Archive for October, 2008

Smiles All Around

October 31st, 2008 - 2:57pm by Adam ZinserOther posts by Adam Zinser

It’s Friday, so the players didn’t waste any time getting out of Dove Valley to enjoy the weekend before Sunday’s game, but here are some quick notes from the day’s events.

#88 Getting Close: Tony Scheffler was heading out, but some members of the media managed to snag the tight end before he snuck out of the locker room.

“I am feeling a lot better, and it is one of those things when you get a tear in there and you just try and rehab it each day,” Scheffler said. “It is up to the coaches. Obviously I went through practice each day – doing a little bit more each day – and hopefully I can be get out there on Sunday. We have a short week going into next week so it would be good to get out there this weekend.”

He was definitely in a pretty light mood. Before answering the question, he was joking around with CBS4’s Gary Miller, imitating him and predicting the questions he would ask.

Hackney’s Set: With Patrick Ramsey on IR, Darrell Hackney has been preparing to be Jay Cutler’s backup, should the team elect to elevate him from the practice squad to the active roster before Sunday’s game.

“I prepare every week as if I’m going to start the game,” Hackney said. “Now, my role is to be Jay’s backup instead of Patrick Ramsey’s backup. I’m just excited about the opportunity to go out and have a chance to play in a regular season game. Jay and Patrick have helped me. It’s just an unfortunate situation when someone goes down, but I’m in that situation.”

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Tickets Available Against Miami

October 31st, 2008 - 11:49am by Jake GrilleyOther posts by Jake Grilley

The Broncos announced Friday that the Miami Dolphins have returned 230 tickets for Sunday’s 2:05 p.m. game at INVESCO Field at Mile High, and those tickets are now on sale to the general public.

The tickets are being sold at all Ticketmaster outlets, via Ticketmaster Charge By Phone, through online sales at www.ticketmaster.com and at the INVESCO Field at Mile High box office.

Fans may purchase tickets with a credit card via Ticketmaster Charge By Phone by calling (303) 830-TIXS in the metro Denver area or (719) 520-9090 in the metro Colorado Springs area. Fans desiring to use the Internet to purchase tickets may do so at www.ticketmaster.com..

Locker Room Craze

October 31st, 2008 - 9:31am by Gray CaldwellOther posts by Gray Caldwell

Not sure if any of you have seen this youtube clip, but it’s making its way around the locker room right now, and players can’t stop laughing.

The running backs especially seem to be enjoying it — Michael Pittman was cracking up the other day.

Enjoy.

-Gray Caldwell, DenverBroncos.com

Ready and Waiting

October 30th, 2008 - 8:08pm by Ryan TorainOther posts by Ryan Torain

Ladies and gentlemen, the time has (possibly) come.

All I know is I’m most definitely excited to get on the field if Coach calls my name. Like I’ve been saying, I’ve got to be ready if it happens, and right now I know I will be.

Over the bye week, as you all know, I just stayed a couple extra days and conditioned, working out with Coach Tuten. I did some more rehab and studied my playbook — just did a couple of extra things to get right. Get my mind right and my body right. I did have some time to relax though, on Saturday and Sunday, then we were back in here on Monday.

I have noticed one change, though. More and more reporters are coming to my locker during open locker room. It went from having maybe one person come and talk with me to having every camera in the place all gathered around me. It’s not overwhelming or anything like that, though. I’m just answering the questions, telling them what’s going on. The question that’s been asked the most is, “Are you getting playing time?” or “Are you starting?” I can’t answer either of those. Both of those are a game time decision. I don’t know yet, so I’ve just got to stay patient, stay on my Ps and Qs and be ready for everything that could possibly be thrown my way. Then I can go out there and have some fun.

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“Wildcat?” Try “Wild Horse”

October 30th, 2008 - 3:49pm by Gray CaldwellOther posts by Gray Caldwell

A couple of quick notes from a sunny Thursday at Dove Valley.

“Wild Horse” Offense? The Broncos might be on to something. Talking about the Dolphins’ “Wildcat” offense, Peyton Hillis said he’s more than familiar with it, having run the “Wild Hog” offense at Arkansas. He said he’s been lining up as Ricky Williams in the formation.

Then, when some reporters jokingly asked Michael Pittman about running that offense in Denver, he jumped at the opportunity.

“Oh definitely. I’d definitely be the quarterback in that,” he said, smiling. “I’ve been lobbying for the halfback pass already — they haven’t put it in yet.”

Coaching by Showing: Quarterbacks Coach Jeremy Bates showed Jay Cutler how it’s done on the practice field this afternoon. During warmups, Cutler tossed the ball Bates’ way every other pass and let the coach rocket a ball or two toward the receivers.

It’s worth noting that Bates began his college career playing quarterback at the University of Tennessee.

