Is anyone else completely at a loss for what to do for the next three hours? I can't find anything to do with myself at all. I've tried eating, sleeping, watching South Park, but I'm stuffed, I keep having dreams that I miss the draft and wake up, and the damn site moderators won't put last night's episode up. So anyone wanna come in here and just... talk? With Papi? Hey, I'm lonely, what's your beef?

Anyway, I need to kill three hours and I would like to spend them with my MHR buddies. I really don't care what gets brought up in the comments at all either. Let this be an open thread about anything.

I was originally going to post this as a comment on Orange Crush'd's post, but it got too long and I didn't want to hijack his thread. So anyway, here's the backstory: I was perusing them internets when I found a couple of people who had used EA Sports's Team Builder to make a couple of Browns mocks. I have made probably hundreds of Broncos concepts, but never using the Team Builder until now, and I think it's fantastic. I'd like a couple more font options, but other than that it is an excellent way to get what's in my imagination on the screen.

So I played with it a little, and I came up with a Broncos mock that I am pretty proud of. I used a lighter blue and a warmer orange, and I tried to get back to what I think should be the Broncos' identity: Blue helmet, orange jersey, white pants. White away jersey with white pants, although I'm also open to orange.

I'll preface this by saying that I'm a stickler for tradition. I HATE piping on uniforms (Cardinals, Falcons) and I hate monochromatic schemes even more (Bills, Seahawks. Home pants should NEVER be the same color as the jersey.) That's not to say that I hate all modern concepts; I like the Titans just fine, and I can handle the Broncos despite the new love for the blue pants and the sacrilegious lack of orange. My favorite NFL uni of all time was the one the Jaguars wore from 2004-2008. The way they integrated the gold with the teal was gorgeous. So I guess I'm a fan of concepts with an "old meets new" feel.

Continue reading this post »

This is going to be one of those "how to make MHR better" posts, and it deals with trolls and how to fight them. I'll try to keep it short and sweet. We've been experiencing a substantial amount of trollage in the last couple of days thanks to the Brandon Marshall situation. I know how bad it got during the Jay Cutler saga (bad enough to make me leave for almost a month) and I really don't want to see it get that bad this time. We've got a lot of exciting things coming up like training camp and the preseason, and like Coach McDaniels says, those things will still happen even if Brandon Marshall is not there. So I'd rather talk about those things in the Fanposts, and not have to sift through the clutter of a hundred troll posts.

So how do we get rid of the trolls?

The flag feature is a very important tool in the War on Trolls, and it seems like we always forget about it. HT has written several posts on it like I'm doing here, but I want to make sure that the newer users, and even the older ones who forget about it, are familiar with it and can use it against the Troll Army. I say that the flag feature is probably our most valuable asset in the War on Trolls, so I'll try to put it in perspective. At the bottom of a Fanpost (and front page posts, if you want to flag Guru or something) next to the green rec button, is the yellow flag button. Press this, write a little blurb about why you think this person is being a troll, and it will be sent to the moderators, who will deal with it as they see fit. It's as easy as that, and it seems like we all always forget about it or take it for granted.

^^MHR's Moderators^^

Continue reading this post »

Josh McDaniels and company caused a lot of controversy this weekend by not adressing what many of us armchair experts proclaimed was our biggest need: defensive line. Instead, we loaded up on secondary guys and some offensive players. To me, this signifies that either McD was very low on this year's D-line class, or that he felt that we already have the pieces in place there to be effective on D this year.

At first, I discounted the second notion as ridiculous, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I don't really know much about a lot of the guys we have in the trenches. And when I did a little research, I realized that we actually do have a lot of guys there who are big, strong, and talented.

I by no means consider myself a defensive expert, so don't take my littl

Here's a quick rundown of our guys:

Continue reading this post »

I made my original mock draft a few weeks ago, and for obvious reasons it has become obsolete. (Damn you Jay Cutler! Damn you!!) Like everyone else, I decided to revamp my mock to include our new picks and needs. I am completely excited for the opportunities that we now have with nine, count 'em, NINE picks in the first three rounds of the next two drafts. I think that we have a golden opportunity to ensure a very bright future for this football team, and I think that if we nail these two drafts we will become a perennial powerhouse for years to come. I'm talking multiple Super Bowls, all of that.

