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Broncos Stay Undefeated with Win Over Patriots

2009-10-11T16:47:00.000-07:00

Newflash: The Denver Broncos are officially for REAL!

There have been a lot of questions on whether or not the Denver Broncos surprising 4-0 start was just a fluke because of all the chaos that went down in the offseason with Mike Shanahan getting fired, Jay Cutler getting traded to the Chicago Bears and the Brandon Marshall throwing a fit, but after the Broncos beat new head coach Josh McDaniels' former team in the New England Patriots to stay undefeated at 5-0 all the critics will almost certainly be giving the Broncos their much needed credit for their incredible start to the season.

Tom Brady seemed to be back on track after a big win over the once undefeated Baltimore Ravens last week, but a lot questions came up about questionable roughing the passer calls and whether or not the refs try to protect the superstar quarterback a little too much.

Despite all the controversy, nothing seemed to phase the Denver Broncos on Sunday as they came to play at Invesco Field as if on a mission to prove a point that they are a force to be reckoned with in the NFL this season.

The much improved Denver defense didn't put the kind of pressure on Brady as expected coming into this game as they held of on the blitz for most of the contest, but they kept the Patriots high powered offense in check the majority of the football game.

Not only has the Denver defense been very impressive this season and HUGE improved from seasons past, the Denver offense was what got my attention today as Kyle Orton and company kept the Pats on their heels all game long. One of the biggest question marks coming into this season for the Denver offense was if Orton and Brandon Marshall would hit it off the way Cutler and Marshall did last season. Well, after this game there is no question that these two has created some great chemistry as they hooked up for two big touchdowns against New England.

Along with Marshall coming to life, rookie running back Knowshon Moreno continues to improve as well as he finished the game with 124 total yards (88 rushing, 36 receiving). Moreno did have one costly fumble, but he is quickly becoming a key part of this potent offense.

It is still a little too early to consider the Denver Broncos as Super Bowl contenders, but they are definitely in the playoff picture as they are almost certainly going to run away with the AFC West title unless the San Diego Chargers start to get it going.

Unfortunately for Denver things will only get tougher for this up and coming team as their schedule is arguably the toughest in the league to finish out the season. Seven of their next eleven games are against very good football teams:

Week 6: @ San Diego Chargers
Week 7: BYE
Week 8: @ Baltimore Ravens
Week 9: Pittsburgh Steelers
Week 10: @ Washington Redskins
Week 11: San Diego Chargers
Week 12: New York Giants
Week 13: @ Kansas City Chiefs
Week 14: @ Indianapolis Colts
Week 15: Oakland Raiders
Week 16: @ Philadelphia Eagles
Week 17: Kansas City Chiefs

So as you can see the Broncos have a long and tough road ahead of them! It should be interesting to see how things turn out!

Stokely Steals the Win from the Bengals

2009-09-15T15:00:00.000-07:00

The Denver Broncos have been a troubled franchise ever since the end of last season and their disappointing collaspse to finish it out. The Broncos were promising young team with a Pro Bowl bound quarterback in Jay Cutler, a go to wide receiver in Brandon Marshall and a powerful offense, but the defense was absolutely terrible.

As a result of the Broncos forgettable collapse last season legendary head coach Mike Shanahan was fired, Jay Cutler was traded to the Chicago Bears and Brandon Marshall has turned into TO.

How do the Broncos replace a legend head coach and a Pro Bowl quarterback?

Bring in rookie head coach Josh McDaniels and underachieving quarterback Kyle Orton.

Reciepe for disaster right?

Well, you would think so, but their week one match up against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium turned out a little different than people anticipated as the Broncos looked good on defense, Orton went without throwing an interception and Denver got out of Cincinnati with the unlikely victory!

The Broncos were supposed to lose this game, not only because everyone predicted it, but because they were down with only seconds remaining and all hope seemed to be lost as they tried to drive down the field.

No one and I mean no one saw what was coming next as it is a play that will most likely still get replayed years from now. The play seemed simple enough and the Cincinnati Bengals covered it as well as they could as they had two defenders covering Brandon Marshall like a blanket near the left sideline. The plan was to get the ball to Marshall so he could step out of bounds and stop the clock, but it didn't exactly go as planned.

