This is from the DenverPost:

The Broncos added depth to their safety position Wednesday by signing Herna-Daze Jones.

A special teams player the previous two seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals, Jones was waived by the team last month. Jones, 26, had been plagued by a hamstring injury.

The former Indiana University prospect fills the roster spot vacated by defensive tackle Josh Shaw, who was placed on the injured reserve list Tuesday.

Hopefully he can contribute better than his predecessors.

This comes from CBS4DENVER...

Bell Back With the Broncos

Former Denver Broncos running back Tatum Bell has re-signed with the team that drafted him Tuesday, CBS4 Broncos Insider Vic Lombardi reports.  The move comes after Bell reportedly worked out for the team Tuesday morning.

Bell, 27, started this preseason with the Lions, but was cut on Sept. 2 and has been out of football since.  The Broncos picked Bell with the second-round of the 2004 draft.

Bell rushed for 921 yards in 2005 and 1,025 yards in 2006 with the Broncos.  Bell was then traded to Detroit before the 2007 season, along with right tackle George Foster, in exchange for cornerback Dre' Bly.

His return to Denver should boost a team that has seen several running backs suffer season-ending injuries.

Just a thought. What if the Broncos decided to rotate the middle line backers Niko Koutouvides and Nate Webster when they went into different packages? Isn't D.J. wearing the earpiece this year?

I've heard that Webster just flies around and is a run stuffer and Niko is good in pass coverage. So if D.J. is hearing what the play is, couldn't either Niko or Nate be in depending of if they are inticipating run or pass? Would that be to our advantage at all?

This report comes from CBS4 Broncos Insider Reggie Rivers:

The elbow injury that rookie tailback Ryan Torain suffered is worse than the Broncos expected. Torain had surgery Thursday morning and now is expected to be out for 3 months.

Initially he was diagnosed with a broken bone that would allow him to return to the field in 6 to 8 weeks, but an MRI revealed that the ligament damage was worse than expected, so Torain's rookie season is now in jeopardy and the Broncos are faced with a tough decision.

If they place him on injured reserve, he'll be ineligible to return this season even if his elbow healed faster than expected. If they believe that he'll be ready to return by mid-season, they could keep him on the 53-man roster, but they'd have to cut someone who could contribute right away.

The fact that Shanahan is even considering putting the rookie on injured reserve says a lot about how highly the Broncos value Torain. They don't have to make a decision about Torain's roster status until the end of August, so there will be plenty of time after his surgery to see how he's progressing and how likely he is to be ready by mid-season.

UPDATE:  Torain talks about his situation in his blog at DenverBroncos.com

This report comes from CBS4 Broncos Insider Reggie Rivers.

UPDATE:  Mike Shanahan has announced that Torain will be out 6 to 8 weeks with a broken bone in his elbow.

Broncos rookie running back Ryan Torain was carted off the field during the team's 9-on-7 run-blocking period at practice Wednesday morning.

He was knocked off balance while carrying the ball and put his left hand on the ground to regain his balance.

He immediately collapsed on the turf grasping his left shoulder. Broncos head trainer Steve Antonopolus helped Torain walk to the sideline and tended to him for about 10 minutes before calling a cart to ferry the tailback off the field.

Torain, a 5th-round draft pick out of Arizona State, has been one of the stars of training camp. This injury likely means that he will miss the preseason opener in Houston on Saturday.

This is unfortunate for Ryan Torain, he had a lot of promise and from what I have heard he was doing great in camp. As I said in a comment below, this does now open the door for Anthony Alridge to show what he is made of.

So guys, last year there was a certain play the Broncos did a few times throughout the year, maybe more, but a few stick out to me. The Option Play.

It basically looks like a regular run play, but the quarterback keeps the ball as if he is going to run. From there he either has the "option" to pitch the ball to the running back following a ways beside him or keep the ball and get some yards. I guess it's a pretty risky play though, but since it doesn't allow the defense to predit the play, the Option Play can cause lots of trouble to some teams. It requires good running skills from both the quarterback and the running back.

So plug in, say...Anthony Alridge for "the running back".

The guy is fast, shifty fast and has moves. What would happen when he got out in space into a field of confused defensive backs? Good things I think.

I don't know...just a thought...

I just watched the video of Shanahan speaking to the media this afternoon.

When asked to elaborate on Powell's injury Shanahan had this to say...

"It happened a number of weeks ago, he just uh, his achilles popped in the offseason conditioning program and obviously out for the year."

