Archive for October, 2007

Bailey, Henry Sit Out Friday Night Session

October 26th, 2007 - 9:02pm by AndrewOther posts by Andrew

Neither Champ Bailey nor Travis Henry took part in practice as the Broncos worked under the lights at INVESCO Field at Mile High on Friday evening.

For Henry, it marked the third consecutive day of practice that he has missed because of the bruised ribs he incurred Sunday night against Pittsburgh. Bailey, meanwhile, had seen limited action in the Wednesday and Thursday practices before being sidelined outright Friday.

The strained quadriceps muscle — which he suffered in the 41-3 loss to San Diego on Oct. 7 — rendered him inactive for the Steelers game after he sat out the Monday, Wednesday and Thursday sessions in the week leading up to the 31-28 win.

“It’s still up in the air, but it’s better than it was last week,” Bailey had said Friday morning in the locker room.

“(I’m) just running around, not full speed, just not trying to push it. One thing about a strain — you can push it too much and set it back.”

Bailey wasn’t able to escape the specter of the injury when he did practice Wednesday and Thursday.

“I feel it,” he said Friday morning. “When I feel it, it’s really not good. I can play through some pain, but stretching and pulling it is one thing.”

Both Bailey and Henry are officially denoted “questionable” for the duel with the Green Bay Packers.

Meanwhile, cornerback Dre’ Bly (shoulder), tight end Tony Scheffler (lower leg) and safety Hamza Abdullah (hip) all made it through the full practice Friday night. They are all listed as probable for Monday’s game.

Rod Smith is Back

October 25th, 2007 - 8:50am by jim_saccomanoOther posts by jim_saccomano

Rod Smith is back. 

Those four words carry a meaning to this football team well beyond the simple declarative sentence that they form.

The unquestioned leader of the Broncos over the better part of the past decade, Rod (I just can’t call him “Smith”– I can call him Captain, but I can’t call him Smith) played the entire 2006 season with a left hip that badly needed some cleanup work.

In that time, he never missed a workout (in fact, the 37-year old wide receiver has never missed an offseason workout in his entire Broncos career), never complained, kept playing, and kept stoking the fire of enthusiasm for the team.

He had a left hip debridement during the offseason, and Wednesday returned to practice for the first time in 11 months.

No one ever wore the crown of leadership and spokesmanship better than Rod, and having him back is a big thing for this football team.

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An Emotional Game, but a Tough Loss

October 24th, 2007 - 5:02pm by MilesOther posts by Miles

We fought hard, and gave our all, but in the end it wasn’t enough.  The kids from the Boys and Girls Club were a worthy opponent, and we were up to the challenge.  I believe if we had more time, we would be victorious. 

It was nice to hear people cheer for Dinger.  I don’t think Dinger gets enough love.  The whole state LOVES Rocky, and for good reason, and I don’t think I’ve ever been in another venue and not get love from the fans, but Dinger usually is greeted with crickets, or even sometimes some boos.  But Sunday when he was announced, the stands exploded.  Finally!  Of course all of us here are wishing the Rockies and Dinger good luck. 

Now, the game.  I don’t think people realize how slippery these little kids can be.  Twice I had the ball carrier all but wrapped up and just like that, he’s gone.  I don’t know if they grease ‘em down or what, but there is a clear advantage to being small.  They can change direction so quick and are hard to grab onto.  But on our end, there’s an advantage to being big.  First of all, it takes about half a dozen of them to bring us down.  Second, they are short and easy to hurdle. 

Hurdle

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Henry Sits Out; Bailey Limited

October 24th, 2007 - 5:02pm by AndrewOther posts by Andrew

Post-practice update:

Running back Travis Henry did not take part in Wednesday’s session because of bruised ribs. “Travis is a little sore right now,” Head Coach Mike Shanahan said.

Cornerback Champ Bailey was in uniform Wednesday, but his participation was limited. Bailey sat out last Sunday’s game against Pittsburgh and missed all of the practices on the Wednesday and Thursday leading up to the game and was limited on Friday.

Fellow cornerback Dre’ Bly, however, took part in the full day’s work.

“For the most part, I’m fine. I’m rehabbing it, and I’ll be fine for Monday night,” he said.

Bly said his rehabilitation work entails “just doing flexibility movements and continuing to ice it and doing stretches and stuff like that. For the most part, it’s just keeping it protected until the game. I can’t afford to fall on it or anything like that. (I’ll) keep it secure throughout the week and then play football on Monday.”

