Why Can’t We Be Friends? Bears-Broncos Rivalry Doesn’t Exist

Since when can you not have a reasonable conversation between Bears and Broncos fans?

Unless you have been living under a rock, the Denver Broncos and Chicago Bears struck a deal early in April when the Broncos traded their Pro Bowl quarterback Jay Cutler and a fifth-round pick to the Bears for quarterback Kyle Orton, two first-round picks, and a third-round pick.

Ever since that day, the two franchises’ fanbases have been at each other’s throats, almost like Broncos and Raiders fans.

It makes sense why Broncos fans have a bit of animosity. Their supposed “franchise” quarterback demanded a trade from their beloved home team and has dissed the team, fans, and city on numerous occasions.

But that does not mean Broncos fans give a rat’s behind about the rest of the Bears’ team.

So why do Bears fans keep bludgeoning Orton with criticism?

Are they insecure?

Did Orton demand a trade?

Did the Bears win more games than the Broncos will with him at the helm?

I do not like to generalize, but many Bears fans seem to believe that Orton is destined for failure in the Mile High City, but on what premise?

Brandon Marshall, begrudgingly or not, returns to Denver in 2009 as the team’s leading receiver over the last two seasons. Only Wes Welker has more receptions than Marshall since the beginning of the 2007 season, and he is one of the better receivers in the NFL at getting yards after the catch.

Second-year receiver Eddie Royal led the Broncos in all-purpose yardage last season, compiling 91 receptions for 981 yards, 109 rushing yards, 600 kick return yards, and 140 punt return yards. 

Fourth-year tight end Tony Scheffler led the NFL in yards per reception among tight ends last year at 16.1.

Brandon Stokley is widely considered to be one of the top slot receivers of all time and has been Orton’s favorite target in training camp.

Jabar Gaffney was a red zone star for the Patriots, catching seven of his eight touchdown passes inside the opponent’s 20-yard line for them.

Peyton Hillis is a power back who can run, catch, and block as well as any fullback/tight end/H-back in the league. If you do not believe me, just check out his YouTube credentials.

First-round pick Knowshon Moreno is also an electric option on offense, and the Broncos feel he can be an every-down back at this level because of his power, receiving skills, and blocking skills.

The Broncos also had an offensive line that allowed Cutler to be sacked 11 times in 2008 on 616 pass attempts, better than any other team in the NFL.

So what is it, Bears fans? Why will you not leave Denver alone here? 

Do you all want to see Orton fail, or are you simply bitter that while you inherited the better quarterback physically, you also still have a meager excuse for offensive supporting talent while Denver’s offensive group is world-class?

Ultimately, there is no connection between Bears fans and Broncos fans. Broncos fans have reason to be connected to Bears fans, as their dim-witted quarterback demanded a trade from the clear better situation.

But why do Bears fans care about Orton anymore if he is so bad?

What is the need to raise sand with Broncos fans over a quarterback who was happy to be in Chicago?

Since the trade, Cutler has made more negative news than any other player in the NFL that does not include legal issues.

He was recently quoted as saying Broncos fans are a “six” compared to Chicago’s fans, which are a “nine.”

While the Bears did get a greater turnout for their training camp session, the Broncos and their fans have sold out every home game since the 1970s. There was no reason for Cutler to call out Denver fans the way he did, although nobody really cares what he says anymore.

Cutler has also smack-talked via Twitter to his former head coach Josh McDaniels and called him out multiple times during the whole fiasco.

There is no denying Cutler is the superior athlete to Orton. He has a stronger arm, is faster, and is willing to take more risks.

In other words, Cutler is the better video game quarterback.

For the Broncos, Orton will be a game manager and a leader of the offense. He struggles throwing the deep ball, but he is more than capable of making any and every NFL throw.

On paper, it seems each team has what the other needs. Aside from the quarterback position, the Broncos have a superior secondary, but the Bears have the better front seven. The Broncos have a stellar offensive line, and the Bears’ offensive line is comprised of aging players and castoffs. 

Due to the fact that neither team will play each other for a couple of years, unless they meet in the Super Bowl, why is there animosity between fanbases?

It certainly is not because of Kyle Orton.

