The Denver Broncos Ageist?

I know that I've been critical of the media in Denver as of late, from my chair high atop the ivory tower (sarcasm). However, Mark Kiszla's newest column for The Denver Post suggests that, John Lynch's departure looks bad for the Broncos. I have to agree with him, in a week that's been full of radio stations calling out suspensions, reporters doing features on players who don't even play defense and rookie writers reporting mis-info.

Yes, I know I didn't link any of those proclamations, everyone makes mistakes, but when you're paid, I think you deserve to be held to a higher standard. Especially when you have an editor, I of course have none...

I was troubled when I saw the crooked team doctor in Oliver Stone's Any Given Sunday. Then I was even more troubled when truth started surfacing about former Bronco middle linebacker Al Wilson and the situation surrounding his release. Now I've read Stefan Fatsis' new book A Few Seconds of Panic and I'm downright convinced. I'm not saying anything here that's going to get me in trouble with anyone in the NFL, but I might eventually. Especially in my next three films.

IN OTHER NEWS:

The Denver Post reads my blog (and steals my titles, word for word) =)

Gary Zimmerman's in the Hall of Fame, more Broncos to follow?

Today Denver Broncos left tackle Gary Zimmerman was inducted into the Hall of Fame by none other than Denver Broncos owner Pat Bowlen.

“To make it here today, with some of the best whoever played the game in the gallery, I am more humbled and blessed than I’ve ever been in my life,” Zimmerman told the crowd. “…I stand before you today a proud and gracious man.”

The man, who at one point adopted former offensive line coach Alex Gibb's code of silence, said that he'd worked weeks on his speech. He even called upon the Dalai Lama at one point quoting, “Not getting what you want is sometimes a magical stroke of luck.” Zimmerman was referring to what his college coach had said when he switched him, without consultation from middle linebacker to offensive linemen his freshman year.

An additional note, more of humor than anything is that Pat Bowlen during his introduction to Gary Zimmerman stated that, Zimmerman was, “the John Elway of the offensive line and the second-best player to play for me.”

Bowlen said literally the same thing of Rod Smith just last week, upon the announcement of Rod Smith retiring.

So let's talk about it, because it's here... Rod Smith has retired, the one thing that will insure that he sees a place in Canton is if the media continues to reinforce the fact that he does in fact deserve to be there. Why then is The Denver Post's Mike Klis telling fans to get real? It is time to get real Denver Bronco fans, we have at least five other players who deserve a spot in Canton who have been qualified for years!

The list goes a bit like this (and I'm sure that I'll miss someone): running back Floyd Little, linebacker Randy Gradishar, linebacker Tom Jackson, linebacker Karl Mecklenburg and safety Steve Atwater.

I have another personal favorite that I would include as well, safety Dennis Smith. However, it's not about what I believe, it's about who deserves to be there. From the above list, only Randy Gradishar has even a shot, but most likely last year was his last opportunity. Steve Atwater may get an opportunity as well soon, Atwater was literally the definition of football- old school, he was a throwback to the 1970's the way he used to sledge hammer a ball carrier.

This year will be the first year that former Denver Broncos tight end Shannon Sharpe is up for induction this year, and running back Terrell Davis will once again be on the minds of voters. There are great arguments to be made for Terrell Davis: two Super Bowl wins, 2,000 yard season (which only five players have done ever, three are in the Hall of Fame, one is still active), Super Bowl MVP, 8,000 yards in seven seasons, 100 yards in every playoff game (10) et cetera. However, given that he didn't play twelve years in the NFL, he may not get in. Which would be a shame. Shannon Sharpe is a shoo in though (maybe eventually). Both Sharpe and Davis have the opportunity to keep their names and faces fresh in the minds of voters, because of their current jobs. Though that never helped Tom Jackson.

Rod Smith will be up eligible in 2013, the only thing that will really keep him worthy is fans consistently calling for his enshrinement over the next five years. John Lynch will most definitely get in, however, I don't see him entering as a Bronco. Unless he chooses to make Denver his permanent home, which he has suggested.

