had any chance this year if it wasn't for Wiegmann and the amazing job that he has done coming into a new system and backing up Tom Nalen, one of the best all-time centers in the game?  Simply put...I don't think so!

Now the youngin's on the O-line have gotten all the attention this year, and they certainly deserve it. However, it's time for Broncos fans everywhere to give a HUGE pat on the back to Casey Wiegmann, not just for this game but for his contribution all season. 

As Shanahan himself said about signing Wiegmann, "It was the smartest thing we've ever done."

Hello fellow MHRers and Happy Thanksgiving.

Benjamin Disraeli, a nineteenth century British politician and novelist, once proclaimed, "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics." (although the quote is frequently attributed to Samuel Clemens).  From Wikipedia, "The statement refers to the persuasive power of numbers, the use of statistics to bolster weak arguments, and the tendency of people to disparage statistics that do not support their positions."

With that in mind, I wanted to respond to an article written by Dave Krieger from Rocky Mountain News in which he suggests that the primary responsibility for the Broncos’ losses this year should be placed at the feet of Jay Cutler. Krieger writes,

"As Cutler goes, so goes his team. If you think turnovers are a good indicator of the Broncos' chances, you should check where they're coming from. Of the Broncos' 22 giveaways so far this year, 14 are Cutler's.

Or save time and just check his passer ratings:

In the Broncos' six wins: 137.5, 109.6, 93.3, 96.1, 107.9 and 106.4.

In the Broncos' five losses: 71.9, 77.8, 64.3, 60.7 and Sunday's 49.8, Cutler's worst game of the season."

Krieger concludes the article by stating,

"Whether Cutler cares to address the issue or not, the single biggest improvement the Broncos could make right now would be more professionalism, more maturity and more consistency from their quarterback."

The implication of the article is clear. When the Broncos lose it is the result of Cutler’s poor play and ‘immature’ decision making. But do the numbers really demonstrate what Krieger says they do?

According to NFL.com, a quarterback‘s rating (or ‘passer rating’) is calculated from a combination of: 1. Percentage of completions; 2. Average yards gained per attempt; 3. Percentage of touchdown passes; 4. Percentage of interceptions. However the site also explains,

"It is important to remember that the (quarterback rating) is used to rate passers, not quarterbacks. Statistics do not reflect leadership, play-calling, and other intangible factors that go into making a successful professional quarterback."

So what are some of those "intangible factors" that may absolve Cutler from bearing the primary burden for the Broncos losses this season?

The fact that Cutler’s QB rating is significantly lower in the losses than the wins is indisputable; however, whether it is from Jay’s poor play and immaturity is not as obvious. There are several factors that Dave seems to conveniently ignore that are contributing to Jay‘s lower QB rating that are outside of Jay‘s control. Many of which have been discussed at length here at MHR.

For example, Krieger is failing to take into account that having an inconsistent running attack and being forced to play from behind because of poor defensive play, among other things, is inevitably going to force any QB into situations where he is required to be reckless with the football. If he was not consistently in 3rd and long situation due to poor play calling or inadequate running on 1st and 2nd downs (or making up for dropped passes or blown routes) then he wouldn’t have to try to make those 10-15 yard passes in obvious passing situations that are prone to turnovers. For example, of Cutler’s 12 interceptions thrown this year, 9 of them came in games that the Broncos lost. Of those 9, 7 came on 3rd down. Of those 7 interceptions on 3rd down, the average yards to go was 10.14.

To make matters worse, the Broncos lead the league in dropped passes (as of the Atlanta game).

The rushing offense has also been significantly less effective in the games that the Broncos lost. They averaged 3.88 yards per carry in the losses versus 4.6 yards per carry in the games they won. Part of the problem is that they’ve had four injured RBs (five if you count Alrige) and are starting a FB at RB.