Kyle Orton stepped back, took a look a the field, saw Marshall on the left sideline and despite Marshall being double covered Orton threw it anyway. As the ball reached Marshall and the two defenders the ball was tipped up in the air and the play was seemingly dead until is came down right in wide receiver Brandon Stokely's hands.

Once Stokely gained possession the whole stadium went quite as the Bengals fans were sick with disbelief. Stokely had full possession and was headed for the game winning touchdown full speed, until he got within a yard or so and he ran alongside the goalline to run down the clock to just eleven seconds.

That left Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer with time to throw and hail mary and that is just what he did, but like most hail marys it was picked off and the game was over with the Denver Broncos improving to 1-0 on the season.

So there is still some light at the end of the tunnel for the Denver Broncos as they tried to stay unbeaten against the Cleveland Browns in week two!

Check out the rest of the Denver Broncos and other NFL teams games here NFL Schedule

Broncos Release Running Back Selvin Young

2009-04-30T19:07:00.000-07:00

It was bound to happen with so many running backs on the roster, but I didn't think it would have been Selvin Young getting cut. Young started 12 games for the Broncos last season before he went down with a season ending injury.

The Broncos running back situation is tough to handle to say the least. Nothing is worse as a coach than having way too many players at a certain position. With all their injury problems in the backfield last season they had absolutely no choice but to keep signing running backs to keep their backfield healthy.

It is pretty much a no brainer that the Broncos draft pick Knowson Moreno will be the lead back in the Denver backfield next season, but the question remains who will be next to get the ax.

Unfortunately though, Selvin Young has been the first running back to get the boot in the Broncos backfield and I don't expect him to be the last.

Get the Best Football Odds Online for the Upcoming NFL Season

2009-04-21T13:46:00.000-07:00

The football season is right around the corner and that is the primetime sports season for all your sports betting online needs!

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One way to improve your ability to pick winners is by getting the best football odds possible!

Will the Denver Broncos Draft Mark Sanchez?

2009-04-09T16:35:00.001-07:00

In my opinion, if Mark Sanchez is available at the 12th pick in the NFL draft it would be foolish not to draft the future franchise quarterback. He has all the skills and potential to be the future of the franchise in Denver and a good replacement for the Jay Cutler.

Kyle Orton isn't a bad quarterback, neither is Chris Simms for the matter, but they are not franchise quarterbacks like Cutler and Sanchez.

Who knows? Mark Sanchez could be a bust like Matt Leinart and what Carson Palmer is turning out to be, but I would definitely feel better about grooming a promising young quarterback like Sanchez instead of handing over the quarterback position to Simms or Orton.

The big question here is whether or not the kid will be available when the Broncos 12th pick comes around. My opinion, no way he will fall that far in the draft when three teams ahead of the Broncos have shown strong interest in the former USC quarterback.

With the San Francisco 49ers, Jacksonville Jaguars and Seattle Seahawks ahead of Denver's shot at landing the quarterback I don't see him coming to the Broncos unless they make another trade. If it were my decision I would ship Orton to whichever team is willing to get Sanchez.

Will it happen? There is definitely a lot of buzz about it so I wouldn't be surprised to see it happen.

Jay Cutler Traded to Chicago Bears

2009-04-02T14:40:00.000-07:00

It has finally happen, the Denver Broncos have traded away their unhappy franchise quarterback Jay Cutler to the Chicago Bears for quarterback Kyle Orton and two first round draft picks.

I have to say that the Broncos might have dropped the ball on this deal. Kyle Orton is a decent quarterback with possible Pro Bowl potential, but he is no Jay Cutler. The only way I see the Broncos coming out on top of this deal is if they make those draft picks count and pick up some key players in key positions.

So the Cutler era in Denver is officially over Broncos fans so get used to hearing "Orton throws another interceptions and the Broncos another one".

I hate to say it, but it will be the beginning of yet another rebuilding process in Denver. Just when everything looked like it was coming together in Denver, the roof collapsed in and it is time to rebuild.

