"Are you ready for some football!"

This isn't what you'll see on Monday night, but it's enough to get you pumped up for Monday.

Okay... Not quite the hax0r that I used to be, copy and paste here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_LfRE9lr3c

"You want their Momma's to say, 'Oh, that's not my child, my child has a face!'" - Samuel L. Jackson



(Javalon over at BCMB is nice enough to post it up for all of the Denver Broncos fans.)

Echoes of Futures Past

Last year, Mike Shanahan was asked for his position on the team, prior to the first game of the season, "We're undefeated..." he said as he kept walking briskly. He was right, two weeks later, still undefeated. The Walker injury, the Indianapolis game, then Travis Henry, we were a team that had overdosed and in desperate need of an intervention. Or at least a breath. There was none to be had, a team that couldn't breath, back against the wall and stumbling punch drunk.

I've referenced the dark cloud before, I'm not going there again, but I will say there's nothing like the days before the season starts. Knowing only that you really don't know is always the most exciting part of any game for me, it just gets magnified prior to the season. The optimist in me usually strangles the pessimist in me and this is usually around the time that I cut off my nose to spite having a knife.

Seems a far cry from, "We're undefeated," doesn't it? I don't have anything bad to say about the Raiders, hell, I feel bad for them. I am working for someone whom I is very similar to the Raiders owner/general manager Al Davis. Similar in that they're both far past their time, stuck with old ideas and burdened by the fact that they'll never quite be great again. Sad in that life has dwindled down to just one measly possession and like a good captain of a ship, they will hold the mast as their old age blinds them into every oncoming iceberg until there is nothing left of the ship to hold onto and nothing but the cold dead sea will be there to embrace them in the end.

Did you see the look in Mike Shanahan's eyes when he said, "No, it doesn't dissipate at all." (01:05). How he held his gaze and his eyes grew cold, could you feel his thoughts? As the reporter continued the question and Shanahan's eyes literally went bloodshot on camera, "When I said it doesn't dissipate, that's what that means..." (01:18). He's laughing, but that's so he doesn't axe that guy right there. I know exactly how he feels and this is how I know that this season is different than any other. It also happens to be the reason why earlier I said that I feel bad for the Oakland Raiders.

Tom Nalen to have another surgery

The Denver Post is reporting that Denver Broncos center Tom Nalen is going in for what head coach Mike Shanahan refers to as a, "clean-up." The surgery is to take place on Friday and comes after Nalen participated, though limited, in practice the last two days. This procedure is a last effort to have the ailing center ready for the Broncos Monday Night Football regular season debut two Mondays from now against the Oakland Raiders.

Nalen's backup at center Casey Wiegmann has anchored the offensive-line, that returns only one starter from last season, the whole preseason. Denver's in good hands either way, to me the situation is starting to make me look over out of the corner of my eye a little bit. Tom Nalen is a sure fire Hall of Famer and he may be desperately clinging to life in the NFL. Denver can afford to lose him, though it will burn...

Best of luck to Tom and we here at Broncos Denver Broncos hope that he is able to return soon.

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Report: Horn likes San Diego & Denver

UPDATE: Joe Horn's agent has contacted every team.

The Atlanta Falcons have finally caved to wide receiver Joe Horn's demand to be traded

ESPN.com's Bill Williamson is reporting:

[Joe Horn's] agent, Ralph Vitolo, said he plans to talk to both teams.

"If they are interested in us, we'd be interested in them," Vitolo said of the Chargers and the Broncos.

Not sure if everyone knows the Joe Horn story, it's only a little reminiscent of a recent of a recently retired Bronco receiver. Horn had signed a letter of intent to play college football at the University of South Carolina, however, do to a bad GPA and low SAT score he was not able to attend the school. Horn went to junior college at Itawamba Community College in Fulton, MS. In his two years at Intawamba, he had 54 catches for 878 yards and seven touchdowns.