In addition, the play calling has been extremely unbalanced. In the five games that the Broncos have lost this season they have averaged 39 pass attempts per game compared to 22.2 rushing attempts per game. The emphasis on the passing game has allowed opposing defenses to focus almost exclusively on shutting down Cutler’s passes. This is largely the result of having to play from behind.

And what causes a team to play from behind? How about having the 28th ranked defense in both yards and points allowed per game? As you would suspect, the defense has been much worse in the losses. The Broncos have allowed an average of 31 points in the losses versus 24.5 in the wins.

They have averaged a turnover per game in the wins and averaged only .6 turnovers per game in the losses. In fact, the defense has been so poor at generating turnovers that seven NFL players single-handedly have the same number of interceptions as the entire Broncos defense (4). Worse yet, four players have more interceptions than the entire Broncos defense. This has led to a turnover ratio for the Broncos of -12.

Part of the poor play on defense has been the result of injuries; however, is it Cutler’s fault that six of our defensive back seven are backups? Or that the defensive line can not consistently pressure the opposing QB? Early fumbles by RB’s and WR’s have also caused the Broncos to play from behind early, particularly in the Kansas City and New England games.

Nevertheless, Krieger tries to use Cutler’s poor QB rating in the games the Broncos have lost to try to demonstrate that Cutler deserves the majority of the blame for those losses. This is the problem with using QB rating to demonstrate the quality of a quarterback’s play. He seems to have a point until we take into account that many of the factors that contributed to Jay’s low rating were well beyond his control. Certainly he deserves part of the blame for those losses...but not to the degree that Krieger is suggesting.

Ultimately, the assumption that a poor QB rating or interceptions are entirely the result of "immature" or poor play at QB is clearly faulty. However, I think that Krieger knows that. As he said in the article,

"Asked if he had an explanation for the ups and downs of the offense he runs, the Broncos' third-year quarterback replied:

"I do not. It's your guys' job to write it up."

Fair enough. So here it is: The heart of the Broncos' inconsistency is their quarterback. He personifies their split personality...

...After losses, he has nothing to say and considers accounting for the result an imposition. Every question is ridiculous. He mumbles a few quick answers and makes a rapid exit"

It occurs to me that Jay probably hurt Dave’s feelings by not giving him the time or detailed response that he thought one of his questions deserved and this is his way of getting back at him.

I should have realized that Krieger may not have been thinking clearly when he stated,

"Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Philip Rivers, to name three, make an obvious effort to be professional and responsive after losses, as if they see it as a test of their maturity."

Philip Rivers is his example of a mature NFL quarterback? Really?

Do you mean this Philip Rivers?

Not very mature Dave. I’d say Jay is not the only one that has some "growing up" to do.

This is a blatant plug for a SB blog that I have nothing to do with (except as a participant). I know it's hard to think about other sports in the midst of Football season; however, for the Nuggets fans out there, there is a great SB Blog called Pickaxe and Roll. The site manager Jeremy does an exceptional job with game summaries and keeping his readers well informed. The game threads are fun (although participation is still pretty limited).

If you do not currently follow the Nugs I'd say they're worth taking a Tuesday or Wednesday night to watch to see if you might enjoy it. The games are a lot of fun and with hometown favorite Chauncey Billups added to the lineup, via a trade for Allen Iverson, they are actually playing some somewhat tolerable defense (Broncos take note). They play the Cavs on Thursday on TNT which should definitely be a great game.

Anyway, as much as I've enjoyed my interactions at MHR and respect the community here, I thought that at least a couple of you might be Nuggets fans who hadn't thought about checking out Pickaxe and Roll .

We have all noticed two different Broncos offenses this year. We’ve raved about the high-potency, pass-happy, high scoring offense of the first few weeks before becoming accustomed to a Broncos offense that has difficulties moving the ball, commits frequent turnovers, can’t run the ball, can’t pass the ball, and is all around pretty dismal.

