The Broncos made several roster moves on Monday, including signing free agent wide receiver Chad Jackson and tackle Matt Murphy to their active roster. The team also elevated Josh Bell to its active roster from its practice squad and placed center Greg Eslinger and cornerback Rashod Moulton on its practice squad.
In two seasons with New England, Jackson played in 14 career games including a start, amassing 13 receptions for 152 yards with three touchdowns.
Head Coach Mike Shanahan said he is looking forward to seeing how Jackson acclimates himself the the Broncos’ system.
“We just had him in here today, and he did a pretty good job for his first day out,” he said. “We’ll get a chance to see over the next week or so.”
Jackson said he feels fairly comfortable in the Broncos offensive system and with a little studying he should have a solid grasp of it.
The former Patriot and Florida Gator said the hardest adjustment for him will be playing in the Mile High air of Denver.
“The only thing I’m worried about right now is getting used to this altitude and this air,” he said. “So once I get that down I’ll be fine.”
Altitude adjustment aside, Jackson said he is ready to contribute to the Broncos any way he can.
“Young talent,” Jackson said when asked what he brings most to this team. “You’ve got guys right here you can learn from: Brandon (Marshall), (Brandon) Stokley and Eddie (Royal), he’s been a good player coming in his rookie year. I bring in young talent, speed and the ability to catch the ball so hopefully I can bring that here.”
STOKLEY AND TORAIN FEELING GOOD IN PRACTICE
If Monday’s practice is any indication the Broncos, could have two players back and healthy ready to contribute on the offensive side of the football.
Stokley, who has been recovering from a concussion he sustained against Jacksonville, and Ryan Torain, who suffered an elbow injury in training camp, are feeling good and are eager to help their team win.
Stokley believes he is close to where he needs to be in terms of recovery and hopefully returning to action.
“I haven’t got hit yet or anything like that,” he said. “But right now I am just feeling good and I am glad to be back out there and am looking forward to this week.”
Like Stokley, Torain is enjoying getting back into the swing of things.
“It felt great,” he said. “It was fun to get back out there and bang around with the team, it’s been a long time, so I’m just happy to be back out there.”
BYE WEEK A NICE GET-AWAY
The Broncos were able use the bye week as a chance to get away from football both physically and mentally.
Michael Pittman, who is recovering from bruised ribs, enjoyed the week away and used it to rejuvenate his mind and body.
“It was really nice getting the time off,” he said. “Just relaxing a little bit, get some extra treatment for myself. I stayed here the whole time, so just getting away from football for a minute. But we’re back, we’re focused on what we’ve got to do. All in all the bye week is just a good time to try to get your body back.”
Elvis Dumervil went home to Miami and took his mind off football for the week.
“For myself it was good to get away,” he said. “It was a nice break to get home and go to Miami. I didn’t watch any games or anything.”
Stokley said the bye has the team eager to finish strong in the second half of the season.
“Right now I think everybody is upbeat and looking forward to finishing the season off the right way. We are in control of our own destiny. We just have to go out there and play good football – that is the bottom line for us.”
-Jake Grilley, DenverBroncos.com
Tags: Brandon Stokley, Chad Jackson, Elvis Dumervil, Jake Grilley, Michael Pittman
i really liked jackson coming out of college… hopefully he can add to our already great receiving corp.
and torain is gonna be a beast i think!
GO BRONCOS!!!
BUT…What about the DEFENSE? What have we done there? Did we cut Josh Shaw? Did we keep him? Did we replace him? Are we going to do anyting with him? This is starting to look like musical chairs. BUT….the scary part is that we’re not replacing our troops with anyone of any quality. I dont’ know if this for “CAP” reasons, or just a lack of available talent. Whatever it is, it would be nice to actually get the feeling that there’s a workable, achieveable plan in place?