On the current roster, Champ Bailey is a first ballot guy and Tom Nalen should be as well. To stretch that list just a little bit farther coach Mike Shanahan will most definitely get in when he chooses to retire. There's two pieces of good news in those last few paragraphs, those being; Over the next ten-fifteen years the number of Denver Broncos enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame will escalate from two to a definite six and a possible nine. You've just got to stay one them and keep cheering Denver.

Romo: 2008 Cowboys are the 1997 Broncos

Caught this over on Orange Mane:



Okay Tony Romo seems fair enough, but you're no John Elway yet.

Denver Broncos Training Camp Day 9 (Morning) Report

Young Broncos are shinning! However, more on that in a bit.

As I stated yesterday, veteran center Tom Nalen's MRI came back negative, but he still sat out today. Nalen was joined on the sideline by: Chad Mustard (hamstring), Boss Bailey (knee), Hamza Abdullah (groin) and Montrae Holland was once again conditioning with Rich Tuten. Rookie linebacker Spencer Larsen was excused from practice, as his wife is having a baby. So congratulations to Spencer Larsen. More good news is that rookie fullback Peyton Hillis and running back Michael Pittman were both in pads and participating in practice today, Cecil Sapp can rest up a bit finally and Brett Pierce can return to only playing tight end.

Now onto training camp notes:

Jack Williams breaks up Keary Colbert's reception

• Rookie corner back Jack Williams and Domonique Foxworth continue to make the best of every opportunity that they get. Foxworth is making a legitimate case for becoming Denver's number two option at corner back. He's said earlier this week that he believes that there are 32 teams in the league that he could start for, which includes Denver. Foxworth and Dre Bly actually both caught the wrath of a peaked Brandon Marshall who shared one of his best days in camp with the extremely accurate Jay Cutler.

• Rookie safety Josh Barrett has also stepped up significantly this week, particularly in the last two days (in the absence of Hamza Abdullah). Having broken passes up, thumping running backs in the backfield and blitzing the quarterback, he's kind of making it look easy. Barrett's jarring hits while performing for the second-team defense didn't prove to be enough to cause tight end Nate Jackson to drop a pass, as he was leveled by Barrett, but managed to hold on to the pass. The young Barrett got his revenge in a goal line situation, preventing Jackson from scoring on a short pass at the three yard line.
  
  
• Position battle wise: Niko Koutouvides suited at middle linebacker with the first-team defense and the two day rotation between Koutouvides and Nate Webster became evident. I'm not sure anymore where Tony Scheffler stands, obviously Daniel Graham is the number one tight end, but did Nate Jackson become the number two for Denver and then lose it? Scheffler played more with the first-team today and Jackson played more with the second-team offense today. Patrick Ramsey's successes continue to pale in comparison to that of third-stringer Darrel Hackney. And as far as the offensive line goes, calls for heads rolling may have been a bit premature... Today Jay Cutler succeeded because the emphasis was on passing and the offensive line looks great in pass protection. However, when Cutler has a bad day it's normally because of the amount of time he has to pass the ball. One last position battle is the number four receiver, Eddie Royal and Keary Colbert, it's too tough to tell.

The crowd collectively asked, "Jason who?"

• Matt Prater went ten for ten in field goal kicks, including one for 68 yards. That's not a typo.
  
  
• Here's the deal on Denver's rookie running backs Anthony Aldridge and Ryan Torain. Bronco fans have every reason to be excited about these two, for many years ahead there will be success, but when they look the best, they're playing against second and third-team defensive players. That being said, I don't believe that anyone should be lobbying for Torain to start immediately, not that anyone is. Selvin Young and Andre Hall are still the guys in Denver and as I've said before, I wouldn't be surprised to see movement at the top of the chart sometime during preseason.
  