Denver Broncos Training Camp Notes Day Eight: Moreno Agrees to Terms

After the longest rookie holdout Denver Broncos fans of this generation have known, Knowshon Moreno has finally agreed to terms with the team on a contract.

The rookie out of Georgia, selected 12th overall in April’s draft, has agreed to a deal worth $23 million over five years with $13 million guaranteed.

As luck would have it for Moreno, his first day on the job will be the day off, as the Broncos will not hold any training camp sessions on Saturday.  His first practice will be on Sunday afternoon.

The return of Moreno finally gives the Broncos the full dream offensive weaponry they have been hoping for since they took him with their first of two first-round selections in the draft.

The Broncos feel that an offensive combination of Moreno, Brandon Marshall, Eddie Royal, Tony Scheffler, and Peyton Hillis on the field at one time will be so threatening to opposing defenses, the Broncos will have their way.

And why should they feel otherwise?

Moreno is expected by many to be the NFL’s offensive rookie of the year.  Brandon Marshall is a top ten receiver in this league, and made the Pro Bowl in 2008.  Eddie Royal had 91 receptions as a rookie, and led the team in all-purpose yardage. 

Tony Scheffler is one of the best receiving tight ends in the league, averaging over 16 yards per catch last season.  Peyton Hillis emerged late last season as one of the most punishing running backs in the NFL, and has better hands than most wide receivers.

And that is not even the half of it.

I did not even mention Daniel Graham, Brandon Stokley, Jabar Gaffney, Brandon Lloyd, Chad Jackson, or rookies Richard Quinn and Kenny McKinley.

How about key reserve runners Correll Buckhalter, LaMont Jordan, and Ryan Torain?

With this arsenal, how can Kyle Orton not succeed?

Did I mention the Broncos have an offensive line that only surrendered 11.5 sacks on 620 pass attempts in 2008?

Maybe this is an overly optimistic view, but the signing of Moreno makes the Broncos a better team, all over the place.

Despite the media’s view that the Broncos are a horrible team with the loss of Jay Cutler at quarterback, when you say it out loud, this team screams potential, and it screams character.

Now that every Bronco is on board, this team can focus on doing what it has done more than any other NFL franchise the last 25 years: win football games.

Is it Sunday yet?

Denver Broncos Training Camp Notes Day Seven: Orton Gets Booed

It was quite an eventful day seven for the Denver Broncos despite an afternoon practice where no starter was seen wearing pads of any sort.

After what appeared to be a pregame practice early in the day, the Denver Broncos arrived to Invesco Field at Mile High to the eyes of 13,400-plus fans, the most of any practice in franchise history.

While the practice was full of surprises, there is some other breaking news that must be shared prior to recapping the festivities.

Bronco fans received a bit of bad news when they learned that newly acquired safety Brian Dawkins had broken his hand.

The Denver Post is reporting that the broken bone in Dawkins’ hand will not keep him out of the season opener against Cincinnati, but that there is a good chance he will be held out of the whole preseason.

On the brighter side of things, rookie running back Knowshon Moreno is reportedly close to signing a five-year deal with the Broncos worth roughly $12.5 million in guaranteed money.

Unfortunately for Moreno, his seven-day holdout ends with him as the fifth or sixth running back on Denver’s depth chart. He will need to get back on head coach Josh McDaniels’ good graces, and fast, if he wants playing time, and I believe he will.

On to the practice notes.

As many may have heard by now, quarterback Kyle Orton was “booed” during practice.  The reports of his being booed because of interceptions thrown to Andre Goodman are completely false. 

Orton was trying to hook up with Jabar Gaffney on a deep out route, and overthrew him.  On the following play, Orton hit Gaffney, who dropped the pass.  A couple of plays after that, Eddie Royal dropped a perfect pass from Orton across the middle.

Both receivers were also booed.

Matt Prater was also booed after missing his first two field goal attempts, but he proceeded to make three in a row after that.

Let me address the Orton picks by saying this: The interceptions should not be attributed to poor play on the part of our new quarterback, but excellent plays by the defensive unit. 

The first pick was a jumped route by Goodman who came out of nowhere to steal a sure touchdown from Jabar Gaffney. Goodman turned the pick into a touchdown of his own.

The second pick was the result of the Broncos’ pass rush, which got to Orton and hit his arm as he threw. The hobbling pass fell straight into Goodman’s arms.