Maybe Kyle Orton will surprise us all. Not like there is lack of offensive weapons at his disposal with Eddie Royal and Brandon Marshall leading the way, but I get the feeling next season will be a rough one for the Broncos.

Jay Cutler Saga Continues

2009-03-11T16:20:00.000-07:00

Oh how things have changed in Denver!

First the Broncos fired Mike Shanahan which was a complete shock to the system for all Denver Broncos fans and then the new head coach Josh McDaniels decides to try and get Matt Cassel to come to Denver in exchange for franchise quarterback Jay Cutler.

In my opinion, not a terrible move getting Cassel for Cutler, but I think I speak for Broncos fans when I say that the defense should have been the number one concern for the new head coach.

Not exactly the best way to win over fans and replace a coaching legend and Denver icon in Shanahan.

Although trading Jay Cutler did not happen, at least not yet, things in Denver have gone from bad to worse after Cutler spoke with the Broncos recently.

Honestly, this whole situation could have been avoided pretty easily, but it obviously wasn't. Now the Broncos will have to deal with the backlash of having an unhappy franchise quarterback and a new head coach making all the wrong moves.

I really don't think this situation will be improved until the Broncos do what Cutler now requests and trade him away. Will the get a quarterback of his caliber in return? Nope, not anymore. They could have if the Cassel trade worked the way it should've, but now they may have to resort to mediocrity at the quarterback position once again.

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Broncos Center Tom Nalen to Retire

2009-01-07T16:45:00.000-08:00

Besides the aftermath of losing Mike Shanahan, not much has happen in Denver in terms of changes, but one thing is for sure, veteran center Tom Nalen will not be returning because he wants to call it a career.

What a career it has been for Nalen, not only has he been with the Broncos long enough to be snapping the football to both Denver legend quarterback John Elway and Pro Bowler Jay Cutler, but he has also won two championship rings with the team in his time in Denver.

Nothing is official considering Nalen's retirement just yet, but after Shanahan getting axed and the team going in a new direction he may think it is time to call it quits at 37 years old.

After missing all of this season with serious knee injury and a good chunk of 2007 with bicep problem, Nalen's retirement comes as no surprise since he has lost a lot of weight during his absence and considers himself not physically fit enough to play in the NFL anymore.

End of an Era: Mike Shanahan Fired as Broncos Head Coach

2008-12-31T15:15:00.000-08:00

As if getting destroyed by the division rival San Diego Chargers for the AFC West title wasn't enough to crush all the Denver Broncos fans in Colorado and around the country, what was to happen next was as surprising as it was heartbreaking.

Well, you had to think someone was going to pay for the Denver Broncos collapse, but I really didn't think it was going to be Mike Shanahan getting the boot as the beginning of changes yet to come.

Not only is Mike Shanahan a legend in the state of Colorado, usually mentioned right after John Elway's name when talking about Denver legends, but he is also one of the best coaches in NFL history in my opinion. Not many coaches in any professional sport can say that they have been with the same team for 14 years, in fact the only coach that can in the NFL is Tennessee Titans coach Jeff Fisher and from the looks of things Fisher will still be the Titans coach for the forseable future with the way he has his team playing.

"This is as tough as it gets," Broncos owner Pat Bowlen said Wednesday.

No one and I mean absolutely no one wanted this to happen. Even Broncos Pro Bowl quarterback Jay Cutler was quoted as saying:

"I'm disappointed, I'm shocked, I'm not happy about it, I'm not pleased with it at all," Cutler said.

Now there is no lack of good coaches out there for the taking like Bill Cowher and Eric Mangini, but no coach will ever be able to replace Mike Shanahan who might go down as the best coach Denver Broncos history.

Denver Losing Ground in AFC West After Loss to Raiders

2008-11-24T22:08:00.000-08:00

Just when things in Denver were starting to look up with the offense clicking, Jay Cutler playing great and the defense still bad, but not bad enough to lose. Well, the Oakland Raiders, yes, Al Davis' crazy ass franchise, proved that the Broncos defense still is in need of some serious retooling after a huge loss 31-10.

Coming into this game against the arch rival Raiders, the Broncos looked like they would pull off a victory with relative ease, but that was as far from the truth as possible. Denver really didn't have a chance in this one from start to finish as the Raiders looked motivated and believe it or not, very good on offense.