Before I got around to actually mocking, I thought it would be prudent to make a list of the Broncos' needs. Now, I could be lazy and just write DEFENSE under here, but I feel that some positions on D are of much more importance than others, and I think that we are actually more solid on D in some positions than we get credit for. So here's a quick rundown of my opinion of the Broncos' needs, in order:

1) DE34. Right now we have a bunch of guys at DE who have never played in a 3-4, ever. This is bad. With Marcus Thomas and Kenny Peterson slated to start, and with such guys in the wings as Carlton Powell (who I think would be a much better fit as a NT) and Nic Clemons, it is no wonder that we were a sieve when it came to run defense last year. We need guys at DE who have bulk and can stop the run. Guys who have experience in a 3-4.

Continue reading this post »

This was originally going to be a comment on HT's Depth Craft post, but after a few minutes of draft research I got a little carried away and realized that I would have made the longest comment ever. So, I decided to just put it all here, in a nice FanPost. You've gotta love Draftivus. The speculation, the joy, the arguing... It's the best part of the offseason except for training camp if you get to go to that. (Yay Bronco-Con yay!)

Also, I went in order of overall team need need versus actual draft order, so it is a little discombobulated. Hope you don't mind.

Continue reading this post »

I'm putting this post up for a number of reasons. One is to vent; I use this site to let off steam. Another is because I feel like I need to get something off my chest, something that I think has been lost in the frenzy that is this McCutlergate fallout. And the third is that I want to know what the F*CK is happening to milehighreport.com.

Our venerable host, John Bena, AKA TheSportsGuru, started this site in 2006 for the same reasons I am writing this post. There was something big going on then. It was a QB controversy, the biggest one in the history of the Denver Broncos, and it was DOMINATING the Denver media at the time. Of course, this was Plummanahacutlergate, the saga of Jay Cutler and when he would replace Jake Plummer as the Broncos' starting QB. Guru felt the same emotion that I did as the media storm whirled around him: exasperation.

From what I have read in the archives, back in the days of SBN 1.0, of LetPlummerPlay and ohnokoolaid, of Jake and Jay, Guru started this site because he wanted to create a place where intelligent Broncos fans could convene and talk about something other than the Shanaplumcutlergate situation. Of course, he wanted to give his opinion on it, and he did. In one post, and that was it. The beneficiaries of MHR, of which there were only about 15 at the time, also gave their opinion, and then they moved on. It was a beautiful thing.

Continue reading this post »

The Combine is done and the final stretch of Draftivus is about to take place. The anticipation for the Final Ceremony is palpable. Just remember not to drink the punch. :)

If you recall, a few weeks ago, I did a poll regarding who Broncos Nation wants in the first round. While the quantity of responses wasn't as high as I'd hoped it would be, 141 of you did respond, and I think we got the general feel for who Broncos Nation is pulling for. The results:

Rey Maualuga, ILB, USC was the overwhelming favorite, garnering 43% of the votes. After him, 18% of people wished to trade down, but no one specified in the comments who they wanted us to get. Knowshon Moreno and BJ Raji competed hotly for third, earning 15% and 14% of the voted, respectively. Tyson Jackson, Malcolm Jenkins, and Brian Cushing finished well off the pace. One person wished to trade up, but did not specify who he wanted to trade up for...

The top three guys in the last poll, as well as the trade options, are who I'm going to roll with in this second poll. If you want a guy I haven't put on here, post a comment stating that you want him and get it approved by one other person.

Continue reading this post »

Remember HarvJNep2n's thoughtful post a few weeks back that enticed us to bust out our crystal balls and think about what would happen in 2009 if we hired the different coaching prospects? Well, that is the inspiration for this. I love the idea as it can entice some pretty entertaining responses and show the level of creativity of the members of this site.

Also, I wanted to bust out the Harry Carry again.

So here's the premise: Look into your crystal ball and see who the Broncos sign this year. Look ahead to the draft and see who we pick. Then, imagine a full season of them in Broncos blue-and orange. Will they help us get to the playoffs? Will they set records? It's all up to your imagination! (Jeez, I sound corny.)