I feel more comfortable with our team….we have many weapons on offense and i think our D will sit well because we have depth at boss and champ spot…Williams does bring bacc that swagger that D-WILL (RIP) brought to our team….and im hearing moss may replace boss and he has the size and speed to do so or maybe throw niko in there when we run the 3-4 wit webster and niko at the middle…whatever we do we have the skill and talent to get better just have to stay focused and tackle better…im pretty sure we are going to finish strong at 11-5 or 10-6 but only time will tell…
Yeah what about our DEFENSE!!! I hope Shannahan or somebody that can do something about things reads all this, because it’s like everybody’s asleep to the fact that we are a complete MESS on defense…I hope Torain can help the run game cuz Andre “can’t hold the ball” Hall hasn’t got anything done, and idk how well Selvin is recovering…As for Jackson, it’s good we’re gettin some more depth at WR however I agree with the other comment, why are we pickin up unproven players who have been cut by ten other teams before they get here?…just so it’s clear I’m the biggest Bronco fan you could meet, I don’t miss a game no matter what and I’m always right there supportin my team but people needa start wakin up cuz I want a Super Bowl and the way our defense is right now, that’s the last thing we’re gettin done….Everyone says “don’t panic” wtf is that…I like what Champ said he hit the hammer on the head…this team plays defense with NO urgency it was pathetic watching them try to tackle against New England so WAKE UP D…I love my Broncos and I’m hopin’ for the best, I hope Champ’s back soon and I hope everything gets better….oh and I also hope Jack Williams could possibly take Bly’s spot and he could play Nickelback cuz Dre looks SLOOOOWWW and disgusting…good recievers are eating him up and he hasn’t been doin’ what we all expected him to be doin since he got here!….But yeah GO BRONCOS I love ya’ll but c’mon fellas pick it up and take pride in your work!
I’m just really excited and happy to hear that Torain is going to be back, it looks like now by the Miami game. I want him to be a healthy 100% before he does come back though. I just really can’t wait for him to show his magic for this team. I think he’s going to do wonders for this team and it will just give Cutler another sharp receiver to make this team a little ball of fire.
As for Jackson, I think he’ll be another great addition to our offensive game. Once he gets used to the system our offense is going to be ridiculous!!!!!!!
But our biggest problem, if no one has figured it out yet, is our D. We do need to put more focus and attention on that little problem of ours but it really is up to those players to make the difference. The coaches can “coach” all they want and need to but the players are responsible first of all because they’re the players, DUH!! It’s up to them first, to do what they need to do to make our defense better. Hopefully, Champ can and will get into the heads of these less-experienced guys to become a better defense that other teams will absolutely fear. We need to get our D to the point where they not only fear throwing Champ’s way but towards any other of our defensive players and they’ll have no other chioce but to do alot of their running game. That’s a MAJOR work in progress but we can get there and when we do – its going to awesome. We’ll be ridiculous on both sides of the ball – HA HA. We should be unmatchable
Have faith Broncos Country!!!
GO BRONCOS!!!!!!
This has been such a strange season in the NFL. I really can’t imagine where our Broncos will be over the next 8 games. Our Defense is bad and I don’t see that we will fix that this year. Cutler seems easily ruffled to me, he is still young, Torain MAY be a great running back, but I’m not holding my breath, Pittman has run admirably well. But who saw that New England loss coming? KC? Cleveland beating the Giants & Jags?! It should be an interesting ride to the finish! Let’s go Broncos!
I wish the broncos would take out andre hall and take anthony alridge off the IR because mixed with ryan torain we could have out own power speed duo like chris jhonson and lendal white of the titans. anthony alridge has rediculous speed and brings that darren sproles big play ability every down like he showed in the preaseason ripping off huge gains.
I think that adding Jackson was a good move b/c Stokely is out too many concussions, Royal is a great receiver but he can make mistakes fumbling the football and he has a lower ankle injury. Darrel Jackson really cant catch so yea and Marshall cant do all the work.
1 more thing when is Ryan Torain Starting i want to see him play so bad i heard he was really fast!!!! go BRONCS!!!
i just hope the offense has the firepower to win 6 of the remaining 9 games that should win the west and then anything can happen if the titans are the best the afc has to offer i say we have a shot ….if…..IF (thats a big IF)we can hang on and hope the bolts dont have another huge streak to finish the season!
if we can start running the ball and offense can stay healthy we can be in every game. when healthy are offense is great and jay just needs to keep learning and playing and good things will happen. the defense is not going to be good this year so we just need to take chances and try to get turnovers. if we can start winning the turn over battle we will have a chance that will only happen if we blitz and start playing more man. if were going to get beat than lets get beat trying to kill the qb. sitting back and playing zone and allowing the other team to stay on the field is killing us. i liked jackson coming out of college and wanted him bad until we traded for javon and now we got him. i dont know why he didnt work out in new england but were about to find out if he can play or if he is just another florida receiver that becomes a bust in nfl.