It has been said many times that the fate of a team is directly related to the play of the QB, and that seems particularly true with the Broncos. Just as we’ve seen two different Bronco offenses, we’ve seen two different Jay Cutlers. There seems to be Jekyll Jay and a Hyde Jay (remember Good Jake, Bad Jake?). Many of us commented on a pronounced change in his demeanor from the first couple of games starting as early as the New Orleans game.

So what’s going on? Why has Cutler gone from a passing juggernaut to an interception machine? Why is he suddenly throwing so many INTs? If Jay was struggling with his blood sugar would the Broncos organization let us know? If his finger is still hurt, would they really play Hackney? Has he lost his confidence? Is it the injuries? Is it the playcalling?  What’s the deal?

I still support Jay 100%; however, it seems clear that he and the offense are in a slump! So most importantly, as the offensive leader how can Jay get it turned around?

What do you think MHR?

NPR did an interesting piece today on a new offensive system.  This is a summary of the report:

Piedmont High School, a small school in Northern California, has garnered national attention recently for developing what some are referring to as a revolutionary offense called the A-11.   However, the offense is currently mired in controversy by those who claim it is a threat to traditional football.  In fact, North Carolina and a handful of other states have already banned the A-11 offense and the organization that establishes the rules for high school football nationally is currently reviewing it. 

The name A-11 is from the fact that all eleven players in a A-11 offense are eligible.  The creators of the offense discovered a loophole in the rulebook which allowed for this to be possible.  Ben Adler, author of the NPR article, explains, "Instead of everyone bunching up around the ball on the line of scrimmage, Piedmont's players spread out across the entire width of the field, in pods of three.  Several yards behind the middle pod, which includes a center and the ball, two quarterbacks wait for the snap — or, sometimes, a quarterback and a running back."  The goal of the offense is to have the opposing defense as confused as possible.

Here is a link to the NPR article:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=95035232

And a YouTube video demonstrating the A-11 (sorry for the poor quality):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJOm-IJcbg0

After taking some time to ponder the Broncos 41-14 shellacking of the Raiders on Monday night, I’ve tried to assess exactly what we can fairly takeaway from the Broncos performance. I have watched the game a second time and have determined that very few definitive conclusions can be drawn.

Did we see the reemergence of the Broncos as one of the elite teams in the NFL? Or…did we see a Raiders team that is simply not ready to compete at an NFL level? There are clearly indications of both.

The Broncos offense looked unstoppable. As the three Mikes repeatedly pointed out, Denver could pretty much do whatever they wanted to against the Raiders defense. The Broncos offense looked good; however, the Raiders defense also just looked plain bad. They were not able to get any pressure on Cutler. The scheme was incredibly simplistic. The penalties were frequent and senseless. They had several blown coverages. In short, they beat themselves as much as Cutler and the Broncos beat them. Nevertheless, I think there is little doubt at this point that the Broncos offense is the real deal; however, it will not be that easy all season.

The Broncos defense was questionable.  The Raiders offense was often it’s own worst enemy. I think we really have learned little about the Broncos’ defense. They did not look particularly stout against the run. The Raiders frequently ran for over five yards on first and second down; on the other hand, the Broncos were undeniably stingier on third and fourth down and had a couple great stops. Either way, the run defense will clearly need to improve against a potent San Diego rushing attack on Sunday.

The Broncos pass defense was also suspect. Several times the Raiders had a wide open receiver get behind Denver’s coverage and the only thing that prevented an easy touchdown was a dropped pass or a slightly errant throw by Jamarcus Russell. The Broncos were able to get some pressure on Russell. They had two sacks and Russell was hurried most of the game. Once again, however, it is unclear if this is a sign of a Denver strength or an Oakland weakness. They made numerous unforced errors that they were simply unable to overcome.

In short, the Raiders are a mess. The coach hates the owner. The owner hates the coach. The coach hates the defensive coordinator. The defensive coordinator…well, you get the point. The team is very young at key positions and may have brought in a host of character concerns. Al Davis seems unwilling to allow Kiffin the discretion necessary to fully implement his vision and may not be willing to give him the time necessary either. Despite all of the preseason spending and optimism, the Raiders may very well still be the worst team in the NFL…perhaps by a significant margin.