The catch: you have to do it as a recognizable media personality. Try to convey a pissed off Jay Mariotti windedly trying to explain how he knew all along that the Broncos would win the Super Bowl, or Mel Kiper, Jr.'s hair fervently lavishing praise onto the Broncos excellent '09 rookie crop.

When you're writing your pastiche, if you will, try to promote players that you want us to pick up, and degrade the ones you want us to stay the hell away from. And have some fun with it! I can't wait to see what the site has to say. I'm first up. Here goes:

Continue reading this post »

That magical time of year is upon us: Dravtivus is here at last! Everyone is undefeated, the future is bright, and young stars are about to begin their careers with new teams. Best of all, pitchers and catchers are about to report, so we only have to pretend to care about basketball for a couple more weeks!

Here at MHR, we have the luxury of having brilliant football minds do brilliant football research. What this means is that MHR's excellent draft page is the only place you need to go for top quality draft information. Hopefully you have checked out the awesome, awesome MHR Draft Headquarters and done some research on other, less qualified sites (such as ESPN or SI.com) and you know a little about the candidates the Broncos may select with the twelfth pick of the first round. Because that is all I want to know: what you know!

I want to find out who the average Bronco fan wants to select in the first round. I did a similar poll about who you wanted as the next head coach (and of course, we were all way the hell off, with Josh McDaniels netting 3% of the vote.) This is a first in a series of polls I'm going to do throughout the reloading season. I'll do another poll right after the Combine, and a last one the week before the draft. I meant to do one before the Senior Bowl, but I didn't realize how early the Senior Bowl was. (Also, who really cares about the Senior Bowl?)

So the question I pose is simple: who do you draft? For the sake of argument let's assume that all of these guys will stick around to #12. That's not going to happen, but I don't want this to get too complicated. Also, I'm not going to try to sway you in any way, so I won't say who I want or don't want until the comments. Also, I want you to comment! Tell me why you want to draft this person.

Right now, I only am including the most talked-about names on MHR, but if there's a guy you want that isn't here, make a good case for him in the comments, get one second and I'll put him in the poll. I'd rather not let this poll get too enormous like the last one.

Now that you've tolerated my incessent rambling, (thanks for doing that, by the way) get out there and VOTE!! It's the patriotic thing to do, after all.

So the head coaching search is over and the reloading season can begin anew. Completely anew, as hasn't been the case in many a year. (14 years, to be precise.) It is a time when we can pretend to be GM's, ogle at big-name free agents and demand ludicrous signings and draft picks. By far, the NFL Draft is the most exciting part of this reloading season. New talent is brought in to replace old cogs; young faces are labelled as the futures of franchises. As Bronco fans, we share a certain amount of extra excitement heading into this year's draft. We have a new head coach, thoroughly trained in "the Patriot way." The way that drafted, you know, Tom Brady.

Throughout the years, Mike Shanahan put on a draft clinic equal in scale to Josh McDaniels's mentors in New England. Except, when people used Mike Shanahan's drafts as lessons, they usually conveyed something along these lines: "Whatever you do, do not effing do anything that this guy did."

Continue reading this post »

The Denver Broncos have announced Josh McDaniels as the new Head Coach to replace Mike Shanahan. Pat Bowlen will speak first, followed by Josh McDaniels. McDaniels will answer questions of the media. Woody Paige is currently asking questions. Lord help us. Post your comments below!

The presser started at 5:00 MST. Mac Daddy is currently smacking his lips a lot.

I'm not sure when the presser is scheduled to be over. Someone please help me out in the comments. He is currently addressing many questions, but he is being very indirect about his staffing choices. He also seems to want to have a good amount of control over the offense.

I'll keep this short and sweet. Out of all the candidates presented so far, who would you hire to be the next head coach if you were Pat Bowlen? Hopefully all of us already know a little about all the candidates, and fanposts like Boydy's and Guru's are good resources for a little research. I'm just going to put up the poll.

Before you vote, though, keep a few things in mind.

• Money. We already owe Shanny $20 million over the next three years, and a big name head coach (cough Bill Cowher cough) would set us back quite significantly, possibly forcing Pat Bowlen to skimp on other things.
• Age. Raheem Morris is a talented up-and-comer, but then again he's younger than half the players. In the same light, guys like Cowher or Spagnuolo aren't going to stick around forever.
• Past experience. This one is obvious. Look at what the guy did in his last job with the players he had there. Did he sign those players or did he make the best of someone else's crop? Also, did he implement his scheme or did he take over someone else's?