Other than that, Orton found the open receiver roughly seven times out of 10.  His favorite targets appeared to be Brandon Stokley and Tony Scheffler, but Eddie Royal had his share of touches as well.

Chris Simms and Orton continued to give the fans a good look at new receiver Brandon Lloyd, who has made a significant impact in training camp and possibly has earned a roster spot.

There were also reports that safety Josh Barrett was lining up as a middle linebacker in practice, and it appeared that those reports were true tonight. On multiple occasions, Barrett was identified by Simms as the “mike”, or mike linebacker.

The Broncos’ pass rush was in full form tonight as Ronald Fields. Andra Davis, and Darrell Reid all found their way to either Kyle Orton or Chris Simms for a sack.

One area where Broncos fans seemed to be very impressed was in special teams, particularly when Alphonso Smith and Kenny McKinley took reps as kick returners and both showed their great speed with some long run backs.

The team was without Brandon Marshall, Dawkins, and Rulon Davis for tonight’s practice session, but all figure to be back for the regular season, if not sooner.

Either way, Denver fans who complain about the assessments of Jamie Dukes and other mainstream media outlets for “bashing” the Broncos should realize that they are adding fuel to the fire by booing their quarterback during practice.

While it is the only measurement we have at the moment, take these practices for what they are—practice. The poor passes Orton made tonight came at a time when the defense knew he was passing, and the offense was without its top receiver.

There is no excuse for poor play, but if Orton is already being written off after getting booed for missing a couple of passes during practice, we better throw every other NFL quarterback under the bus.

Broncos fans were just having a good time at practice, booing for what they did not like, and giving a thunderous applause for what they did like.

What I am trying to convey here is that there is no need to worry about this one practice.  Orton has looked fine in the other sessions, and we have not even played a preseason game yet.

 

 

Denver Broncos Training Camp Notes Day Six: Ayers, Moss Impressive

Day six of training camp was lacking for pure excitement at Dove Valley Headquarters, aside from a little rookie hazing at the outset.

After the team finished calisthenics, the rookies formed a line in a corner of the practice facility that had been watered down by the turf crew, making it a muddy mess.

With other players holding buckets of water and/or hoses, the rookies had to dive one by one into the muck after a fumble.

After that, the practice seemed very relaxed and easy going, though not for lack of effort by any means.

Instead of doing an 80-yard scrimmage, the offense and defense honed their red-zone skills, and each had their moments.

Chris Simms hit Brandon Lloyd in the back of the end zone for what was arguably the offensive play of the day, and Kenny Peterson laid a hit on Correll Buckhalter that the running back will never forget.

The team also practiced situational ball, such as third-and-four, third-and-eight, and so on. 

Jarvis Moss got to the quarterback on one play, Andre Goodman jumped a Kyle Orton pass, and Alphonso Smith picked off a Chris Simms toss, but this session was largely dominated by the play of the offense.

In the third-down drills, Brandon Stokley, Tony Scheffler, and Eddie Royal all proved why the Broncos had one of the league’s top offensive units in the NFL last season by snagging passes from Kyle Orton.

Orton also found a streaking Jabar Gaffney in one-on-one coverage against Joshua Bell on the right side of the field, although it appeared Gaffney pushed off of the second year corner.

One disappointing aspect from Wednesday’s session was that Chris Simms’ second offensive unit was sent running a lap around the field yet again.  This seems to be a popular trend from Simms lately, and quite frankly I am not impressed.

Rookie Robert Ayers showed off some skills as a pass defender today, jumping a quick screen toss from Orton and swatting it to the ground.

Another inspiring series of events came after a pass interference call on Alphonso Smith who was covering Brandon Stokley.

Smith appeared to be unhappy with the call, and Stokley was trying to convince him that the rookie was in the wrong.

He would not buy it.

So, on the very next play, Stokley caught an eight yard pass, faked a juke to his left which sent Smith flying, and spun to his right for a big gain.  When the play was over, he motioned to the crowd to make some noise, and he was not done.

On the next play, Stokley caught another pass for a first down, and again motioned for the crowd to applaud and give the offense some support.

I will give another update tomorrow night after the practice at Invesco Field at Mile High.