This weekends match up against the Chargers will be a much more reliable test for this Denver Broncos team. It is extremely unlikely that San Diego will give Denver as much help as Oakland did in securing a victory. Denver’s defense will face a much more competent San Diego offense that will seek to exploit Denver’s shortcomings in rush defense and pass coverage. We will also face a defense that is significantly better. It is important that the Broncos and their fans do not become overconfident as they prepare for a Chargers team that will be a much better indication of how good the 2008 Broncos really are.

After watching the first two Broncos preseason games, it is clear that once again we can not count on our defensive line to generate consistent pressure on the quarterback. We saw our entire starting defensive line against Dallas, including DeWayne Robertson, and they were mostly ineffective. Dumerville did have one DOOMination and another hurry; however, the rest of the line did absolutely nothing against the pass. The good news is that they did look effective stopping the run. Nevertheless, it is clear that Slowik will have to incorporate a number of blitzing strategies to prevent our secondary from getting picked apart by quarterbacks with all day to find open receivers. I think we’ve seen a couple a subtle hints about how he will attempt to create pressure.

Obviously, one of the biggest concerns in blitzing is getting burnt by quick passes. Slowik will attempt to counter this in a couple of ways. The first is by playing one safety very deep. I was at the game on Saturday and one thing that viewers could not see on TV was that Denver was consistently placing McCree or another safety very deep while the rest of the team was lined up very close to the line of scrimmage (accounting for the improved run defense). Numerous fans at the game questioned why our safety would play so deep. I think it’s simply to act as a safety net against a defense that will be very aggressive when the regular season rolls around. If we do get beat over the top, we will have one deep player to hopefully prevent an easy touchdown.

The second strategy that we’ll see employed is related to the “show blitz” system that HT and others have discussed in depth. Part of that strategy is keeping the offense on its heels by never letting them know who is blitzing and who is dropping into coverage. Interestingly, there were several plays against the Cowboys where one of the defensive ends dropped into zone coverage. At least twice Dumerville dropped into a zone and Crowder did once or twice as well. On these plays, Denver overloaded one side of the offensive line and brought too many players, including safeties and linebackers, for the offense to account for in such a concentrated area. I find it an interesting concept that Slowik may be evaluating DE’s based in a small part on their ability to pass cover.

Finally, it will come as no surprise to anyone at MHR that Slowik has already shown an affinity for cornerback blitzes. Against Houston, Morton got a huge blind side sack when Denver brought a corner blitz from both sides of the field. I think we’ll see a good number of Bly, Bailey, and Foxworth sacks this year.

In terms of personel, I thought it was encouraging that Crowder ran several plays with the first team defense. Also, Moss made a few appearances on 3rd and longs and was actually one of the few Broncos to get some pressure against Dallas’ offensive line. It sounds like the Broncos might have a defensive line rotation in mind, much like Hockey lines, to keep the lineman fresh and best take advantage of each players strengths. Therefore, I don’t know that the concern about Crowder and Moss running with 2nd and 3rd string defenses is entirely warranted. Slowik may just be trying to distribute the talent between the lines.

So far it looks like our run defense is much improved. However, the passing defense has been suspect. Slowik will have to show that we have not replaced a poor run defense with a poor pass defense. I guess time will tell.

Okay...so it's clear at this point that nobody at MHR wants to talk about it!  I understand, all of the hope and optimism of the offseason could come crashing down and reality will be forced upon us in a three hour period.  It may be only preseason, but this weekends game against Dallas is extremely important.

At this time last year, there was a major buzz surrounding the Broncos.  We had made some huge (pun only partially intended) offseason acquisitions; and, at the time, it was popular opinion that those additions very well could be the final pieces of the championship puzzle.  