“Take Aldrige off IR”????? The only way a player can come off IR and stay with the team activating him off IR is to put him through irrevicable reverse waivers. Reverse waivers= Every team in reverse order or their current records can claim him. What are the chances that Aldirge would make it? Zip!!!!
what about backup QB? Hackney? Culpepper
why aren’t we going to play Josh Barret exactly?
we are fouling it up not signing Josh Barret.
i mean the trade deadline is over and we didnt do anything even though we had a bunch of picks to trade.
we need to sign him.
Calvin Lowry should be put on the PS and go over “how to tackle”
I would really like to see Josh Barrett to see if he’s worth the adulation my fellow Broncos fans are giving him. The defense should not be neglected. The Chargers suck so we’re not getting much pressure in the division, but we need to play at a higher level. I think this will start against Miami and hopefully it will percolate.
If we need to straighten the DEFENSE, there is one guy that did it for us, and when he did, we were 7 or 8 in the NFL…..This guy’s is Rhodes. Borrow him from Seattle if he still there or give back the draft pick.
I went to Wembley on Sunday and it was great to see the Chargers lose. Although one of their fans sat in front of me didn’t seem to like me cheering for the Saints or wearing a Broncos/Cutler jersey to the game. Sour grapes I think!
While the Bronncos are really struggling, how’d you like to be a Colts fan? Despite their poor performance, the Broncos are two games up on the Chargers and have a game in hand, while the season is over for the Colts who are 4 games behind the Titans with 8 games left and have lost to them. It’s all a matter of perspective. Yes the defense sucks, but remember how fierce a game they had against the Saints. They were flying all over the place. It shows that the potential to be better is there, they just need ever single defensive player tp play their A game wach and every game.
hey gracegunner, i got one for ya… why have we stopped running the football? even when we have the run going, it seems like we give up on it. no i know a few times we have gotten behind and been forced to go to the pass, but there have been others where we have just abandoned the run! i dont get it! shanny is brilliant with the run game! our O line is playing well, we can surely find a back that can run in our system, pittman, or Torrain, i dont care, although i am excited about Torrain. Teams in this league used to fear our running game, now its almost an after thought! I think we need to find a STARTING TAIL BACK, plug him in and give 25 to 30 touches a game. spell him when he needs it, and just play some smash mouth football, run it down their throats! THEN the passing game will be that much more of a threat! but seriously, no matter how good our offense is we still need to have at least SOME kinda defense! Im thinkin maybe a MLB very early in the draft! cuz lets face it, our defense has not been the same since we lost Al Wilson! and then, hate to say it, but we NEED a SOUND defensive coordinator! not someone with the same old broken ideas we have been using for the last 3 yrs! i wish we had kept Rhodes, hell i even liked Coyer. but something has to change if we want another shot at the superbowl…. cuz as the saying goes, offense wins football games, but DEFENSE wins championships!!! and thats all i have to say about that!!! GO BRONCOS
Hey rayjr26…… Well said my brother, you hit the freaking nail on the head!!!! I could not have said it better myself!!!! Go Broncos!!!!
There’s absolutely no chance that the Broncos, or possibly anyone, will sign Culpepper. He’s demanding a multyear contract with the Chiefs. Not going to happen. Besides, the Broncos have called Hackney up from the PS. He knows the system, Culpepper doesn’t.
I would love nothing more than to see the Broncos win on Sunday,
There is just one problem that I saw in the NE game!
Our defence is like a flashing red light, no one stops completely for it, they slow down a little, and just speed right threw it.
What we need to besides fix our Defense with is obvious We need to LET SHANNY CALL THE PLAYS!!!!!!
Does anyone have confidence in this Defense. I say start Moss, Woodyard, Larsen, and Barrett and lets se what these kids bring to the table. We know that Woodyard and Larsen can fly around and hit and make tackles. I want to know once and for all if Moss can play because if he can’t then lets cut him and move on. Barrett has all the skills he just needs reps. Having said all this stuff this is why I am not a head coach in the NFL. Why is Larsen Playing Fullback, Hillis according to alll reports has the best hands on the team and looks like a solid blocker.