Tight end Tony Scheffler, who hobbled off the field with a lower leg injury Sunday night, also fully participated in the practice Wednesday. The same was true for safety Hamza Abdullah, who has been sidelined for over a month with a hip injury.

Defensive tackle Sam Adams, as is custom, did not take part in the Wednesday session.

The exact status for each player — probable, questionable, doubtful or out — will be determined after Friday’s session. The Green Bay Packers did not practice Wednesday and are on a Thursday/Friday/Saturday schedule, so there’ll be no reports on the status of their players until Thursday.

Smith Back on the Practice Field

October 24th, 2007 - 1:55pm by AndrewOther posts by Andrew


When you’re a team captain and you haven’t practiced in nearly 10 months, you get your own cheering section upon your return. Rod Smith’s just happened to be the defensive backfield.

The cornerbacks and safeties froze their own warmups early Wednesday afternoon, turned to the adjacent field, watched as the veteran wide receiver successfully leapt skyward for a pass and promptly broke up in a cacophony of hoots, hollers, and a chant that sounded more like a heartfelt ode from the South Stands than a bunch of teammates clowning around.

“We love Rod! We love Rod!”

Sure, it might have been half-joking, but the underlying sentiment was all heart. The Broncos’ longtime leader was back on the field, and even though he remained a vocal presence in the locker room and on the sidelines throughout his convalescence and rehabilitation from hip surgery, he was nevertheless missed in the practice-time milieu, where his teaching and leadership was typically most evident.

“It’s awesome,” John Lynch said. “He’s one of the great teammates I’ve ever been around. I’m glad he was around and stayed vocal and a leader when he was hurt, because he’s kind of the pulse of this team; the heart and soul, whatever you want to call it.

“It’s a comforting feeling when he’s around, but whenever he’s back on the field — I don’t know whether it’s this week or whenever, that place will erupt, and it’s going to be awesome.”

Smith is still listed on the physically unable to perform list, and the Broncos now have three weeks to decide whether to move him to the 53-man roster or place him on injured reserve, which would end his season.

Those, however, were concerns for future days. For this one, the Broncos were simply giddy to have their captain back.

Little Bit O’ Everything

October 24th, 2007 - 10:02am by keela_harrisOther posts by keela_harris

As I sit down to write my blog this week I can’t help but reflect on how quickly time passes. Although the Broncos season has just kicked off, it is midway for the Denver Broncos Cheerleaders as we have been up and running since March! I have a hard time believing that this is my fourth season with the Broncos, and when I walked away from the stadium Sunday night, the stadium lights shut off, tailgating parties at a close, and the Broncos community celebrating a win, I was left in awe.

It never gets old to dance from the top of my head to the bottom of my feet in front of 76,000 fans.  It really is hard to put words to the energy in my heart when I step out onto the field on game day. I saw a lot of Terrible Towels in the crowd on Sunday, but I saw and heard far more Broncos cheers and colors–and it resonates in my heart that I am in a beautiful place right now, and I feel completely blessed to be a part of this organization. There was a point in the game where I looked up in the sky–pitch black, little flurries of snow began to fall and every face in the crowd lunged forward with pure anticipation.  There were 11 seconds on the clock in the fourth quarter, and moments later, Jason Elam came through yet again for the Broncos to pull out the win.

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Costanza, Bly, Orange and Rockies

October 23rd, 2007 - 6:40pm by AndrewOther posts by Andrew

Ellipses for a Tuesday …

… You’re never as great as people say when you’re winning; you’re never as lousy as people espouse when you’re losing. And even when you fall 41-3, the line isn’t all that thick between victory and defeat. Maybe it’s as wide as a strip of paint between parking spaces in the INVESCO Field lot, but that’s about it. There’s a reason why the cliche’ about the “24-hour rule,” exists; it’s a good guideline for forgetting about the past, whether it’s the finest moment possible or the worst. That rule can have a 24-hour extension, however, if you’re going to be off for an unusually lengthy time frame, like the Colorado Rockies or an NFL team that wins its conference championship …

… I’m always fascinated by the automated blog links that occasionally pop up. Child hurling in India? Where the heck did that come from? …

… I never thought LetPlummerPlay would write, “Let Mason blog!” First time for everything, I reckon …

Anyhow, let’s dive in, shall we?