He returned home to Fayetteville, NC after having little success in college, to work with his mother at a Bojangles restaurant. While there he was down to his last six dollars when he decided to buy a Jerry Rice workout tape for $3,95 at a local Blockbuster (from Wikipedia):

He then proceeded to work out in Fayetteville and made a highlight film with some colorful music which he sent to various teams. Memphis Mad Dogs coach Pepper Rodgers got this tape and offerend Horn a contract. He was signed by the Memphis Mad Dogs of the Canadian Football League for the 1995 season, where he led his team in receptions (71) and receiving yards (1414).

Why would Horn not be interested in the Raiders or the Chiefs? Well, Horn began his career with the Kansas City Chiefs, who drafted him out of the CFL in 1996. When he left the Chiefs in 2000 for the New Orleans Saints he blew up, catching 94 passes for 1,354 yards and 8 touchdowns.

Horn has had four years in his career in which he's received over 1,000 yards. He has 603 career receptions, 8,733 yards and 58 touchdowns in 12 years in the NFL.

Trouble in Oakland

While it is absolutely no secret that there is a cold war between Oakland Raiders head coach Lane Kiffin and owner Al Davis, Kiffin's making it even less of a secret how miserable the situation is getting.

In two articles from the Contra Costa Times entitled, "Coach Kiffin has no power to upgrade Raiders roster," and, "Does Raiders coach Kiffin want confrontation with Al Davis?" The paper highlights several quotes from Raiders head coach Lane Kiffin, including, but not limited to the following:

"I'm trying to win," Kiffin responded Sunday.

To which the paper asks:

Win what, exactly? Games, or his own freedom?

In the confrontation article, the paper bring up the following Kiffin quotes:

Day 1 of training camp: "When you take this job you realize who the owner is and you realize most guys don't last really long, so that is what it is." (He added that he and Davis have a "working relationship" and a shared desire to win.)

Day 3 of camp: After praising defensive lineman Tommy Kelly's potential, Kiffin noted: "He's got a lot to prove now with that contract."

Last Monday, Aug. 11: Disappointed by the team's depth, Kiffin said: "It's been a situation that, unfortunately, we haven't brought guys in. I control what I can control. We come out every day and get our guys as good as we can. I'm pleased with the top of our roster, but we need to add to the bottom of our roster. We need more competition."

Friday night, after losing at Tennessee: In terms of who might supplant punt returner Johnnie Lee Higgins, Kiffin said: "I really don't have anybody to look at, that's the problem. There isn't anybody there that's very dynamic with the ball."

Saturday media conference call: Rightfully irked by wide receiver Javon Walker missing two catch-able passes Friday, Kiffin said: "... That's discouraging because he was paid an awful lot of money, paid like one of the top five receivers in the NFL. We need him to make those plays.

What does this mean for the Denver Broncos? Well, it certainly can't hurt our week one odds of emerging undefeated and welcoming the San Diego Chargers into Mile High. I truly do feel for Lane Kiffin, well as much as I possibly could for a Raiders coach, remember Mike Shanahan was a coach under Al Davis for a short time. I know not everyone has worked for a geriatric boss who takes every opportunity to illustrate his power, but I have and Kiffin going public at 33 years-old, is probably the smartest thing that he can do.

He's showing the potential employers out there that this situation isn't his fault. Of course he'll have no problem taking complete credit if they win either.

And Brandon said....

You may be through with Brandon Marshall, but Brandon Marshall is not through with you Roger Goodell. Brandon Marshall appealed his three-game suspension on Thursday. Marshall's lawyer, Harvey Steinberg said that there would be an appeal, but that was around the time that Marshall was suspended.

Don't expect much to come from this, it is unlikely that this appeal will have the upstart receiver suited against the Oakland Raiders or San Diego Chargers (at least not the first time Denver plays the two teams). However, Marshall will most likely be able to make it back by the game against the New Orleans Saints, but this appeal isn't going to make that decision any easier on the commissioner.