GO BRONCOS!
All I have to say is Wade Phillips. Lets bring back Wade Phillips as the Defensive Coordinator/Assistant Head Coach. He ran a fantastic 3-4 in San Diego when they went 14-2. Jerry Jones has already stated that the Offensive Coordinator of the Dallas Cowboys is the future head coach of the team. Wade runs the type of defense the Shannahan likes to see light and fast especially at the linebacker position. If this comes true can you say super bowl baby.
how does Eddie have fumbling problems? He fumbled once… Through 39 catches over 6 games, 1 fumble, 1 drop… That’s pretty solid for a 10 year veteran, let alone a rookie.. Just ask Braylon Edwards.
You’re a donkey.
It is strange that no matter how bad the Defense is, we always attempt to make the offense better. Why are we even wasting our time bringing in Jackson? We have good receivers in Marshall, Royal, Stokely, and even Martinez is OK. Jackson isn’t going to play unless a lot of injuries occur. We need to stop pretending. As has been the case for years, we need dominant defensive lineman. At the very least, we need better defensive tackles. We have all this talent behind the line (minus our safeties), but it doesn’t matter because our line is pathetic. They get blown off the ball on running plays. At least we are blitzing more to get pressure on the QB, but lets not get too excited. It means nothing when we give up 200 yards rushing. Am I the only person not impressed with the six sack performance from the defense. Good job, but New England is giving up sacks to everyone because Cassel holds the ball a little too long still. We need to make our defensive changes and get an identity. Stick with it. We can’t keep shuffling the system.
rayjr26,
I TOTALLY AGREE.
I want to see Denver’s RUN game!!!! We have very, very good backs that can make the NFL teams fear our running game. You’re also very correct when you say our O line is playing extremely well.
Imagine running the football down there throat, controlling the time of possession and just when they stack the box, you open it up with Marshall, stokely, Royal, Shef and now Jackson!!!!!
ARE YOU KIDDING ME! THIS IS A WIN WIN SITUATION!
On top of that you keep our defense off the field and allow them to keep their, energy, stamina, and intensity until they find their course!
COME ON DENVER! 98 TEAM! run, run, run, throw….run, run, run, and oh yeah run again.
GO GET EM’ BOYS! WE GOT THE FINS IN THE TANK!!!!
I think HOGblog said it best….”What about the defence”
Where is our defence this year? Where is Dre Bly? Wasn’t he supposed to be an all pro-corner? Dre has to be the biggest let down since Deltha O’neal. We have a middle Linbacker who should be second string at best and what is wrong with this d-cordinator? We have a D-line that couldnt get past a high school Junior team much less a pro team. You cant solve everything with an offensive way of thinking. For Example…you cant use a lighter, faster D-line. They will(and have) get ther teeth drilled into the ground. Its good our offense is feeling good but WHAT ABOUT THE DEFENSE!!!!!!!!!!!!!?????????!!!!!!!!!!????????
I’m with you oldsouthstander…we worry so much,,but look at the Colts..imagine what they feel now..may not get to playoffs…
hei bones,,,u were wondering why coach made Larzen play FB?,,i think he explained in one of interviews,(that is if u missed it),,but yeah, Coach knows that Spencer can lay devastating hits,,imagine him carrying the ball,he wont be affraid to take hits…take Brandon Jacobs.former linebacker,,that guy can take out defenders flat!!!..i think Coach is looking for more of a Mike Alstott, or Larry Zonka like fullback..almost impossible to take down…
but still, i like Hillis as our FB and would like to see Larzen and Woodyard start on D..i hope Wodyard takes over Boss’ spot after BYE…
R@iderH@ater you said Bly was supposed to be this all-pro corner, he’s the biggest let down since deltha o’neal! Need I remind you that Bly was all-pro with the lions because he wasn’t getting 70% off the plays. O’neal again was a let down with us but then shined with the Bengals for a few years because again, wasn’t getting more than half the % of plays. To all you Bly haters out there, you try covering a wide receiver on a 15+ yard post route, or an out route, and then the very next play do it again, and again, and again! Let’s see how freaking tired you get. Bly is still an ALL-PRO corner, he is just getting so much attention with Champ on the other side!