Then came the preseason game against Dallas.  I don't need to relate what happened in that game...I know we all remember it.  In short, we were dominated!  Physically, mentally, athletically, strategically...we were dominated on every level.  "This isn't indicative of the quality of our team", we told ourselves.  The coaches and players argued that Dallas had unfairly game planned that game.  Jim Bates said that the defense looked nothing like the defense we would see in the regular season.  The Broncos were demoralized and panicking (and complaining incessantly)!!! 

As we all now know, that game turned out to be extremely indicative of the season that followed it.  Our defense was horrendous.  We were out played on every level and it followed us into the season.  The Broncos know the impact that game had on the team last year...and they will be looking to ensure a different result.  This will be an early test of just how good this team really is.  Yes, I know several of our starters won't be playing.  However, this game will tell us if we have the attitude and the will necessary to be a legitimate contender.  It doesn't matter if we win or lose...but it does matter how we play the game. 

We need to look good this weekend...No more excuses!!!

After taking some time to reflect on Saturday night’s game against the Texans, I have developed a guarded optimism concerning the Broncos 2008 season. There were clearly areas of “opportunity“; however, at Mike Clark’s suggestion, I have decided to focus on the positive aspects of the game (Mike says I’ll live longer). Therefore, I’ve put together a top ten list of reasons to be optimistic regarding the upcoming season based on Saturday’s game.

1. Jay Cutler: Is Cutler’s 3rd season going to be his breakout year? So far so good!!!

2. Run Defense: Saturday night was an early indication that our renewed commitment to stopping the run has paid off. We saw numerous 8 and 9 in the box formations and, as a result, Houston’s running game was consistently shut down within a yard or two of the line of scrimmage (excluding a long jaunt by Houston‘s punter and a couple of bootlegs by their 3rd string QB). Unfortunately, the defense looked poor on passing plays. Saturday’s game against Dallas will give us a better indication of how improved we really are on defense.

3. Eddie Royal: Is Royal’s 1st season going to be his breakout year? So far so good!!!

4. Running Game: Denver showed why they are a strong running team year in and year out. This year should be no exception, assuming the line gets up to snuff.

5. Tight Ends: Both Nate Jackson and Tony Scheffler demonstrated why they create such match up headaches for the opposing defense. Both are big men that can run and catch like wide receivers yet line up at TE. Several times during the game, Houston showed why you can’t expect to cover these guys with a LB. Hopefully Nate and Tony can help fill the Brandon Marshall void in weeks one and two. Oh yeah, Daniel Graham looked pretty good too!

6. Blitz Packages: While we were admittedly unable to pressure the QB with just our front four, all of the blitz packages we brought looked very effective. Several corner and safety blitzes hurried Houston’s Quarterbacks enough to make them get rid of the ball prematurely for incompletions and even caused a good looking sack off of a corner blitz. Look for Slowik to bring the heat this season!!!

7. Marlon McCree: M&M made two TD saving plays for us. While it would have been nice to see him get an INT on one of his stops, he effectively diminished any concerns about his ability to replace Lynch as a starting Safety.

8. Darrell Jackson: While Jackson did nothing spectacular, he showed he has consistent hands and the ability to get a catch in traffic for tough yards. That is all we need him to do this season…be consistent!

9. Ryan Clady: Even though Mario Williams made Clady his little (fill in the blank) early in game, Clady recovered nicely from an inauspicious begining and even looked pretty good towards the end of the first half. He looked solid on passing plays…his run blocking clearly needs improvement.

10. No Sacks!!!: this is a significant achievement for a line that is very inexperienced working together and extremely young at several key positions. While there was ample cause for concern, not allowing a sack in their first game playing together is certainly something to grow off of.