Denver Broncos Training Camp Notes Day Five: Jack Williams Picks a Pair

Denver Broncos’ training camp moves into Day Six with an interesting battle seemingly taking place.

Cornerback Jack Williams, selected in the fourth round of the 2008 NFL Draft is doing anything and everything in his power to maintain the “nickel” position he currently possesses, and he is doing a great job of it.

In Tuesday’s evening practice session, Williams picked off two passes; one that went for a 98-yard touchdown score.

“It’s man to man,” Williams said. “You’ve just got to play the man first and be in position to make the interception. I got lucky and did.”

Prior to his interception, Williams was called for pass interference in the end-zone on wide receiver Brandon Stokley, but the sophomore corner more than made up for it by jumping a quick Kyle Orton pass.

Head coach Josh McDaniels has taken notice of the great strides Williams has made this offseason and in training camp, and he thinks he can have a big role in the 2009 defense and beyond.

“We have gotten our hands on a bunch of balls and made some interceptions,” McDaniels said. “Jack, I think, had his first couple today. It is great to see improvement from our younger players, and he is one that we are counting on.”

With youngsters like Williams, Alphonso Smith, Josh Barrett, David Bruton, and Josh Bell among others learning from great players such as Champ Bailey and Brian Dawkins, this Bronco secondary appears to be set for quite a while.

In addition to the secondary being given a big boost, the Broncos’ hybrid linebacker group grew by two on Tuesday as joining the team were Jarvis Moss and rookie Robert Ayers.

Moss was gone on personal business, and contemplated retirement. McDaniels did not seemed very worried about Moss on the surface, and said he was pleased with the former first-round pick’s effort during practice.

“We talked this morning, and he is ready to go,” he said. “He went out there and had a good practice today. That is what you need to see, and that is what he gave us.”

If Moss can impress at camp and have an impact this season, the Broncos will more than welcome it.  He has not yet played a full season for Denver, and is already being considered a “bust” by some.

The Broncos’ defensive staff wasted no time getting Ayers into action either, and the first-round pick saw time with the first-team defense in his first full-padded NFL practice.

“They want to see me match up against the first-team offensive linemen,” Ayers said. “They want to see me go against the second team, just to see how I compete against different guys. It’s not necessarily going with the first team. It’s more so just trying to get matchups.”

When asked about Ayers being in camp, McDaniels was blatantly honest about the youngster.

“Doesn’t know what to do half the time, yet. But he’s very physical. Has a long way to go, but great to have him here.”

There were two not-so-highlights of Broncos camp on Tuesday, as running back Knowshon Moreno remained unsigned, and newly-acquired linebacker Nick Greisen was pronounced to the injured reserve, and he will miss the 2009 campaign entirely.

Greisen will be replaced on the Broncos’ roster by undrafted rookie linebacker Braxton Kelley of Kentucky, who will begin his second stint with the Broncos after being waived earlier this offseason.

Adam Schefter, now of ESPN, reported that Moreno’s deal was to be finalized by Thursday morning at the very latest, so the Broncos and their fans should expect to see No. 27 in uniform at the Invesco field practice then, if not earlier.

Reportedly, team officials are working out a deal that will be for five years and over $12 million guaranteed. The only obstacle is figuring out how much more he will receive in the deal.

Another fun part of Tuesday’s camp was that Broncos fans welcomed the infamous Ed Hochuli to officiate three days of practices.

Hochuli is known best not for his 20 years of NFL referee experience, but for his botched call Week Two against the San Diego Chargers.

Tim Crowder is also now practicing with the first-team defensive unit at outside linebacker.

I will be updating after tomorrow night’s 5:30 practice session, so check back for more news!

Denver Broncos Training Camp Notes Day Three and Four: Ayers on Board

For those who were hoping for an update last night, I deeply apologize.  My family headed north to Greeley, CO to visit some other family, and I was unable to find any access to a computer whatsoever.

Late or not, I come bearing some good news as well as some bad.

The bad news is that Brandon Marshall has suffered yet another injury, this time to his hamstring.  Marshall was absent from the team’s morning practice on Sunday, and apparently left the late practice early.

The good news is that the team has officially signed outside linebacker/defensive lineman Robert Ayers to a five year contract.

