Pregame:For those of you who have checked out our live blogs in the past, we’ll be doing things slightly differently this year. As you might have noticed, we’re using a new program that should update the posts for you automatically. If it seems like it’s been a while since the last update, just refresh the page like you normally would. The other difference is that we will only have a first half and second half live blog as opposed to dividing it up into four quarters.

And now, without further adieu…let’s get the 2009 campaign started.

15:00: Here we go. The captains are on the field — Daniel Graham, D.J. Williams, Mario Haggan, Champ Bailey, Kenny Peterson and Ben Hamilton are representing the Broncos.

San Francisco has won the toss and elects to receive. Matt Prater and the Broncos are on the field to kick off.

14:57: Players on both teams are jumping up and down on the sidelines as the game gets underway. The Niners are at their own 22 after the Prater kick.

14:38: The defensive starters are Ryan McBean, Ronald Fields, Kenny Peterson, Andra Davis, D.J. Williams, Mario Haggan, Elvis Dumervil, Darcel McBath, Champ Bailey, Andre’ Goodman and Renaldo Hill.

13:38: Vernon Davis picks up a gain of 23 yards to set up a 49ers first down near midfield.

13:00: Elvis Dumervil with a huge sack — a loss of seven yards — on second down to set up 3rd-and-8 for the 49ers at their own 43-yard line.

11:37: Vernon Davis catches another pass to set up a first down for San Francisco — it’s an 18-yard gain — and the ball is at the Denver 39.

11:25: After no receivers come open, Shaun Hill takes a quarterback scramble up the middle for a pickup of nine yards on first down.

10:37: The defense clogs up the middle for a short gain, but Glen Coffee still picks up the necessary yard for a 49ers first down.

10:00: On first down, Hill drops back and looks left — meanwhile Haggan comes streaking in from the right side of the line and sacks the quarterback, stripping the ball in the process, but the ref signals that Hill was already down before the ball came out. Regardless, it’s now 2nd-and-18 for the 49ers and the Broncos already have two sacks.

8:55: Coffee takes the second-down run and picks up 15 yards, setting up 3rd-and-3. The Broncos swallow up the next play in the backfield — Peterson was right there to make the tackle and set up the fourth down.

7:53: Alex Romero knocks through the 38-yard field goal for the first points of the game — putting the 49ers ahead of the Broncos 3-0.

7:52: Alphonso Smith is back deep to return the 49ers kickoff. He takes it out to about the 30-yard line.

7:48: The offensive starters are Ryan Clady, Ben Hamilton, Casey Wiegmann, Chris Kuper, Ryan Harris, Kyle Orton, Jabar Gaffney, Brandon Stokley, Chad Jackson, Eddie Royal and Correll Buckhalter.

7:47: On first down, Orton is in the shotgun. He drops back and finds Royal for a quick seven-yard pickup, setting up 2nd-and-3. On second down, Orton hands off to Buckhalter who finds a hole up the left side for the first down.

6:47: On first down, Orton drops back from under center and finds a wide-open Stokley near the sideline. He’s close to the first down, but the refs indicate it’s a nine-yard pickup. On 2nd-and-1, Orton hands the ball off to Buckhalter with Peyton Hillis blocking. He doesn’t quite get the yardage, setting up third-and-1.

5:40: Buckhalter takes the carry on the next play and picks up the first down. He’s brought down by Takeo Spikes. Now the Broncos have a first down at the San Francisco 49-yard line.

4:40: Orton throws a quick pass to Royal, who dropped back to receive the bubble screen. Clady sprints out to spring Royal with a big block, and Royal picks up a big gain. There’s a flag on the play, however — offsides on the defense. So it’s 1st-and-5.

4:36: Denver takes its first timeout with a 1st-and-5 at the 49ers 44-yard line. Orton is in the shotgun and LaMont Jordan goes in motion out wide. Orton takes the snap, drops back and gets it to Jordan near the right sideline for the first down.