Now get out there and VOTE!! It's the patriotic thing to do, after all.

On this site, we all know who Ryan Clady is. We all know that he's having not only a tremendous rookie season, but one of the greatest seasons an offensive tackle has ever had. We all vote for him in the Pro Bowl at least 30 times per day (right?). But what about the guy on the other side of the line? Ryan Harris is having a pretty damn fine campaign this year as well. Like Clady, he's in his first year of a full-time starting NFL job. Also, he's only a year older than Clady. I'm going to use this post to try to bring our other solid bookend into our attention a little.

Statistice for the offensive line are very hard to come by, and when you discover them, you'll find that they're about as hard to read as our legendarily incognito behemoths in the trenches. Instead of pretty statistics like "yards per carry" and "quarterback rating," you get "adjusted line yards" and "sack rate." The O-line is as hard to statistically document  as any position in professional sports, but the stats are out there, and they are telling.

Continue reading this post »

It's week 12, the playoff picture is becoming clearer, and the Wildebeests are dominating everything, ever. So far, they are the only team that has a playoff spot locked down. Here's a look at the playoffs should the season end today:

Continue reading this post »

Standings

Week 11 Recap

Albino Wildebeests 80.15, Blue Collar Broncos 73.25

Despite some... questionable...coaching decisions by Papi (Jamal Lewis over Marion Barber?), the Wildebeests continue to ride high. Michael Turner had 20.1 points as the usually high-flying Broncos were the next victim of the stampede. Optimum: Wildebeests 119.9, Broncos 103.8. Coach Ratings: Papi 66%, Denver_Native 70%.

Toilers of the C++ 110.4, Russ' Team 79.9

The high-scoring Toilers were an A+ this week, riding Larry Fitzgerald, Hines Ward, Neil Rackers, and the Panthers' D to a big win. If anyone can beat papi.......... Optimum:Toilers 117.3, Russ 83.4. Coach Ratings: Styg 94%, Russ 95%.

J.F.K. Mustangs 90.2, Brazil Devils 70.65

Frank Gore, Drew Brees, the Giants and Dwayne Bowe were on fire as the Mustangs improved to 6-5. Finally, their PPG makes sense. Optimum: Mustangs 118, Devils 78.35. Coach Ratings: lucasfrodriguez 90%, DaveCheffy 76%.

SacTown Beavers 90.35, I CRUSH YOU! 50.8

Zappa's team gets its final win before being annihalated and embarrased in front of everyone. Jezru just can't seem to get it going. Optimum: Beavers 110.25, CRUSH 66.1. Coach Ratings: Zappa 81%, Jezru 76%

Cincinnatroit Texrams 102.1, TheSportsGuru's Team 53.6

The Texrams get a massive upset that could knock Guru out of fantasy title conention. Literally everyone on Jezru's squad was on fire. Just look at the optimum! He scored 100 points and his rating was only 64%! WTF?! Optimum: Texrams 157.1, Guru 83.2. Coach ratings: Both coaches 64%

Qatar Wars: A Noob Hope 67.85, The Fighting Manginos 38.4

38.4 is the lowest point total I have ever seen. This game was a snoozer. I turned off my fantasy TV during the third quarter and went outside to play fantasy catch. Optimum: Qatar 67.85, Manginos 55. Coach Ratings: JR G 100%, DenverJhawk 69%

Week 11 Awards

The Shanny for highest coach rating in a victory: JR G with 100%!

The Norvy for lowest coach rating: Guru with 64%! GURU IS NORV TURNER.

The Rod Award for highest individual score: Matt Cassel of the Texrams with 43.2! Wait, he was benched? Oh, then Peyton Manning of Russ' Team with 27.1!

The Javon Awards for 0 total points: Billy Miller of the Mustangs, Alex Smith of the Texrams, Anthony Fasano of Qatar Wars, and John Carney of the Manginos!

The Orange Crush Award for most dominating win: The Cincinnatroit Texrams with a win of 48.5!

The Mile High Salute to the team with the highest score: Toilers of the C++ with 110.4!

The Black Hole Award for the team with the lowest score: The Fighting Manginos with 38.4!