The 18th overall pick in the 2009 NFL Draft had been holding out of practices for four days.

Knowshon Moreno, the 12th overall pick in the draft, is still in Georgia working out, and has not reported to Dove Valley for training camp.

Now on to the good stuff.

Sunday’s practice was the hottest I have ever attended in 12 years of coming to Denver Broncos’ training camp.  It was miserable, but the players were all on top of their game’s.

Kyle Orton especially.

When practicing throwing the deep ball, Orton missed only one pass to Matt Willis, and that was because it was dropped.  He consistently put the ball on the receivers’ back shoulder and was throwing the ball 40-45 yards in the air.

Sunday also saw the Broncos’ first real look at the “wildcat” offensive formation.

In this formation, Orton motioned out wide and running back Correll Buckhalter lined up as the quarterback. 

The Broncos did not try anything too fancy out of this formation, just a couple of draw plays designed for Buckhalter, but they did surprise the fans with something else.

On multiple occasions, Orton received the snap and started a wide receiver reverse to Jabar Gaffney. Gaffney took the ball to the right tackle where he stopped dead in his tracks and tossed the ball back to Orton, who looked downfield for a streaking Eddie Royal.

Only once did the Broncos try this against their own defense, and Andre Goodman was able to distract Royal just enough to where he lost concentration of the ball, it hit him in his chest plate, and the play resulted in an incomplete pass.

Still, the efforts of both ends attracted applause from the crowd, but what was really inspiring was what occurred during the two-minute drill.

On the first play, Kyle Orton threw a desperation deep pass that was nearly picked off by safety Brian Dawkins. Dawkins knew he had missed an opportunity, and he punished himself by doing a series of push-up’s.

The crowd took notice and roared in applause. Apparently Bronco fans are not used to this kind of effort and passion.

At the end of practice, the Broncos were running more “gassers”, where they run the width of the field and back in separate units. It is this kind of effort that is really giving skeptical fans hope for the new regime. Josh McDaniels is a “no bull” kind of coach.

Chris Simms was sent running laps again during Sunday’s session, as well as center Casey Wiegmann after the two botched a snap.

With each practice, I have noticed that the Broncos’ running game appears to be as strong as it has been since Clinton Portis was dealt for Champ Bailey, and this team does not even have its prized back in camp yet.

Peyton Hillis, Ryan Torain, LaMont Jordan, Correll Buckhalter, and even Darius Walker have all had their share of moments during practice, but on Sunday, Torain was the horse.

He appears to have fully healed from his knee injury suffered last season, and is a dark horse right now to start if Moreno misses enough time.

Peyton Hillis was spread out again as a fullback, running back, and receiver in different formations, and he excelled at each.

Marcus Thomas had a sack during the two-minute drill, as well as Chris Baker, which was a very welcome sight to Bronco fans who have been sorely missing a ferocious pass rush.

More to come from Monday’s practice sessions.

Denver Broncos Training Camp Notes Day Two: Chad Jackson Emerging

As the five-o-clock hour approached in Englewood, Colo., fans were treated to a pleasant, all too familiar sight.

Gracing the field for the first time since training camp officially began was star cornerback Champ Bailey.

When Bailey approached the fans’ side of the practice field, he was greeted with a great roar of applause.

On the field, he did not disappoint either.

When the team took the field for 11-on-11 drills, Bailey erased what would have been a sure touchdown pass from quarterback Kyle Orton to receiver Brandon Marshall.

In addition to the return of Bailey, fans were treated to their first look at new safety Renaldo Hill and third-year defensive tackle Marcus Thomas.

Hill was practicing with the first-team defense while Thomas was rotating at nose tackle with Carlton Powell on the second- and third-team defenses.

There were mixed reactions about Saturday’s session.  One fan was complaining about Kyle Orton completing a series of five-to-ten yard passes instead of throwing the ball 30 yards downfield, and some fans were harping on the defense after a couple of good runs by Ryan Torain, Correll Buckhalter, and Peyton Hillis.

Still, the defense quite honestly dominated much of the day.

It all started in one-on-one tackling drills, when Josh Barrett absolutely leveled Brandon Marshall, knocking his helmet clean off.