We’ve gotten more than a few questions about the status of Dre’ Bly

It doesn’t seem as though the slight shoulder separation will be a problem; Head Coach Mike Shanahan said Monday that Bly likely wouldn’t even need a harness on the ailing right shoulder. We’ll see what the injury reports of the next few days reveal, but as Bly said, “My shoulder or my hand has got to be cut off for me to come out of the game.” Sounds like a man who’ll be ready when the bell rings — whether it’s at 6:05 p.m. MDT next Monday or 6:40.

From RSH:

Quick question for you, any chance the Broncos will wear the orange jerseys on Monday night or are they going all-blue again? Perhaps it’s wishful thinking on my behalf because of Halloween and because I love the orange.

It’ll be the blues. Teams have to put in for league approval to wear the third jersey months before the season arrives. In 2004, the last time the Broncos wore orange, the move was announced in June — five months before they actually put them on. The team lost 25-24 to the Oakland Raiders, dropping the record in the alternate oranges to 0-2. The only question is — will the Broncos go with blue pants or white? Sunday night’s win in the all-blues pushed the team’s record to 4-3 in that ensemble.

From 1ARABIANKNIGHT:

Blessings be upon you BRONCOS!!

“Thank You for doing as I asked, in Honoring my slain”…..the Spirit of Mile High says for me to give to you. I, J’shua, Messenger of ~Adonai~

And it just goes on like this, at least until he starts talking about Jim Bates and the defensive package, which is a pretty jarring right turn in his narrative.

I didn’t major in theology, and when it comes to religion, I’m far more certain of what I’m not than what I am. Some of y’all say this is mocking God … I’ll leave those assertions elsewhere, because I probably haven’t studied the Bible as much as some in these parts (like our man Rev79).

So can anyone explain to me what this guy’s talking about — while, of course, not firing the spark that creates a holy war around here?

From myleshigh:

Oh yea, Mase, you get Rockies tickets or just not interested?

I was quite interersted .. but I, like many locals, failed. After a couple of expletives were uttered, I was emotionally okay with it. Disappointed, yes; I would rather have seen a lottery, but putting it on-line was, in effect, a lottery.

Twice I got past the countdown page. On the first, I put in for four seats — this was still fairly early in the game — and was rebuffed. On the second, I put in for two, entered the confirmation word … and was sent back to the countdown page. I felt like George Costanza visiting the “Soup Nazi” and being rebuffed when asking for bread.

“No soup for you!”

It wasn’t until a frustrated friend’s e-mail missive landed in my box at mid-afternoon that I advanced from mildly peeved to flat-out … well, you can probably finish the sentence.

The only person I heard of getting tickets was somebody in Ohio that was a friend of a friend’s officemate. He’s just going to put them on eBay and let the cash come to him.

My reply to my friend included the use of a mildly creative profanity to decribe this profiteering Ohioan. I reckon it’s simply reminder No. 18,447 that the world simply ain’t fair. The other 18,446 are infinitely more important than getting tickets to a game, no matter how momentous it may seem.

If you got tickets and are going to use them yourself, then my heartiest congratulations; I know you’ll have fun. If you bought them with the mere intention of opening up bidding on any of the myriad of ticket re-sale sites or via the classifieds or what-not … then I hope you spend your profits the way George Costanza spent the money he earned on interest:

The Wisdom of George Costanza

And by the way, lawdog, I am a nerd — and I’m damn proud of it.

And one more thing, Foxy … the elbow comes and goes, like George Costanza’s involuntary elbow twitch.

Three Costanza references in one blog … not too shabby. See you Wednesday.

Homeless Welcomed to INVESCO Field

October 23rd, 2007 - 4:16pm by pam_krotchkoOther posts by pam_krotchko

In 2006, the Broncos Wives gave a portion of the monies raised from their annual Broncos Wives Drive to Mayor Hickenlooper’s 10-year initative to end homelessness in Denver – Denver’s Road Home.  The Broncos Wives wanted to learn more about Denver’s Road Home and how they could help, this lead them to Project Homeless Connect which was held at INVESCO Field at Mile High last Friday, October 19, 2007. 
 
Project Homeless Connect is a partnership event betweeen Denver’s Road Home and Mile High United Way.  The event at INVESCO Field was Denver’s fifth Project Homeless Connect since the program’s inception in 2005.  Project Homeless Connect is a one-day event connecting homeless individuals and families to needed services — including health care, employment, legal assistance, permanent housing food, clothing, Social Security and food-stamp benefits and other community-wide resources — in one location to alleviate the burden of searching for services on their own.