I know many of you would have liked to see Wesley Woodyard included in this list. However, while his performance against Houston was very encouraging, he played against Houston’s 3rd team offense. I will need to see Woodyard perform against 1st and 2nd team offense to get a real feel for his ability. Alridge is in the same boat. I’d like to see if he can have that same type of performance against the 1st and 2nd team defense. He also needs to show that he can be trusted with the football and can at least be semi-effective in the blocking game (an area in which there is considerable room for improvement).  Prater's debut with the Broncos was a wash.  While he went 3 for 4, the one he missed was a thirty yard chip shot.  We'll have to wait and see.

Another positive is that some of the biggest concerns, mental errors and penalties., are fixable in the short term and may have simply resulted from nerves and rust. Also, even though our secondary looked porous, neither Champ nor Hamza played and Dre Bly saw very limited action.  All in all, the game was somewhat encouraging and at least left open the possibility for a pretty solid 2008 season.

and yes, I know it's just preseason!!!  ;-)

GO BRONCOS!!!!

The Denver Post has reported that the NFL has officially announced a three game suspension for Brandon Marshall.  As anticipated, the suspension could possibly be reduced to two games, at Goodell's discresion, for complying with certain "conditions of the suspension", including counseling.

Marshall's attorney confirmed that they will appeal the suspension.

As I have already made issue of on another FanPost,  the ruling came 18 days after Marshall met with Goodell.  Also, information on the suspension apparently leaked well before the official announcement.  I believe that both the amount of time and lack of control over "insider information" reflect poorly on the league's handling of this situation. 

So football season is finally upon us and I thought I’d take a little excursion to the home of the Denver South Texans to engage in a little friendly banter regarding this weekend’s game and the upcoming season. Obviously the upcoming game means very little in terms of win or lose; however, we can see a little glimpse of what each team brings to the table in the upcoming season. I also think that there is a very good chance that Denver and Denver’s very own Mini-Me (The Texans) will be competing for a playoff spot come December.

I’ve noticed that several of the all-knowing pundits in the national media are picking Houston as a sleeper to sneak into a Wild Card spot; however, from an outsider’s perspective the division is just too competitive at this point for Houston to have a legitimate chance. Obviously the Texans need to show that they can win in their own division before they can legitimately worry about anything else.

Denver, on the other hand, benefits from a relatively weak division and a soft schedule. Phyliss and his Merriman (Chula Vista Chargers) still present a hurdle, but the rest of the division is very weak and we think we’ve made the adjustments/improvements to at least compete for a playoff spot.

Houston is obviously on the upswing with a very good coach and a young nucleus of talent; however, until Indianapolis or Jacksonville start to decline I think it’s just too much of an uphill battle. But regarding the game at hand…

I’m taking the Broncos 3rd string over the Texans 3rd string 31-24!!! For the season: Broncos 11-5; Texans 9-7.

Good luck on the season!!! (Broncos fans still love Kubiak and honestly wish him success as long as it’s not to the detriment of the Broncos)

In the past couple months, Shanahan has seemed to have developed an uncanny ability to slow down time and acrobatically dodge bullets. a la the Matrix.  Or at least see into the future, a la that weird gypsy head thing from the movie Big (could that thing see into the future?  anyway...I digress).

The first bullet that Shanahan dodged would be letting Javon Walker walk.  The national media seemed to take this as a sure indication that Shanahan had finally 'lost his marbles'.  However, shortly thereafter Walker had his infamous Vegas incident.  Then he showed up to training camp looking out of shape and nothing like a pro-bowl talent receiver.  Now Walker apparently no longer wants to play football.

Bullet number two is Travis Henry.  Once again, the pundits in the media thought Shanahan had cracked when he released his presumed starting running back during OTAs.  However, shortly thereafter, Henry failed yet another drug test which would have effectively ended his season. 

Bullet three?  NFL sources are reporting that Todd Sauerbraun will be suspended four games for his altercation with a taxi driver in December.  As we all know, Shanahan let Saurbraun go at the end of last season for, in my opinion, kicking the ball to Devon Hester not just once...but twice. 