That being said, STICKY this so you remember I was the one to say it:
Bly will step up and shine in Champ’s absence, because 60% of the balls aren’t going to come his way. The other teams coach will tell his qb, throw it where its open, not just ‘THROW IT WHERE CHAMP ISN’T” I said Bly will step up, that is a lie….. it will seem like he stepped up because he will do great but really it’s going to be the same thing he’s done all year but you won’t keep noticing the bad things because he won’t get 70% of the action.
So let’s disguise our defense team and make the qb think he has man with Bly or Williams when really its zone, he throws it…. pick 6! Our D does need an identity but they have gotten better each game from what killed them the previous week. The NE game our d line did well, they didn’t change anything they just executed as Doom said. But our LB’s were out of position to maintain their gaps. I still have faith in our D, they will work out the kinks by the end of the regular season just in time for the playoffs!
That being said, offense hold onto the ball we can’t keep taking ourselves out of the game. Defense maintain your gaps and wrap up a tackle! Fans, keep the faith and be realistic, you didn’t really expect a superbowl one season after going 7-9 did you? We are a work in progress but WILL BE A FORCE TO RECKON WITH!
when the offense stops turning the ball over 2- 4 times a game you will see a lot of wins. ryan torran will help us out alot. the defense will get better this week i look for dj williams to play great. put 8 in the box and make pennington throw the deep ball. we must and will shut down miami. the offense will score 30 pts. denver 30 miami 20. go broncos.
fFirst of all its funny how eveyone in the WORLD likes to bag on our broncos saying were worthless and kant play D, and i agree our D need some work but still were a GOOD football team and everyone is still on the Chargers Nuts evn though they are horrible their Defense is TERRIBLE theyve givin up more points in the season then we have. plain and simple the Chargers succ bad!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
now that im done with that i feel good about the 2nd hlf of the season for us, I think the pick up of chad Jackson was a good move gives cutler another weapon and gives us more depth. The injuries that hit us on defense hurt us bad but now were gna see if the other guys can step up along with those feeling in.
With Torain and Stokley getting healthier everyday only LOOKS up in our favor. With torain coming bak and if we kan stay healthy the rest of the way were Going to be a CONTENDER in the AFC fersure.
LETS GO BRONCOS!!!!!!!
IF THE DEFENSE AINT STRIAGHT THIS WEEK WE NEED TO DO WHAT SAN DIEGO DID TO THEY DEFENSE COORD.
2champ4pickSIX, ya i did say dre bly was a let down..Darrent Williams(may god rest his soul) did way better in his brief two carreer. At least he was able to stop someone at someone point. I agree that Bly is getting hammered with passes but thats the story of our D this year. I mean we havnt stopped anyone in any catogory. What the hell is going on in Denver? Why did the powers that be feel that we needed a new direction? What a AFC Championship game wasnt good enough. I like how everyone got off the Plummer band waggon after just 1 mediocre season. The dude broke some Elway’s team records, what more do you need? This team went from super contenders to team that hopes to see another .500 season. I do think we need a new direction….in the coaching staff
I listen on field pass… Cutler threw a int… was it dumb… close, what?
somebody watching help a desperate fan?
sorry GO BRONCOS!
Eddy Eddy Eddy Eddy
Eddie Eddie Eddie Eddie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
BTW
As to the very good posts from ACTUAL fans above…
I’m a Phoenix boy, I loved Plummer but watching him with ASU and PHX, always kinda knew he wouldn’t take us all the way. (That may be dumb cuz we got out-coached in that steeler championship game) I love Cutler so far, Shanny is SCARING ME with his micro managing and I’m loving our bright future… The other scary thing is .. our future could be now or at least soon. Cutler can quit the interviews and get back in the film room just any ol time.
Shanny can hire Wade back as a D coordinator as soon as Dallas fires him. (BAD HEAD COACH)
K here we gooooo
Our D is showing … er flashes
i got da hope
I’ll just go ahead and blog myself… How bout them Broncos special teams pick-ups!!! Nice.