  
• The receivers, you've no doubt heard that this was Brandon Marshall's best day of camp, possibly anyone in Denver's best day of camp. The rest of the first-team receivers, Darrell Jackson and Brandon Stokley, both looked great as well. I mentioned the number four spot battle earlier and I think that Keary Colbert might have the edge over rookie Eddie Royal, because of blocking ability. That's just what my instincts are telling me.
  
  
• Jay Cutler's good day was directly due to the strength of the offensive line, who seemed to have finally come together as a unit, despite having their leader replaced by center Casey Wiegmann. That's the first-team offensive line, the second-team offensive line was a mess and the first-team defensive line, led by DeWayne Robertson, made them flat out look bad.
  
  
• Speaking of the defensive line, Jarvis Moss is making it look easy, adding several sacks, pressures and knock downs to his training camp total. Fans can look forward to a very strong interior rotation on the defensive line, consisting of: Ebenezer Ekuban, DeWayne Robertson, Josh Mallard, Marcus Thomas and Alvin McKinley.

Broncos resign Lynch's replacement

At least as far as his roster spot replacement. According to the The Denver Post, the Denver Broncos have resigned Vickiel Vaughn.

Vaughn was drafted in 2006 in the seventh round (254th overall) by the San Francisco 49ers. He spent most of the 2006 season on injured reserve prior to being cut in 2007 during the 49ers training camp. Vaughn was most recently signed by Denver this off-season, but was June 14th, 2008, prior to training camp opening.

In his senior season at Arkansas Vaughn finished second on the team with 83 tackles, four interceptions (one which was returned for a touchdown) and one fumble recovery. Expect Vaughn to play very well at special teams, he was also rated number 20 out of the 86 free safeties entering the 2006 draft.

Davis talked Walker out of retirment

Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com has just reported that Oakland Raider owner Al Davis talked Javon Walker out of retirement as late as last week. Walker, whom apparently was struggling with his own performance in training camp, offered to reimburse Oakland for the eleven million dollar signing bonus he received.

This comes after Bill Williamson of ESPN.com reported yesterday that Walker was off to a slow start, apparently Raiders coach Lane Kiffin has been critical of the receiver in camp.

Brandon Marshall wants to say something...

Broncos wide receiver Brandon Marshall had something to say yesterday, finally! In a not so exclusive interview with the Broncos Denver Broncos Blog, we held out the tape recorder and said, "I'm looking forward to the season," as he walked towards the locker room he also slipped us this little ditty, "I can't wait for Oakland on Monday night."

There you have it, Marshall knows that he won't be suspended at all. That and he's looking forward to making Oakland's secondary look completely stoopit for trying to cover him. Granted the Monday he's referring to is about five weeks away, the real news is he will be present on Monday night and as you know his humble presence alone produces magic.

Of course, I don't believe that Marshall knows any more or less than the rest of us. However, his feeling seems to be that he will be present in Denver's first game against Oakland... I'd love to believe him as readers know, I predicted a week ago that he would be given a pass.

Denver Broncos Training Camp Day 8 (Morning) Report

I may have jinxed our gentle giants in Dove Valley and I'm sorry. Starting free safety Hamza Abdullah (groin) and strong side linebacker Boss Bailey (knee) were both added to the list of inactives today, which includes: Tom Nalen (knee), Peyton Hillis (hamstring), Chad Mustard (hamstring), Michael Pittman (too many reps) and Montrae Holland (TFTP).

The good news?:

Brandon Marshall is Magic!

Seriously, Marshall hasn't even caught the ball and the referee is already calling a touchdown. He's so sure of his skill that he doesn't even stand up to catch anymore. Just sits in the end zone and waits. It's a sign, what Marshall is trying to illustrate with this metaphor is that even "sitting" he will be effective. He's telling fans that it's okay, look at the young boy just below the ball, he understands.

Tom Nalen's MRI was negative, which is great news to everyone, except center Casey Wiegmann, who has been filling in for the injured Nalen on the first-team offense.