In light of Shanahan's recently discovered super powers, how can we interpret his recent playoff prediction and handling of the John Lynch and Jason Elam situations?  Maybe he knows something we don't!

This FanPast is for the sole purpose of boasting.  I'll leave the practice insights to Guru (I think he caught this morning's practice). 

However, today is the reason you go to training camp.  This is the first day that numerous players were readily accesible and talking with the fans.  I met Doom, Sapp, Hackney, Marshall and several others were hanging out with the fans. 

All the players were really cool.  I asked Marshall if he still thought he'd have a 100 reception season and he responded, "130"!  I also had him sign my hat like a geek!

The only part of practice that I'll relate is that Prater has a leg!  He kept drilling field goals and they kept backing him up.  He drilled it and they'd back him up again.  Without ever missing a kick, they took him off the field after drilling a 67 yarder.

Incredible!!!

I caught practice this morning and thought I'd post a brief overview. 

First, it was not a particularly good day for the offense.  Several dropped passes and missed throws from all three QBs.  They just didn't look in sync.  That said, BMarsh made some huge plays and I am now convinced the arm is just fine (now it's his brain we need to work on).  Scheff also made several nice plays.  He has a talent for getting lost in the coverage...and Cutler has a talent for finding him.  Aldridge looked good...as did Torain.  I overheard some guys that go to most of the practices say that Pittman has been extremely impressive.  Unfortunately, Hillis was out with a hamstring (severity unknown).   

The defense looked decent.  Although the offense was stopping themselvers more than the D was stopping them.  Crowder blew up several plays and looked impressive.  Foxworth also made some great plays...including an INT for a touchdown.  Several people also mentioned that Nate Webster has looked significantly better that Koutavides at MLB so far. 

Prater looked okay on field goals.  He was hitting pretty consistently from 45 out.  However, he did not look good on kickoffs...most of which barely made it into the endzone if at all. 

Overall, the team looks as if they are still a bit rusty.  I guess that's to be expected not even a week into camp. 

With the impending release of Madden '09, I wanted to get an idea of how many of the MHR faithful are Madden players.

Madden 09 has the ability to play league and group play and I thought it'd be fun to set up an MHR tournament or room if there are enough folks that are interested. 

We could also invite some friends from Silver and Black and Arrowhead Pride for a little friendly rivalry tournament.

This is the twentieth version of Madden and claims to be the biggest improvent in a single year yet...I'm looking forward to it.

According to a July 14th article from the Bleacher Report the Broncos are one of three teams that have shown interest in Shaun Alexander.  See here

The article states,

"There are some teams who have shown interest in the graduate from Alabama, but no one has signed him yet. Training camp starts soon. Who is willing to take a risk on Alexander?

Three teams have shown interest: the Cincinnati Bengals, the Denver Broncos, and the New Orleans Saints. Each team is ranked 24th, ninth, and 28th in rushing yards per game, respectively.

However, the Broncos lost their star running back, Travis Henry, which would probably knock them down several spots next year." 

Has anyone heard anything to validate this?

Should Denver pursue Alexander?

I'm curious to know what everbody is thinking outside of the mile high city.   We're all pretty familiar with what the Broncs are doing this off season.  But how 'bout the rest of the NFL?

Let's play 3 questions:

1.  Who do you think will be playing in the Super Bowl?

2. Who is the biggest surprise?

3. Who is the biggest disappointment?

Bonus Question:

Who is this year's sleeper? 

(If you answer Broncos to any question then you must provide a back up answer)

At MHR we have gone thru great lengths during this off season to comprehensively analyze each player and each position for the Broncos and make a determination as to who should start and who shouldn’t even make the team. There is one position that I have not seen an analysis of…the infamous 12th man. That’s right Broncos fans…I’m calling you out! I don’t think it’s necessary for me to point out the importance of a good home field atmosphere, as the stats speak for themselves. Most teams have an overwhelmingly better record for home games than away, and that can only be attributed to the 12th man.