4:00: Jordan takes the handoff on the next play and picks up a couple yards to set up 2nd-and-8.

3:30: Orton drops back and finds Royal for a first down on the next play. The ball is now at the San Francisco 20-yard line. It’s a chance for the offense to execute in the red zone.

2:50: On first down, Orton drops back and tries to get it to Gaffney, but the pass is broken up.

2:43: On 2nd-and-10, Orton takes the snap with Buckhalter in the backfield. He gets the ball to Chad Jackson on a pass to the right sideline near the first-down marker. The refs indicate it’s a gain of nine yards, setting up 3rd-and-1 at the 11-yard line.

2:20: Orton is in the shotgun on third down. He takes the snap, drops back and finds Royal inside the 5-yard line to set up a first-and-goal.

1:50: Jordan takes the handoff on first down, picking up a yard to set up second-and-goal from the 3-yard line.

1:00: On the next play, Orton fakes the handoff and tries to find Daniel Graham in the end zone, but the pass is intercepted by Nate Clements. Clements takes a knee in the end zone to set up a first down for the 49ers at the 20-yard line. Alex Smith is now in at quarterback for San Francisco.

0:56: Fields makes the tackle after a two-yard gain to set up 2nd-and-8 for the 49ers. On the next play, McBean notches the defense’s third sack of the evening, tackling Smith seven yards behind the line of scrimmage.

0:00: At the end of the first quarter, the 49ers have a 3rd-and-15 at their own 15-yard line. The Broncos trail San Francisco 3-0.

START OF SECOND QUARTER: On third down, Smith is in the shotgun. He takes the snap, drops back and fires, finding a diving Josh Morgan close to the first-down marker, but the mark looks to be just short. It’s 4th-and-1, and San Francisco punts it away to Alphonso Smith. He takes it back to the Denver 37-yard line, a return of 27 yards on a 61-yard punt by Andy Lee.

14:07: On first down, the starters on offense are back on the field for their second drive. Royal and Gaffney are out wide and Graham is in at tight end, Hillis is the fullback with Buckhalter as the running back. Hillis fakes a block one way then sprints toward the sideline, catching a pass from Orton. He makes one receiver miss then runs over a few more on the way to 13 yards and a first down.

13:15: After an incompletion intended for Stokley on first down, the Broncos have a second-and-10 from midfield. Orton is in the shotgun, and Knowshon Moreno is to his right. Orton takes the snap and hands off to Moreno. The rookie takes his first carry as an NFL back and picks up nine yards to set up 3rd-and-1.

12:40: On 3rd-and-1, Gaffney goes in motion and Orton hands the ball off to Moreno again. He picks up a big block from Hillis and gains five yards and a first down.

12:00: On first down, Orton goes back to Moreno, who pushes forward behind a Kuper block for a gain of four yards.

11:20: Orton is in the shotgun, and Stokley goes in motion on 2nd-and-6. It’s an incomplete pass intended for Stokley, setting up 3rd-and-6.

11:12: Orton is in the shotgun with Buckhalter to his left on third down. He takes the snap, looks for Stokley and fires the ball in his direction. The pass is intercepted by Dre’ Bly, and San Francisco has a first down at its own 28-yard line.

11:04: On first down, there’s a lot of motion on the 49ers side of the ball. Coffee takes the handoff and is taken down by Andra Davis after a gain of two.

10:20: On 2nd-and-8, Smith finds Arnaz Battle to set up a 3rd-and-1.

9:35: Coffee fights his way forward for the first down after it looked like he would be stopped just before the marker. His second effort picks up a first down for the 49ers at their own 41-yard line.

8:54: On first down, Smith drops way back to set up a screen pass to Coffee. The Broncos defense sniffs it out from the start, however, stopping the rookie running back for no gain.

8:10: On 2nd-and-10, Dumervil takes down Coffee after a gain of three. It’s 3rd-and-7 for San Francisco, and Smith is in the shotgun. Coffee is to his left. A lot of movement on the Broncos’ side of the ball, and a blitz is coming. Smith fires a ball to no one in particular, and the ball falls to the ground. Lee is in to punt on 4th-and-7, and Alphonso Smith is back deep to receive.

