But the three that are perfect so far after missing the playoffs last year — Denver, New Orleans and the Jets — have passed the point where we should reserve judgment. They are good, no questions asked.

The Broncos are the most surprising. After an 8-8 2008 in which they crawled across the finish line, Denver went through the NFL’s most tumultuous offseason. Now, after Sunday’s 23-3 dismantling of the Raiders, they are 3-0 and looking down at the San Diego Chargers (2-1) in the AFC West. They’ve still allowed just one touchdown, that coming in their miracle, 12-7 win over Cincinnati.

The Broncos' defense: Usually the subject of criticism instead of praise, Denver's defense appears to be making early strides. Defensive end Elvis Dumervil tied a franchise record with four sacks and linebacker Andra Davis had 10 tackles against his old team as Denver beat the Browns 27-6. The Broncos allowed only 54 rushing yards and held Cleveland scoreless for the final three quarters.

yay

I'm guessing this means B-Marsh stays...

It wasn't all good news for the 2-1 Bears in Sunday night's victory over the winless Broncos.

The first-team defense held the Broncos’ starters to just 3 first-half points. But Denver’s 61-yard TD drive in the third quarter, with most of the Bears’ starters still on the field, didn’t sit too well with Lovie Smith.

It probably had something to do with the fact that the drive was led by rookie QB Tom Brandstater, a sixth-round draft pick from Fresno State. Brandstater came on in relief after starter Kyle Orton suffered an injury to his right index finger and because No. 2 QB Chris Simms was sitting out with a sprained ankle.

The Broncos even overcame their own mistakes on that drive, a false start penalty to start the possession and a holding penalty later on that was offset by a roughing-the-passer penalty on Alex Brown. More salt in the wound? How about the Broncos converting a third-and-11 with a 16-yard pass from Brandstater to Brandon Lloyd, who played his way out of Chicago last year.

"I like the way we played in the first half," Smith said. "But not with the way the defense started out the second half. We can't give up that drive. We were playing too well to let that happen."

a series deadspin has going

buyer beware

"It's offensive a little bit," Graham said. "Everybody is out here working hard towards our ultimate goal. To have a teammate like that do what he's doing right now is disappointing to the rest of the guys. But we're still focused on what our goal is."

An interesting article by Ed Thompson.

As I've mentioned before, I was all for trading Marshall after he tried to pull that glove stunt. However, I think if he were to wise up and try to be more like Rod Smith instead of T.O., BM could become a great player for this organization. As far as demanding more money goes, he needs to produce. The Broncos hold all the cards in this deal, so hopefully Marshall plays his hand correctly, lest he become a Ram or 49er anytime soon.

1. Robert Ayers, DE, Denver Broncos
Pick: First round/18th overall
He can play end or outside linebacker, making him particularly valuable this season as the Broncos convert from a 4-3 to 3-4 scheme. Most talent evaluators considered him the best outside linebacker prospect in the draft, even though he was only a one-year starter and had only nine career sacks at Tennessee. But Ayers is a remarkably talented and versatile athlete who can rush the passer, play the run, and drop into coverage. New Broncos defensive coordinator Mike Nolan figures to make the most of all that Ayers has to offer.

5. Knowshon Moreno, RB, Denver Broncos
Pick: First round/12th overall
He looks to be an ideal fit for the scheme being installed by new coach Josh McDaniels. Although McDaniels runs a spread offense that utilizes short passes as an extension of the running game, he does seek balance from a strong ground attack. And he wants runners who are well versed in all aspects of the scheme. At Georgia, Moreno displayed excellent instincts when it came to picking the best openings created by the zone blocking the Bulldogs employed. Moreno also did a nice job of running routes and in pass protection, two other qualities that should help ensure he'll have a significant role as a rookie.

"Remember all the fuss recently about certain draft prospects who tested positive for drugs at the scouting combine and how it made everyone sad for today's youth? Yeah, none of those guys actually tested positive.

B.J. Raji, Vontae Davis, Clay Matthews and Brian Cushing were among the players who were reported to have tested positive for either marijuana or steroids during their examination at the NFL combine. However, now that the list of positive tests has been given to NFL teams it appears that everyone who denied the reports was telling the truth—their names are not on the list. (PFT even says their were fewer than ten names on the list in total.) Oops."

-Dashiell Bennett, Deadspin.com

"At least Neckbeard always has FEMALES next to him...."