Denver, historically speaking, has had one of the best home game atmospheres in the NFL. They have sold out every game since well before I was born. It’s consistently one of the loudest stadiums in the league. The pregame atmosphere is excellent. And, as a result, the Broncos have had tremendous success playing on their home field over the years.

However, after the beloved Mile High Stadium became Invesco Field at Mile High, many Broncos loyalist complained that the atmosphere was just not the same. The increased percentage of high dollar seats led to a less blue collar and more corporate environment that just couldn’t match the old Mile High’s intensity. Furthermore, many argued that the wider layout of the stands let too much noise escape and led to quieter on field experience for the opposing teams. These criticisms inspired derogatory names such as “Invesco Field at Quiet High” and “Chardonnay Stadium at Mile High”.

So I’ll ask you Broncos fans…Do you think these criticisms are warranted? Have we lost the “Mile High Magic?” How would you rate the game environment? Pregame? And most importantly, what can we as fans do this off season to strengthen our role and make sure that Mile High Stadium is the most intimidating place for any opposing team to play?

We know that the guys on the team are working hard…What are we doing?

Just thought  I'd point out that the Raiders have a fanpost about the Broncos at Silver and Black Pride.  Let's show up and kindly explain the error of their ways (you know...explain why they're idiots!)

http://www.silverandblackpride.com/2008/6/11/550413/raider-opposition-denver-b

Here's a quote from the article to get you fired up:

"Both of the games could be decided by who has the most rushing yards by the end. If we can manage some pressure on Cutler, we can seal the deal. Our run game is better than the Broncos. We have more playmakers while the Broncos have one solid back. Oops, that's right. They don't. Unless they end up with Jordan, we can win. Even if they do, we'll still beat them."

I am proposing a new Denver tradition to begin on the Monday night season opener with the Faders.  Many of you are aware that Red Rocks plays classic movies throughout the summer in a series called "Film on the Rocks".  This is often a very enjoyable evening with audience members dressing like characters in the movie (the Big Labowski was a blast) and a good time is had by all.  Why not extend this tradition to Broncos away games?  Imagine Red Rocks filled with Broncos fans watching the game on the big screen on Sundays (or Monday night).  If they wanted they could even have bands as pregame/postgame entertainment.  I'm not sure who'd make this decision...but I say we start a petition! 

Who's with me?

Since the NFL’s inception, the league has struggled with establishing a balance between protecting the players and making sure that referees are not a prominent factor in deciding the outcome of games. We all have witnessed unfortunate calls that have unfairly influenced a game. Therefore, I propose the elimination of two of the most common violations for the sake of diminishing ambiguity and referee influence in the league. I know that many of you will have an initial knee jerk reaction against this proposal; however, give it some thought and consider whether it might lead to a more fair and even league.

The two penalties that I would eliminate are offensive holding and pass interference. I will discuss each in turn.

How many times have we all heard the assertion that offensive holding could be called on any given play. While this may not be entirely true, the point is both valid and disconcerting. Why not get rid of it? What would really be the major drawback of allowing holding? Less sacks? More injuries? Not necessarily. It would, however, eliminate referee discretion. Furthermore, if holding occurs on every play anyway…why not just allow it. The same can be said for pass interference. Why not just let the receivers and corners battle it out without the refs arbitrarily deciding who broke a rule. Let the strongest or most agile man win. Let them battle it out on the field.

Obviously this proposal, if implemented, would have a dramatic impact on some facets of the game. In reality, I don’t think it would be as dramatic of a change as most tend to think. The most obvious rebuttal would be that this change would compromise the safety of the players. However, I am not convinced that this is inevitably true. It would have to be tested to see if player injuries increase. I do think the players should be protected from the most obvious and eminent dangers in the game, but I do not believe these particular changes would substantially increase the inherent danger of the game. It would eliminate two of the penalties most frequently responsible for referees unjustly influencing a game. What are your thoughts?

Go Broncos!!!