That hit seemed to really inspire the crowd, and Marshall met with Barrett twice more, and twice more the two players had an excellent battle.  On the final run, Barrett even tore a bit of Marshall’s undershirt, and Marshall pushed him away out of anger.

“We were both going out there, trying to get the best of one another,” Barrett said, noting that he couldn’t judge who won the matchups. “I’ll give it to him if he thinks he won. I know he didn’t score.”

Barrett’s physical battles with Marshall prompted me to wonder if some of the players on the Broncos are holding animosity toward the Pro Bowl receiver for his actions this off-season, for thinking he is above the team.

For what Marshall appears to lack in sense and maturity off the field, he was his usual happy-go-lucky self toward the fans.

Before practice, he gave footballs to at least 25 young fans.

The real star of the day was wide receiver Chad Jackson, who was signed midway through last season due to injuries at the position.

Jackson caught every ball thrown his way, and two of the receptions were in triple coverage.  Those catches drew “ooh’s” and “ahh’s” from the crowd, as well as applause.

If he continues to perform at that level, there is no way the Broncos can afford to simply let him go.  He is an outstanding talent, and he appears to be a rock-solid athlete.

Brandon Stokley and Eddie Royal continued to set the bar high for the other receivers at practice today, and Stokley was the recipient of quite a few passes on third down during the two-minute drill.

I reported yesterday that LaMont Jordan appeared to be the first-team tailback, but today the Broncos rotated in all of Jordan, Correll Buckhalter, Ryan Torain, and Peyton Hillis at the running back position.

Hillis and Torain did exceptionally well, and free agent signee Darius Walker scored three touchdowns in eight-on-eight drills.

Brian Dawkins was his usual energetic self today, but with the additions of Bailey and Hill to the defensive backfield, this was undoubtedly a more inspired unit as a whole. 

During the first two-minute drill, Kyle Orton seemed to have the team driving down the field when poor communication caused him to throw an interception to Andre Goodman.

Chris Simms had already been struggling throughout practice, and the two-minute drill really did him in.

He threw an interception to Goodman as well, and D.J. Johnson appeared to pick off a Simms pass but he was ruled out of bounds.

He also threw passes that were caught and dropped by safety David Bruton and Jack Williams.

Due to his poor play, Simms was told to run a lap around the field, but he was not the only one.

Rookie quarterback Tom Brandstater and rookie center Blake Schlueter botched a snap and had to run a lap, and the second defensive unit was out of position and McDaniels had seen enough.

The entire group was sent off and running.

Additionally, any time a pass is dropped, fumble or not, the players are required to pick the ball up and run to the end zone.

Head coach Josh McDaniels is really pressing the fundamentals on his new team, and it appears to be paying dividends.  There is a noticeable discrepancy in hustle from the past two seasons, and a huge energy shift.

It is also being reported that Jarvis Moss, who missed today’s practice session for personal reasons, is considering retiring at the age of 24.  This would be horribly sad news for the former first-round pick’s career, but he needs to do what is best for his family.

More to come from day three practice.

Denver Broncos Training Camp Recap Day One: Marshall, Fields Stand Out

The Denver Broncos opened their training camp officially on Friday, and for as raw as the team is supposed to be with a new system, over 40 new players, and an almost entirely new coaching staff, the overall consensus at Dove Valley was that head coach Josh McDaniels has his team on the right track.

Even without Jay Cutler.

This new regime was doing things fans have never seen before, including “gassers” at the conclusion of the evening practice session, which brought back high school football memories.

Casual fans like myself were hard-pressed to get a strong view of the defensive position players other than one-on-one drills and roughly a half-an-hour of full squad action, but many of the defensive newcomers stood out.

Starting nose tackle Ronald Fields was consistently in the backfield, using a lower center of gravity and excellent strength to anchor the line of scrimmage.  A good portion of running plays were virtually shut down solely because of the efforts of the former 49er.

Additionally, many die-hard Bronco fans were granted one of their training camp wishes.  Second-year player Carlton Powell was lining up with the second team defense as the nose tackle.

He looked much bigger than expected, so much so that I had to check the roster before confirming it was actually him.

Powell found himself in the backfield more often than not today as well, and on one play in particular, tight end Tony Scheffler motioned to the left, attempting a pull block for a running play, and when the ball was snapped, Scheffler simultaneously met the grass courtesy of Powell.