More than 800 students, alumni, faculty and staff from Regis University along with Young Professionals of Denver (YPOD) worked one-on-one with homeless individuals, helping them prioritize their needs and escorting them to services that fit their needs.  The Broncos Wives volunteered in the child care area, and local employers were on site with job interviews. 

“Project Homeless Connect is a remarkable event that connects people with the services they need to get off the streets and into lives of stability and self sufficiency,” said Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper. “The team at INVESCO Field at Mile High made us feel especially welcome by hosting us on the Club Level. We are grateful to them, the Broncos Wives and Regis University for their partnership and commitment to serving the homeless — and many other populations — in our community.”

Jamie VanLeeuwen, Project Manager for Denver’s Road Home reported “as our last guest walked out of the stadium last Friday, we served 820 men, women and children who are homeless. Of those,  565 received medical services, 284 received flu shots, 265 received housing referrals and services, 409 received employment services, 81 left with resumes, 543 received access to benefits, 240 accessed legal services, and 70 children attended the child care area…a very extraordinary day for Project Homeless Connect!” 

The Broncos Wives and INVESCO Field at Mile High would like to thank Denver’s Road Home, Mile High United Way, Regis University Young Professionals of Denver, Epicurean Catering, Coca Cola, Shamrock Foods, Xerox, Corporate Express, and Halsell Brokerage & Distributing for being CHAMPIONS IN THE COMMUNITY and making Project Homeless Connect 5 a wonderful event!

Vote Early, Vote Often

October 23rd, 2007 - 12:50pm by AndrewOther posts by Andrew

You win, you get feted; you lose, you’re reviled. Such is the NFL, where middle ground doesn’t exist except for the once-every-five-years-or-so tie.

And so it goes with the Broncos, who have not one, not two, not three, but four individuals nominated for weekly honors on which you can vote.

For GMC Defensive Player of the Week it’s defensive end Elvis Dumervil. The second-year standout had a pair of sacks of Ben Roethlisberger on Sunday night, one of which included the forced fumble that Tim Crowder picked up and returned 50 yards for a score. Click here to vote for No. 92.

But speaking of Crowder …

For Diet Pepsi Rookie of the Week, Crowder got nominated after scoring the first touchdown of his career, which gave the Broncos a 21-7 second-quarter lead over the Steelers. Click here to throw a vote in the direction of the Old 96er.

On the offensive side of the ball, a plaudit for the quarterback …

For For FedEx Air Player of the Week, it’s Jay Cutler among the three finalists. Cutler posted a three-touchdown night in the win while completing 22 of his 29 passes for 248 yards and directing the sixth game-winning or -tying fourth-quarter drive of his 11-game career. Click here to send a vote his way.

Of course, the playcalls came from the sidelines, which brings us to the fourth nominee …

For Motorola Coach of the Week, Head Coach Mike Shanahan got a nomination after the Broncos scored a season-high 31 points, held Willie Parker below 100 yards and converted 70 percent of their third downs, the highest percentage of his 13-season tenure. Click here to vote for him.

An Emotional Game, but a Great Win

October 23rd, 2007 - 12:31pm by domonique_foxworthOther posts by domonique_foxworth

Alright, time for another fun and exciting blog with everybody’s favorite Bronco, Domonique Foxworth.

Well, this is probably going to be the most fun blog that I’ve done in quite some time — at least four weeks — because we got a win. I played a large role in the game, which is always a good feeling, especially coming off a couple weeks missed by injuries and several losses in a row, which We as Broncos players and you as Broncos fans are not accustomed to. But it made the win feel that much better, I guess.

It’s something to be proud of, because the Pittsburgh Steelers are one of the top teams and are respected for being one of the toughest and most talented teams in the AFC. To be able to get a win against them and play well is great. We played probably as well as we have so far on special teams and played pretty well on defense. I think we did great on special teams, which is one of the most underrated things about football, how important field position is. That’s all decided through special teams. We had some great coverage in kickoffs this year for the first time this season. We also had some pretty good returns, and had an all-around solid special teams game.

On offense we were able to score touchdowns, which has been something that’s been difficult for us this year. We were able to score touchdowns, which are a lot better than field goals. We made some turnovers and even scored on defense this week, so I think we played just about as well as we’ve played, as far as a complete game is concerned, this year.

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