Injury Update: Andre Hall was the only Bronco to be downgraded on the injury report. He did not participate in today’s practice. Champ Bailey was out, Tony Scheffler, Brandon Stokley and Selvin Young were still listed as limited participation, and Brandon Marshall, Michael Pittman, Dewayne Robertson and Ryan Torain all had full participation.

The only player on the Dolphins’ injury report is fullback Casey Cramer (ankle), who is listed under full participation.

Quotable: “Not really. I’m letting them be the coaches they can be. They’re really good coaches, and I wouldn’t want to listen to me either.”
-Peyton Hillis, on whether the coaching staff has picked his brain about stopping the “Wildcat” formation.

Pictures after the jump.

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Wednesday Notes: Back to Business

October 29th, 2008 - 4:16pm by Gray CaldwellOther posts by Gray Caldwell

The Broncos got back to the grindstone Wednesday, preparing for their next opponent, and it’s one that will provide some unique challenges.

The Miami Dolphins come to INVESCO Field at Mile High this week, and coming off of two losses before the bye week, the Broncos are getting ready for a battle to get back on the winning track.

There are several interesting storylines leading up to the game, not the least of which involves two prominent figures from the 2009 NFL Draft.

ROOKIES LIVING UP TO BILLING

Sunday’s game features a first-round 2009 NFL Draft pick at left tackle for both teams’ offensive line, and both rookies have started every game for their team this season.

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Back to Work

October 28th, 2008 - 10:23pm by mike_riceOther posts by mike_rice

Nine games remain in the regular season. Heading into this week’s game against Miami, the Broncos lead the AFC West by a game-and-a-half. They are in first place but they haven’t consistently played like a first place team.

It doesn’t take a football genius to figure out where the Broncos need to improve:

–RUSH DEFENSE. Opponents are averaging 154.6 rushing yards per game against the Broncos. That is simply too many. If a team doesn’t stop the run on a regular basis, that team will not have success.

Check out the running backs the Broncos still have to face, assuming they all stay healthy: Ronnie Brown/Ricky Williams (Dolphins), Jamal Lewis (Browns), DeAngelo Williams/Jonathan Stewart (Panthers), Michael Turner (Falcons), Thomas Jones (Jets) and LaDainian Tomlinson (Chargers). Wow. And that’s to say nothing about possibly going against Larry Johnson (Chiefs) if he gets his off-field issues ironed out.

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Seven Broncos Among Hall of Fame Class of 2009 Nominees

October 28th, 2008 - 3:03pm by Gray CaldwellOther posts by Gray Caldwell

Gary Zimmerman just entered the Pro Football Hall of Fame in the Class of 2008.

The class of 2009 has seven former Broncos among the 133 players, coaches and contributers who make up the preliminary list of nominees for election to the Hall of Fame’s newest class.

Former Denver Broncos S Steve Atwater (1989-98), RB Terrell Davis (1995-2002), LB Tom Jackson (1973-86), LB Karl Mecklenburg (1983-94), Head Coach Dan Reeves (1981-92), TE Shannon Sharpe (1990-99, 2002-03) and CB Louis Wright (1975-86) are the Broncos who made the preliminary list of modern-era nominees.

Sharpe is one of 11 first-year eligible nominees for election into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, meaning this is the first year he met all of the requirements for induction — meaning he’s been retired at least five years.

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Quarterback Stays Busy with Controlled Schedule

October 28th, 2008 - 2:08pm by jim_saccomanoOther posts by jim_saccomano

Recently some members of the Denver press wondered how much press quarterback Jay Cutler does on a weekly basis.

In addition to being a tremendous young quarterback, Jay Cutler is the most popular Bronco in terms of press requests, so the key is to manage and coordinate his time in this regard.

As you can imagine, this is very unpopular to members of the press, because their desire, in a perfect media world, is whatever access they desire, whenever they desire it.

But at the same time they are aware (sort of) of how busy someone like Jay Cutler is. At the end of the day, and at the start of the day, every day, it’s football, football and football.

And what we do, what we ask, has to be controlled so that the player can concentrate on that part of his job that is the one for which he was hired.

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The Bye-Week Buzz!

October 28th, 2008 - 10:18am by Romi BeanOther posts by Romi Bean

Greetings “Bye-Week” fans! I hope you all were able to fill your week with Broncos excitement even though we did not have a game this past Sunday. Though the week is not complete without a Sunday game, I am a big fan of the bye week because it allows our team to rest and assess what changes need to be made for the rest of the season. And the great news is that the Broncos tend to do very well after a week off the gridiron! Now, I must warn you that I am what some may consider a “crazy fan” — but I prefer to think of myself as a diehard fan! I have loved football since I was six years old, and every season I seem to get more and more involved. I think that knowing the history of the Broncos is not only exciting, but always comes in handy when opposing fans are trying to challenge your knowledge! So to start off this week’s blog, let’s go over a little Broncos trivia that may come in handy this Sunday!

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