Ugh, this sucks! I was really looking forward to seeing him in action and seeing the defensive line improve.

What do you guys think will happen now?

Story from Lee Rasizer, Rocky Mountain News.

Broncos reach terms with CB Wiliams

And then there were two.

The Broncos on Tuesday agreed to a four-year contract with fourth-round pick Jack Williams, leaving only the first-day duo of April draftees remaining on their pre-camp, to-do list.

Williams, a cornerback from Kent State, was the 119th overall selection and the second of two Denver fourth-round picks. Center Kory Lichtensteiger reached terms Monday.

Williams will vie for a reserve/special-teams role with the Broncos initially but likely will factor into the long-term plans of the team with both cornerbacks Domonique Foxworth and Karl Paymah scheduled to become unrestricted free agents after the 2008 season.

Williams (5-foot-9, 181 pounds) totaled 20 takeaways, including 13 interceptions, in 44 career games during his college career. He’s coming off a senior season in which he had an individual-best 93 tackles (70 solo) and three interceptions as an 11-game starter. Williams tied for first in the nation with five forced fumbles as a junior.

The Broncos are continuing negotiations with first-round pick Ryan Clady, a tackle out of Boise State, ands second-rounder Eddie Royal, a Virginia Tech receiver.

The team is confident both will be in the fold by Thursday afternoon’s initial meeting and will participate in the first two-a-day practice session of camp Friday.

DenverBroncos.com reports that Fullback Peyton Hillis and the team have reached an agreement, and Peyton is now officially a Bronco.

I have heard Hillis be referred to as one of the most dominating fullbacks in University of Arkansas history.  Last year he the led Razorbacks in recieving with 49 catches and 5 TDs and he also had 347 yards on the ground.  Personally I am glad we got him.

Here is a short video courtesy of DenverBroncos.com, giving us a bit of information about our new fullback.

ProFootballWeekly.com seems to believe rookie Eddie Royal "could be a surprise starter for the Broncos" this year, and I agree,,,I think he is going to land on #4 in the depth chart.  He will be the sure fire starter for kick off returns, and he will get plenty of reps in our offense as well.

I don't know nearly as much as some of the guys posting on MHR, but I do know that I love football, and I try to learn as much about it as I can.  I'm saying it right now though, Royal is going to be a dangerous weapon for us...starting this year.  LET'S GET PUMPED ABOUT EDDIE ROYAL YA'LL!

Continue reading this post »

Continue reading this post »

Jay Glazer of FOXSports.com reports that the Miami Dolphins have agreed to terms with Jake Long formerly a Michagan offensive lineman.

Continue reading this post »

The exact dates and times of the Broncos Preseason games have been released by cbs4denver.com and it looks like we will be kicking it off at Houston and ending in Phoenix:

At Houston Saturday August 9th 6pm MDT

Vs. Cowboys Saturday August 16th 7pm MDT

Vs. Packers Friday August 22nd 7pm MDT

At Cardinals Friday August 29th 8pm MDT

There is a good article by Mike Klis at denverpost.com regarding the whole John Elway interview...and it seems this one doesn't have a negative spin on it.

Cutler had this to say regarding John Elway's comments:

"John can say what he wants," Cutler said. "I'm not about to disagree with John Elway, but I've said from Day One, we're not the same quarterback on or off the field."

Read the full article here.

At DenverBroncos.com there is a good video of Cutler speaking to the local media.

One of the main topics is how he feels about Brandon Marshall's "incident." He starts with saying how dissappointing it is but ends saying that he hasn't lost faith in him, and he will still support him.

It seems like he has embraced more of a leadership role this year. I like the way he handled himself.

Check it out.

Mike Shanahan hasn't made any public comments since January, but the three month hiatus ended this morning when he spoke at one of the NFL's annual meetings.

He cleared up a couple of questions everybody has been asking lately:

• Will Brandon Marshall be ready to play come training camp?
  
• What position will DJ Williams hold this coming season?

• Keary Colbert's similarity to Ed McCaffrey
  
• San Diego being #1 personnel wise
  
• Offensive line changes

These brothers have played together before at Charlton County High School in Georgia and it seems pretty automatic that they will be playing along side each other again.

Boss Bailey and the Broncos appear to have "tied-the-knot" just a few minutes ago. Adam Schefter reports that both sides have agreed to a 5-year, $17.5 million deal.

I think this is great. Ever since hearing the rumors about the signing, I was very excited to have Boss on our team.