The defense was without three veterans and projected starters in Champ Bailey, Renaldo Hill, and Marcus Thomas, but the unit appeared strong under the tutelage of Mike Nolan.

They were also missing rookie defensive end/outside linebacker Robert Ayers due to a holdout.

Both Ayers and fellow first round draft pick Knowshon Moreno are holding out of camp as they have yet to sign their contracts.  Word is that Moreno is much further apart than Ayers in talks.

The star of the day offensively was Brandon Marshall, who consistently ran crisp routes, did not drop a single pass, and who appeared to be in tip shape after missing time with an injury.

Marshall made both dazzling one-handed catches and tip-toe catches alike, garnering much attention from the crowd. 

For most of the day, he was receiving the passes from Denver’s projected starting quarterback Kyle Orton.

While nobody and nothing was absolutely perfect, Orton and the other quarterbacks seemed to have a solid grasp of McDaniels’ complex offense.  He was making good reads and putting any throw 30 yards and in right on the button.

The knock on Orton has been his inability to throw the ball downfield, but he threw the ball 45 yards pretty easily, sometimes even over-shooting his target.

The offensive line was up to its usual tricks, opening up huge holes for the running games at times.

Two players who really took advantage of those gaping holes were Ryan Torain and Peyton Hillis, both 2008 draftees who are coming off of fairly serious injuries.

It was hard to determine who was running with which units at times, which indicated to me that the coaching staff is willing and able to experiment with which players work best together.  If I had to make a guess, this is how I would have pegged the rosters as of day one:

 

Offense

QB:  Orton, Simms, Brandstater

RB:  Jordan, Buckhalter, Torain, Walker

FB:  Hillis, Larsen

WR:  Marshall, Stokley, Jackson, Lloyd

WR:  Royal, Gaffney, McKinley, Swift, Willis, Shelton

TE:  Graham, Scheffler, Quinn, Putzier, Branson

LT:  Clady, Polumbus, Oldenburg

LG:  Hamilton, Erickson, McChesney

C:  Wiegmann, Lichtensteiger, Schlueter

RG:  Kuper, Olsen, Murray

RT:  Harris, Gorin

 

Defense

DE:  McBean, Askew, Pedescleaux

NT:  Fields, Powell, Baker

DE:  Peterson, Clemons, Davis

OLB:  Reid, Crowder

MLB:  Williams, Woodyard

MLB:  Davis, Larsen, Robinson

OLB:  Dumervil, Moss

CB:  Williams, Bell

CB:  Goodman, Smith, Johnson

S:  Dawkins, Barrett, Bruton

S:  McBath, Fox

 

I will be updating after tomorrow afternoon’s session as well.

Denver Broncos Training Camp Notes: Marshall and Williams Held Out

Wednesday’s hour long morning practice session for the Denver Broncos was not extremely news worthy, but it should be noted that linebacker D.J. Williams, and wide receivers Brandon Marshall and Lucas Taylor were held out of activities due to soreness from offseason surgeries.

Taylor is not likely to make the final roster, but both Marshall and Williams are key players to the Broncos’ success in 2009.

There was also some great news in regards to the quarterbacks from head coach Josh McDaniels, who thought his crop of signal callers were far ahead of the curve.

“The information flow in the quarterback room is much quicker,” McDaniels said. “Their recall is certainly very high right now, and they know what to do.

“There is nothing we’re saying to them in the meeting room or on the field that’s foreign to them. That’s comforting, but it still means they have to go out and execute when there’s a defense and a different look, disguising, and (running) everything and at full speed.”

This is certainly great news for Broncos fans, who were virtually split in half over the decision to trade Jay Cutler away in exchange for inferior talent at the quarterback position. 

It was rumored that McDaniels’ main concern with Cutler was that he would not be able to grasp the complexity of his system while still being a tough leader of the team, and it appears that Kyle Orton, Chris Simms, and Tom Brandstater are all on the right track.

I realize that I do not speak for all Bronco fans here, but I really appreciate the fact that Josh McDaniels is dedicating the first four days of this week of camp to getting an extra look at some players (rookies) who may otherwise be on the cusp of making the team.

This way, he can effectively evaluate all talent objectively. 