I proposed this a couple of days ago (maybe even the first day of camp), what do you guys think of this for a front five: Clady, Hamilton, Nalen, Wiegmann and Kuper? Just a through, of course if missing this many reps in training camp does not affect Montrae Holland then of course swap him and Wiegmann. I love Ryan Harris and I'm assuming the coaches do too, because of the amount of first-team reps he is getting at right tackle. However, if Chris Kuper doesn't have to play right guard and the Denver staff can put him on the outside, they probably will. He's playing like a programmed machine, broken hand and all.

Nate Webster is still at middle linebacker on the first-team. As I stated yesterday, as far as I can tell it's two day rotation, Webster plays two days on first-team, then Niko Koutouvides plays two days on first-team. Who's better? Hmm... Webster's certainly more exciting to watch play, while Koutouvides seems to be the more intelligent player. They both come from good NFL pedigrees as far as previous experience, however Webster was an animal for Denver last season. Can he be trusted in pass coverage? Not as much as I would trust Koutouvides in pass coverage and here in lies the problem for Denver's coaching staff. Preseason will sort out the situation, hopefully. Let's not forgot about rookie Spencer Larsen either, while he's most likely going to go head-to-head with Jordan Beck for special teams thriller, Larsen provides nice insurance to Webster and Koutouvides.

Dre Bly's a man on a mission:

Can you imagine the results of the above picture in an actual game? Backup quarterback Patrick Ramsey would most likely have spinal fluid coming out of his nose from the hit he's about to receive. The week old battle between Bly and Domonique Foxworth is only going to get hotter. Only Denver will benefit from this competition, with both Bly and Foxworth playing to beat each other out. Foxworth is in a contract year and fans seemed to have shifted favoring Foxworth over Bly, where as their were rumblings to trade Foxworth for a fourth rounder prior to the draft. I'm hoping that the three along with rookie Jack Williams and Karl Paymah can link to form the iron curtain coverage that any team needs to force an offense to become one dimensional.

With Hamza Abdullah out, rookie Josh Barrett was given an opportunity to shine and he did, nabbing a sack during eleven-on-elevens. Roderick Rogers, whom I haven't brought up as much as I should have in the days since John Lynch evacuated, also picked off a ball today. If I'm the coach, I don't know who stays and who goes, either way, there are going to be some very talented players in a lot of the positions who won't be making the team unfortunately.

On the defensive line, Josh Mallard is continuing reps with the first team. At one point in practice the defensive line consisted of nearly all draft picks from 2007, as Jarvis Moss, Marcus Thomas and Tim Crowder front ended Denver's second-team defense.

Photo credit: Kyle Sonneman © DenverBroncos.com

Shanahan Hits the Sauce Early...

Just kidding, today training camp is closed to the public for the morning session. We've got you covered though, have no fear.

News this morning looks like this:

Denver head coach Mike Shanahan was on the Denver's 104.3 The Fan and said, amongst other things that, "Denver would make the playoffs," and that once they were there they would do something special. No word yet on when The Fan will retract the statement, should be any minute now.

As I wrote over at Bronco Madness, center Tom Nalen's knee may be a little worse than we thought.

Mike Klis at The Denver Post wrote a great story on Gary Zimmerman's induction into the Hall of Fame.

Tragically rookie linebacker Spencer Larsen missed the first three days of practice to support his family following the death of his two year-old niece. Mile High Salute Spencer, we're all pulling for you.

What If?

I'm not particularly worried about John Lynch going to San Diego to play football. Some fans seem to be livid over the idea, if Lynch were to return to his hometown and play for the Chargers this season... What would that really be saying about former Charger safety (and current Bronco) Marlon McCree? San Diego let him walk, to apparently, "get younger," at safety.

Marlon McCree is in fact the main reason that Lynch was cut from the Broncos. McCree replaced Lynch in the nickel and dime formations, he will also most likely replace Lynch in the base 4-3 formation as well. San Diego let McCree go, McCree comes to Denver, knocks Lynch off of his depth chart spot and then Lynch goes to San Diego to play?

Come on... I don't see how San Diego fans can justify that one. Seriously, it will be a laughable point to make in any conversation between a Bronco and Charger fan for years to come.