Rookie running back had his best game as a Raider thus far with two touchdowns. He did exactly have the best game rushing with only 38 yards, but he left that to Justin Fargas who had gained 107 yards on the ground. Quarterback JaMarcus Russell also had a good game, like McFadden not with yards, but he threw a touchdown and for 152 yards in the air.

The Broncos on the other hand fell back into their sloppy ways by not getting anything going offensively and having their defense embarrassed by the Raiders unusually good offense.

Jay Cutler had a Sunday performance to forget against the Raiders by not throwing a single touchdown, losing a fumble and tossing an interception. The Bronco that really had a notable game was the back up of a back up of a different position in Peyton Hillis who had 74 yards rushing on 17 carries and a touchdown. Besides Hillis, the rest of the Broncos just didn't show up to play Sunday.

Luckily the San Diego Chargers lost a close game against the Indianapolis Colts, so they were able to move up the standing, but if the Broncos keep having these on again off again kind of performance, they will not last long in the playoffs if they win the AFC West.

NEXT MATCH UP in WEEK 13: Denver Broncos @ New York Jets Sunday, Nov. 30th 2:15pm MT

John Lynch to Retire After 15 Years in NFL

2008-11-15T14:28:00.000-08:00

As any Denver Broncos fan knows, safety John Lynch has had one hell of a career in the NFL for both the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Denver Broncos.

With nine Pro Bowls, 1,277 tackles, 26 interceptions and winning a Super Bowl in 2002 with the Bucs, Lynch is almost certainly a guaranteed first ballot NFL hall of famer.

Once former coach Mike Shanahan heard of Lynch's retirement he had this to say about his former star safety:

"Just everything you'd want in a player," Shanahan said Friday. "He set an example on how to be a pro."

Broncos current Pro Bowl cornerback Champ Bailey had this to say about his former teammate:

"John was one of the most intense players I have ever played with," Bailey said. "It was an honor and a pleasure to play four years with John Lynch. I learned a lot from him."

Obviously Lynch has left his impression where ever he has been during his 15 year NFL football career and will be regarded as one of the best defensive players ever to play the game.

John Lynch will officially announce his retirement from the NFL on Monday in Tampa, Florida.

Rookie Running Back Ryan Torain Out for the Season

2008-11-08T15:06:00.000-08:00

More bad news for the Denver Broncos on the injury front, as if they weren't banged up enough in their backfield, they take another hit as rookie running back Ryan Torain is out for the season with a torn ACL.

The list just goes on and on for the Broncos with injured players, they just can't seem to stay healthy. Torain will be the third running back out for the season so far along with Michael Pittman and Andre Hall. Nothing is worse than a rookie going down for the season, especially when the starter is out for the season and he has a chance at immediate playing time to prove that he can make it in this league.

Torain was doing very well before he went down with the season ending injury against the Cleveland Browns. He had 12 carries and 68 yards fitting in nicely in the Broncos running game, but in the second quarter Torain went down and didn't return to the game.

As a last resort for Mike Shanahan, he went with fullback Peyton Hillis who made a name for himself in college being the fullback for both rookie running backs Darren McFadden and Felix Jones at Arkansas.

Well who knows what Shanahan plans to do with his depleted backfield, Selvin Young is still recovering from his groin injury that has kept him out of action for three games. So expect the Broncos to be working the waiver wire looking for running backs to fill the void. Some potential backs that Denver could sign would be Tatum Bell, Mike Bell and Vernand Morency.

Jay Cutler has a Huge Game and Brandon Marshall Makes a Statement in Win Over Browns in Week 10

2008-11-07T10:11:00.000-08:00

Finally the Denver Broncos offense has started clicking like it did earlier in the season. Jay Cutler had quite possibly the best game of his career thus far as he threw for 447 yards, 3 TDs and one pick in the win over the Cleveland Browns 34-30.

The Cleveland Browns didn't go down without a fight though, Brady Quinn made his first start and didn't disappoint filling in for Derek Anderson. Quinn played as if he were a veteran quarterback making all the right decisions and getting the Browns offense firing on all cylinders again.