7:12 Lee’s punt goes out of bounds at the 10-yard line. It’s a 46-yard punt, and the Broncos will have a first down at the 10. The first-team offense is in the game for their third drive.

7:11: Jordan takes the handoff on first down, picking up a quick five yards. On 2nd-and-5 from the 15-yard line, Orton drops back and hands off to Jordan again. He’s taken down after a gain of two. It’s 3rd-and-3, and the offense steps up to the line. Orton is in shotgun, and there’s a flag on the play — false start on the offense.

5:59: It’s 3rd-and-8 now, and Orton is in the gun again. He takes the snap, drops back and fires the ball downfield. It’s picked off by Reggie Smith, but there’s a flag on the field. The flag is on the offense, so San Francisco has a first-and-goal from the three-yard line.

5:21: On first down, Smith drops back and finds Brit Miller for a touchdown. The extra point is no good, so the score is now San Francisco 9, Denver 0.

5:16: Alphonso Smith is back deep to receive the kickoff. He fields it at the goal line and finds some room out to the 28-yard line.

5:09: It is being announced that Knowshon Moreno has a leg injury and is questionable to return. It’s first-and-10 for the Broncos offense, and the first-unit guys are back on the field. Orton takes the snap and hands off to Buckhalter, who is taken down on a tackle by Marques Harris that prevented the back from turning the corner and getting to the sideline.

4:30: Orton is in the shotgun. He takes the snap and finds Royal in the middle of the field. The second-year receiver turns on the jets and picks up 19 yards and a first down.

3:50: Orton takes the first-down snap and pitches to Jordan, who takes it up the right side for a gain of three.

3:15: Jordan takes the handoff and finds space up the left side of the line for a first down. Seth Olsen is on the line at left guard, and Hamilton has moved over to center. On first down, Orton is in the shotgun. He takes the snap and quickly throws in Royal’s direction, but it falls incomplete.

2:29: On second down, Jordan is hit at the line of scrimmage, setting up 3rd-and-10. That takes us to the two-minute warning.

2:00: With the ball at the San Francisco 45-yard line, the Broncos have a 3rd-and-10. Orton takes the snap from the shotgun, with Buckhalter to his left. He finds Chad Jackson, but it’s short of the first down. There’s a flag on the play, however. It’s pass interference on the offense, so Brett Kern is out to punt on fourth down.

1:51: Kern skies the punt and the special teams unit is there to down it at the 11-yard line.

1:37: Alphonso Smith and Jack Williams are in on defense as San Francisco steps up for a first down. A blitz by Wesley Woodyard and D.J. Williams forces Alex Smith to throw a quick incompletion.

1:27: On second down, Coffee picks up seven yards on a carry and sets up 3rd-and-3. On the next play, Alex Smith takes the snap in shotgun and finds Josh Morgan for the first down.

1:04 After a penalty on San Francisco, it’s 1st-and-15 on the 49ers 22. Coffee takes the hand off but is brought down by three Broncos — Woodyard, D.J. Williams and Peterson — after a pickup of two.

0:20: Looks like the 49ers will let the clock run out, getting the ball to Coffee again, who is taken down to set up a 3rd-and-5.

0:15: Denver calls a 30-second timeout. On 3rd-and-5, Alex Smith is in the shotgun. He takes the snap and gives the ball to Coffee. McBath is there to make the tackle, but Coffee picks up the first down and gets out of bounds to stop the clock.

0:09: On 1st-and-10, Coffee takes another handoff, and he’s brought down by McBath to take the game to halftime.

0:00: At the end of the first half of the team’s first preseason game, the 49ers lead the Broncos, 9-0. Denver will get the ball to start the second half.

See you in the second half live blog.

-Gray Caldwell, DenverBroncos.com

Tags: First Half Live Blog, live game blog, Preseason, San Francisco 49ers

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