An Equal Protection Clause

November 20th, 2009 - 2:22pm by Chris Gentilviso

Whether Kyle Orton or Chris Simms starts on Sunday against the Chargers, one difference between the two quarterbacks is certain.

With the right-handed Orton in the lineup, the blind side blocking falls on the shoulders of Ryan Clady. With the left-handed Simms behind center, that onus shifts to Tyler Polumbus.

In the eyes of offensive line coach Rick Dennison, the quarterback’s throwing hand has little effect on pass protection responsibilities.

“I don’t think it is that big of deal,” Dennison said. “He is getting back there and we’ve got to give him time to throw. We just do our protections, we don’t really worry about what hand he is tossing it with.”

Head Coach Josh McDaniels echoed Dennison’s sentiments, noting that the most substantial changes, if any, occur in situations outside of the hashes.

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Taking Notice

November 19th, 2009 - 3:10pm by Zach Eisendrath

By now, Chris Simms’ career-threatening and possibly life-threatening injury has been well documented.

Three games into the 2006 season, Simms — then the starting quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — suffered a ruptured spleen against the Carolina Panthers.

The fact that Simms could start an NFL game on Sunday for the first time since that fateful day, and a subsequent splenectomy, has not been lost on Head Coach Josh McDaniels.

“I have a great deal of respect for what he’s overcome now to come back and do this, and I can also see every day why he’s overcome it,” McDaniels said. “He works as hard as or harder than anybody we have on our team.”

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Dawkins Part of Player Advisory Forum

November 19th, 2009 - 9:43am by Gray Caldwell

The NFL announced today that former NFL head coach Tony Dungy will lead a new NFL Player Advisory Forum that will involve a regular series of meetings in various cities with NFL players to help provide input to the commissioner’s office on policies, programs and issues that affect the lives of players on and off the field.

Brian Dawkins is one of the players involved, along with fellow Pro Bowlers Ray Lewis of the Baltimore Ravens and Kurt Warner of the Arizona Cardinals.

“It’s an honor and privilege to work with Coach Dungy,” Dawkins said. “This will be a great new way for players working with Coach Dungy to be part of the process of improving the league for everybody.”

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Bringing a Backfield Presence

November 18th, 2009 - 4:43pm by Chris Gentilviso

The last time the Broncos and Chargers were on the same field, loose footballs were at a premium.

Denver forced four fumbles in its 34-23 Week 6 win over San Diego at Qualcomm Stadium. Most crucial of those miscues was a late-third quarter strip by Elvis Dumervil that landed in the hands of Vonnie Holliday.

Leading 24-23, the Broncos converted the turnover into a Matt Prater 50-yard field goal, and the Chargers were held scoreless the rest of the way. Come Sunday at INVESCO Field at Mile High, Mario Haggan sees those types of errors again tipping the balance.

“The game is predicated on mistakes,” Haggan said. “Hopefully on Sunday, they make more mistakes than we do and we come out on top.”

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Cheer For The Troops

November 18th, 2009 - 2:01pm by teresa_shear

Greetings Bronco Fans! The holidays are upon us which means it is time for the Denver Bronco Cheerleaders 4th Annual “Cheer for the Troops” Charity. I’m sure you are asking yourself “What is Cheer for the Troops?” and “Why haven’t I heard of it before?” To answer your questions, “Cheer for the Troops” began three years ago, and was inspired by my husband, Josh’s, 15-month deployment to Iraq in 2006.

But I am getting ahead of myself. First off, who am I? Hi everyone. My name is Jenn Woodworth. I am a former Denver Bronco Cheerleader (2006-2009), and am currently heading up “Cheer for the Troops”. I am working side-by-side with my best friend, and one of your current Denver Bronco Cheerleaders, Brianne Bateman.

Now back to your questions. “Cheer for the Troops” is a charity that as cheerleaders we have founded and participated in to bring “cheer” to our military men and women deployed for the holidays. We collect goodies, letters, and Broncos gear to make fun holiday gift packages. It is just our way of saying thank you to all of the men and women who sacrifice their lives to protect us here at home.

As the wife of a soldier, I know first hand how difficult it is to be away from your loved one, especially around the holidays. I would just like to take a moment to personally say thank you to all of our military and to their families. We are so grateful for you and your service.