Although the Broncos were the better team down the stretch in the first Thursday night game of the season, the Browns future looks promising in the hands of Brady Quinn who finished the game with 239 yards and 2 TDs.

As for the Broncos, they really needed this win to keep on top of the AFC West with a 5-4 record. This game didn't come without controversy though, when Brandon Marshall scored the final touchdown, he reached into his pants and pulled out a glove to make a statement about the election of Barack Obama. The glove was said to be black on one side and white on the other which signified unity and progress of this country after electing the first black president.

Although maybe a noble statement by Marshall, wide out Brandon Stokley ran up to Marshall before he could do what he planned to avoid the penalty which could have meant the game for the Broncos.

With Denver playing the way they did against the Browns they showed signs of promise to turn the season around. Unless the Broncos start playing like the Oakland Raiders over the final weeks of the season, the should have a shot at winning the AFC West and making it into the playoffs.

The defense still needs work, the probably won't change, but the Broncos are still a very talented football and have a chance of making something happening in this year's playoffs.

WEEK 11: Denver Broncos @ Atlanta Falcons Sunday, Nov. 16th 11:00am MT

Pro Bowler Champ Bailey Out 4-6 Weeks

2008-10-22T15:23:00.000-07:00

After hearing that Boss Bailey was out for the season, Denver Broncos fans get even worse news as his brother and quite possibly the best corner in the NFL in Champ Bailey will be out for 4 to 6 weeks after suffering a groin injury against the New England Patriots on Monday.

With Champ Bailey out of action, rookie Jack Williams will try and fill the big shoes of the perennial Pro Bowler.

It just keeps getting worse for the Broncos. Not only is Champ out for considerable time, but Jay Cutler's health has yet to be disclosed.

Since backup quarterback Patrick Ramsey is out for the season, the Broncos will probably be looking for a good backup for Cutler with his health in question.

The Broncos could go after recently retired Daunte Culpepper who the Kansas City Chiefs reached out to earlier this week after Brodie Croyle went down last weekend. Denver would definitely be a more desirable destination for the veteran as it gives Culpepper a second chance to play on a title contender.

Broncos Lose Boss Bailey and Backup QB Patrick Ramsey to Season Ending Injuries

2008-10-22T15:05:00.000-07:00

We all knew that these injury updates were coming, but at least the losses are kept to a minimum, so far that is.

Through the first seven weeks of this NFL season the Denver Broncos have had their fair share of injury problems from wide receivers, running backs to quarterbacks and valuable players in the secondary. You name it, the Broncos have looked promising at times this season, but they just can't stay healthy.

It has been reported that both Boss Bailey and backup quarterback Patrick Ramsey will be out for the season after suffering injuries against the New England Patriots on Monday night football.

Linebacker Boss Bailey, brother to Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey, will have microfracture surgery on his left knee. Patrick Ramsey was injured after coming in for Jay Cutler in the second quarter and quickly there after suffered an injury to his throwing elbow after being sacked.

Both of these injuries will officially end the season for Bailey and Ramsey.

Bye Week Bruises

2008-10-21T14:35:00.000-07:00

Thank God for the bye week!

It couldn't have come at a better time. Not only are the Broncos extremely banged up right now, but Mike Shanahan has to do something about limiting those costly turnovers and changing the defensive scheme.

Although the defense should be the biggest concern as they literally cannot stop anyone from scoring, Jay Cutler and Champ Bailey's health has be something on every Denver Broncos fan's mind right now.

Granted, Cutler did come back to action in the third quarter, but a finger injury for a quarterback can be serious. Just ask Tony Romo.

When they are healthy, I believe the Broncos have the best offense in the NFL, but ever since week 1 they have been riddled with injuries.

Denver Broncos Injuries:

Champ Bailey (groin)
Boss Bailey (knee)
Selvin Young (groin)
Darrell Jackson (calf)
Jay Cutler (finger)
Brandon Marshall (groin)
Tony Scheffler (groin)
Eddie Royal (ankle)
Brandon Stokley (concussion)

And this is just a little list of the players banged up for Denver. If you look at this list, when all these get healthy this team will be hard to stop. Problem is, who knows when that will be.