More to come from practice this week, as I will be driving down to Englewood tomorrow morning and arriving in the early evening.

Brandon Marshall’s No. 15 Should Be Replaced by Tim Tebow

There is still another football season to be played before any of us fans begin to think about the NFL Draft, but the news of a three day extension of the greatest event of the NFL season (unless of course your team competes for the Lombardi Trophy in February) got me thinking.

Brandon Marshall, the Denver Broncos’ star wide receiver, has requested a trade.  He has gone public via Twitter and his “official” website as saying “change is best”. 

While this act is cute and all, the Broncos fully expect Marshall to show up for training camp next Friday, and he plans on doing so also, much to his chagrin.

When asked whether or not Marshall would be wearing number 15 for the Denver Broncos in 2009, Marshall responded with a smile, “I’ll be wearing number 15.”

Truth be told, those five words were enough to set off many, if not all Denver Bronco fans. 

The gloves are off.

On multiple occasions, I have met Marshall, and I can say first hand that he is a class act to the fans of the Denver Broncos.  He is always willing to sign extra autographs, take pictures, and despite his off-field issues, I feel Marshall is a good person at heart, or at least wants to be.

The fact remains that Marshall has yet to prove that he can be a reliable citizen, much less a dependable employee and superstar athlete.

So why do the Broncos not unload him?

The first answer that comes to mind is because they do not have any desire to.

Marshall is undoubtedly a top-10 receiver in this league.  He is an absolute beast with the ball in his hands, and no player has been thrown to more times over the last two seasons. 

Another reason?

Marshall has only one year left on his rookie contract, and in 2009, he is going to come at an outstandingly reasonable price.  That being said, how diminished will his trade value be since the team potentially getting him will not be guaranteed more than a one year rental?

Yet another road bump in any potential Marshall trade is his recent hip injury, which he has yet to fully recover from. 

Do not forget about Marshall’s legal history, as well as pending case in mid-August.

So what can the Broncos really get in return for an injured, legally troubled rental of a wide receiver who claimed he was “nowhere near” as fast as the great Larry Fitzgerald at a recent workout session?

The answer to that, my friends, is “not a whole heck of a lot”, which is why I have a proposition for Broncos fans and critics alike.

As you can see by simply viewing the article’s photo, the crux of this rant is Florida quarterback Tim Tebow, arguably the greatest player to ever grace a college football field.

I propose that the Denver Broncos keep Brandon Marshall for 2009, franchise tag him in 2010, trade him, and draft Tebow.

I cannot think of a better player to replace the number 15 jersey in my closet at the current moment.

Tebow has been absolutely hammered by NFL scouts, many saying he is not going to be a good fit for the NFL.  One Todd McShay predicted him as a second day pick at best.

I would like to use this space to say right now that Tim Tebow will be a superb NFL quarterback, just like I think Tyler Hansbrough will be one of the most consistent power forwards in the NBA for the next decade.

Like Hansbrough, Tebow is supposedly not fit to excel at the next level.

Alright, so there is a flaw in that reasoning.  The NBA is not even close to being similar to the NFL, but Tebow and Hansbrough have strikingly similar backgrounds. 

Both are considered to be the best or among the best in their respective sports, both have championship experience, great coaching, and both are hard working, high character student athletes.

If there is one thing I have learned from Josh McDaniels this offseason, it is that he values leadership and the “team” concept more than he does any single player.

Is Tim Tebow not the poster child to represent that description?

Tebow is a Heisman Trophy recipient, and a two-time BCS National Champion.  He has won nearly every accolade or personal achievement any player at the collegiate level could possibly receive.

To boot, he is the ideal size for an NFL quarterback at 6’3″ 240 pounds.

Tebow is the only player in FBS history to throw and rush for 20 touchdowns in the same season, but he is far from being only a “scrambling” quarterback.

Over the last two seasons, Tebow has thrown 62 touchdown passes to only 10 interceptions.  That is better than a six-to-one ratio, for those keeping track at home.

While this is simply a pipe dream, I cannot get the thought out of my head.

Out with the old, and in with the new has been a theme this offseason for the Broncos, and the new management has fans excited about possibly serving delicious crow to the main-stream media.

I could not think of a better way to serve it than ice cold.

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