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Pro Bowl Voting Update

November 18th, 2009 - 10:43am by Gray Caldwell

Yesterday we told you Champ Bailey is the only Bronco leading his position group in Pro Bowl voting for the AFC squad.

Well now we know that six more Broncos are in the top five in their position group.

As you know, Bailey is the No. 1 cornerback. Brian Dawkins is the No. 2 strong safety, behind Pittsburgh’s Troy Polamalu, and Elvis Dumervil is the No. 2 outside linebacker, behind Pittsburgh’s James Harrison.

Eddie Royal is the No. 3 kick returner, behind San Diego’s Darren Sproles and Cleveland’s Joshua Cribbs.

Ryan Clady is the No. 5 tackle, behind Miami’s Jake Long, New England’s Matt Light, Pittsburgh’s Max Starks and Indianapolis’ Ryan Diem. D.J. Williams is the No. 5 inside linebacker, behind Baltimore’s Ray Lewis, Pittsburgh’s James Farrior, New York’s Bart Scott, and New England’s Jerod Mayo. And Matt Prater is the No. 5 kicker, behind Indianapolis’ Adam Vinatieri, New England’s Stephen Gostkowski, Pittsburgh’s Jeff Reed and San Diego’s Nate Kaeding.

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Bailey Leader Among AFC CBs

November 17th, 2009 - 12:23pm by Gray Caldwell

With five weeks of voting for the 2010 Pro Bowl remaining, Champ Bailey is the top vote-getter among cornerbacks in the AFC.

The NFL has released the top 10 vote-getters in the NFL — with no Broncos making the list — and the top vote-getters at each position in the NFC and AFC — with Bailey the only Bronco making the list.

The Broncos have 26 nominees for the Pro Bowl, with Eddie Royal nominated in two categories — wide receiver and kick returner.

So get out and vote, Broncos fans. You can vote as many times as you’d like at NFL.com/probowl until the deadline of Monday, December 21.

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Forward Progress

November 16th, 2009 - 5:33pm by Chris Gentilviso

Through his first nine games as a pro, Knowshon Moreno’s versatility has surfaced early and often.

No rookie has recorded two 100-yard games from scrimmage — except for Moreno. He’s also set himself apart through the air, as the lone NFL newcomer with both a rushing and receiving touchdown this season.

Moreno turned in a career-high 97 rushing yards against Washington on 18 carries. Week by week, the rookie is improving in an area the Broncos stress to their backs — gaining yardage on every play.

“There were some plays where there wasn’t much there, but he didn’t go negative,” Head Coach Josh McDaniels said. “He went, got a yard, got a two-yard gain here or there and kept us in positive situations. That is something that he’s doing better and better as the year goes on.”

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Gifford a Great and a Favorite

November 16th, 2009 - 2:18pm by jim_saccomano

The other night I was catching up on some TiVo and watched a Centerstage production on the YES Network, this one with host Michael Kay interviewing Frank Gifford.

You might wonder in advance what Frank Gifford has to do with the Denver Broncos, and save for his many appearances doing Monday Night Football games in which the Broncos were participants, nothing at all is the correct answer.

But if you are in pro football, or a fan of pro football, then we are all part of the fabric of the same culture, all of us cut from the same cloth of interest in and appreciation for the game and its greats.

Frank Gifford is a guy whom I only saw play on black and white television back in the days of my youth, but then many years later I came to know him through his work on Monday Night Football.

And he is one of my favorite guys.

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Tough going in D.C.

November 15th, 2009 - 5:48pm by mark_cooper

I got all the snow blown and the rest shoveled in time for the game. Maybe we’d have been better playing here this week. A snow bowl would have been great for the ski country. I don’t know about you all but I’m in shoveling shape.

Tough going in Washington. I enjoyed the running game and was impressed that we were getting that back on track and the blah blah blah about going vertical was taken care of early…simple. It’s easy to run a go route when you set it up with the run when you have guys like Royal and Marshall around.

The defense was dominated at the line of scrimmage and injuries are mounting. We talked about it earlier in the year and may be looking it right in the face now. Simms was rusty as we should expect and he’ll get a lot of work this week in preparation for the Bolts. I still like him but he took a lot of criticism after the game on the radio.

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