Can the Denver Defense Contain the Wildcat Offense?

2008-10-21T11:52:00.000-07:00

Will the embarrassing loss to the New England Patriots 41-7 be enough to finally turn around the Denver Broncos weak defense?

If the injuries to the Bailey brothers isn't serious, then they might have a chance. Although the seriousness of the injuries to the big dogs in the secondary haven't been disclosed just yet and they have the bye week to get healthy, Denver may have reach the bye week at a perfect time to shape up.

The biggest question coming into week 9 for Denver, besides the injury problems, will be can this Broncos defense handle the Miami Dolphins new Wildcat offense?

The Dolphins are only 2-4 so far and there last few opponents have seemed catch onto their tricky new offense, but the Broncos have shown that they can't stop anyone this season and Miami beat the Pats in week 3 (38-13) by score pretty close to last night's Monday loss (41-7) to New England.

With that being said, Jay Cutler and company may be in for another tough week.

Patriots Pound the Broncos 41-7

2008-10-20T20:17:00.000-07:00

The turnovers were the Achilles heel of the Broncos all game long against the New England Patriots in Foxboro on Monday night.

On almost every Broncos offensive possession they turned the ball over. Whether it was Jay Cutler throwing interceptions (2 INTs) or Andre Hall, Michael Pittman and Patrick Ramsey fumbling the football (4 fumbles) . The Broncos were just not able to make it happen on offense or stop Matt Cassel on defense who threw for 3 TDs, two of which to Randy Moss.

Before this AFC showdown began, the story of the game was the matchup between superstar cornerback Champ Bailey and superstar wide receiver Randy Moss. Since Patriots quarterback Tom Brady went down in the first game of the season, Moss has been kept relatively in check thus far with only one receiving touchdown this year, but that end on Monday night football as he doubled his touchdown total in this game alone with 2 TDs.

Not only did the Broncos just get murdered by the New England offense, but they also have suffered some key injuries. Both of the Bailey brothers (Champ and Boss) left the game due to injury. Champ left the game with and injured groin and Boss went down with a knee injury. Jay Cutler also left the game in the first half due to an injured finger, but was able to come back to start the third quarter. As if that weren't enough, Broncos running back Michael Pittman left the game as well and did not return.

Along with first dominant performance for quarterback Matt Cassel and Randy Moss, running back Sammy Morris had a career day with a 138 yards and a score which was just the icing on the cake in a 41-7 blowout over the Broncos.

The Patriots were bitten by the injury bug as well as Rodney Harrison went down with a nasty knee injury in which he had to be carted off the field.

Needless to say, Denver has to make some serious changes to get back on track this season. If they keep turning the ball over like they have on a weekly basis, this could turn from a season with Super Bowl aspirations to a team in for a losing season.

Denver Broncos Take on the New England Patriots on MNF

2008-10-20T16:37:00.000-07:00

In what will probably an old fashion shoot out, the Patriots taking on the Broncos in Foxboro should be a very entertaining NFL match up on Monday night football.

To start this season the Denver Broncos were looking like the AFC favorite to reach the Super Bowl. With their young hard throwing quarterback Jay Cutler playing like a Pro Bowler leading the best offense in the league.

The problem with the Broncos is that their defense hasn't helped out the offensive production being ranked 30th in the NFL in defense. Denver may be able to put points on the board with the Cutler connecting with future Pro Bowler wide receiver Brandon Marshall, but if they can't stop teams from scoring then Denver is destine to fail.

In the past the Broncos have always had a talented defense with players like Bill Romanowski, Neil Smith and their current stud on defense in Champ Bailey, but this season has just been a joke in terms of getting stops.

The Broncos still have a very good chance of being the AFC team in the Super Bowl, but if they don't turn it around on defense like now! Then they might not even win the AFC West giving it to the San Diego Chargers once again.

As long as Champ Bailey can contain Randy Moss, this game should be another victory for Cutler and company, but after the AFC West rival Chargers gave the Pats an extremely embarrassing loss last week you got to believe the Bill Belichick will have his boys back in shape and ready to turn his season around against Denver.