Marshall Ready To Rival Ravens Attack

October 30th, 2009 - 1:25pm by Chris GentilvisoOther posts by Chris Gentilviso

In his three-plus seasons with the Broncos, Brandon Marshall has faced 26 different opposing teams.

The Baltimore Ravens will become the 27th team on Sunday.

While Marshall did not play in the teams’ 2006 contest as a rookie, he knows plenty about the vaunted defensive attack that he and his teammates have been preparing for.

“It’s going to take four quarters,” Marshall said. “They’re a great team that’s used to winning, that’s used to being in difficult games.”

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Starting the Clock Before Sunday

October 29th, 2009 - 2:55pm by Zach EisendrathOther posts by Zach Eisendrath

In Champ Bailey’s mind, it is no accident that the Broncos have looked like a cohesive unit week in and week out six games into the regular season.

No mystery as to why guys are always on the same page. No mistake as to why the team is able to make quick in-game adjustments.

The 11-year pro attributes much of how the team performs on the field to one thing: an intense level of preparation.

“We practice like it’s a game,” Bailey said. “We just know how to prepare. I think you win the game during the week. You don’t win it on Sunday. If you don’t go in there with the right mindset and the right preparation, you’re going to lose.”

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Coming Full Circle

October 28th, 2009 - 3:56pm by Chris GentilvisoOther posts by Chris Gentilviso

A year ago, Mitch Berger was hitting sky-high punts for the Super Bowl-champion Pittsburgh Steelers.

Sixteen years ago, Berger was doing the same in Boulder for the Colorado Buffaloes.

Now, Berger is back where it all began and ready to be a bona fide contributor for the Broncos this season.

“This is where I kind of started playing big-time football,” Berger said. “It is a great place to be back to.”

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Reid on ESPN First Take

October 27th, 2009 - 4:34pm by Zach EisendrathOther posts by Zach Eisendrath

While many players on the Broncos spent time off during their bye week resting up or on a quick vacation, Darrell Reid spent a portion of his time away from Dove Valley in Bristol, Conn. — making his way around ESPN studios.

Reid appeared live on a variety of ESPN programming last Friday, including SportsCenter, ESPN News and the Scott Van Pelt Show.

He also appeared on ESPN First Take — sitting down with co-host Dana Jacobson to talk about Head Coach Josh McDaniels’ influence on the team’s 6-0 start and how the club has been able to jell so quickly in 2009.

For the full interview, check out the video below.

– Zach Eisendrath, DenverBroncos.com

Returning to Action

October 26th, 2009 - 3:27pm by Zach EisendrathOther posts by Zach Eisendrath

Coming off a rock-solid rookie campaign, Spencer Larsen was set on making a big splash in his second season at the pro ranks.

Against the Falcons last season, Larsen became the first Bronco in team history to start on both offense (fullback) and defense (linebacker) in the same game. Against coverage units, Larsen became a standout special teams player, finishing tied for third on the club with nine tackles. He was fast becoming known as one of the Broncos’ most versatile players.

This offseason, Larsen was determined to continue his role as a multidimensional player. Thus, he dug deep into his collection of playbooks during his spare time, while rotating between offensive, defensive and special teams meetings during OTAs, mini-camps and training camp.

Finally confident in the different concepts thrown at him, Larsen was set on applying what he learned during the offseason in the team’s regular season opener at Cincinnati. Those plans, however, were quickly derailed by a freak pregame accident. As the game was nearing kickoff, Larsen slipped and fell in the locker room, landing on his shoulder and costing him several weeks of action.

“I watched the game in the locker room by myself with ice on my shoulder for three hours,” Larsen remembers. “It was a wonderful win, but it was very hard seeing everybody come in at halftime and not being able to be a part of it.”

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Broncos Add Berger, Waive Kern

October 26th, 2009 - 12:11pm by Chris GentilvisoOther posts by Chris Gentilviso

Fresh off their bye week break, the Broncos have added a new veteran face to boost them for the stretch run.

The team signed 16-year veteran punter Mitch Berger on Monday, it was announced. To make room for Berger on the roster, the club waived second-year punter Brett Kern.

A University of Colorado alum, Berger joins the Broncos after winning a Super Bowl with the Steelers last season. With Pittsburgh, he played a key role in the field position game, holding opponents to 6.4 yards per punt return. Berger also has stints with Arizona (2007), New Orleans (2003-05), St. Louis (2002), Minnesota (1996-2001), Chicago (1995) and Philadelphia (1994).

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Elway Named “Man of the Year”

October 22nd, 2009 - 12:28pm by Gray CaldwellOther posts by Gray Caldwell

The Walter Camp Football Foundation has named John Elway the recipient of its prestigious “Man of the Year” award, the organization announced.

Elway joins a distinguished list of former winners, including Roger Staubach, Gale Sayers, Dick Butkus and Morten Andersen, who was last year’s recipient.

President and CEO Pat Bowlen congratulated Elway on the honor on Thursday.

“On behalf of the Denver Broncos Football Club, I’d like to congratulate John Elway for receiving this great award,” Bowlen said. “In addition to being the greatest Denver Bronco of all time, John is one of the few who is among the greatest players of all time in both college and pro football. His receiving this accolade from the Walter Camp Football Foundation is an honor well deserved by John for public service and community work that equal his greatness on the field. He has always been generous with his time for a myriad causes that benefit those in need and it is gratifying to me and the entire Broncos organization to see John named for this honor.”

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Resting Before The Stretch Run

October 21st, 2009 - 3:29pm by Chris GentilvisoOther posts by Chris Gentilviso

For the next four days, the Broncos and football will have a chance to be separate entities.

After holding a film study on Wednesday morning, Head Coach Josh McDaniels released the players to embark on their bye-week break.

The team will have the time to rest and recuperate before resuming practice in preparation for the Ravens on Monday.

“We made some corrections today and talked about things we didn’t do very well in the game and tried to put that game behind us,” McDaniels said. “Now we’re moving on and the coaching staff’s going to do a few things here in the next few days and get ready for the next 10 weeks.”

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Royal’s Special Night Earns Special Honor

October 20th, 2009 - 5:00pm by Chris GentilvisoOther posts by Chris Gentilviso

A pair of special teams touchdowns against San Diego has granted Eddie Royal his first career special teams honor.

Royal will be named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week, the Broncos learned on Tuesday, for his Week 6 performance in a 34-23 victory over the Chargers. His 235 total return yards set a franchise record.

The majority of those 235 yards came via that pair of blistering runs on the Chargers’ coverage teams. Royal became the second Bronco and 11th player in NFL history to record a kickoff return for a touchdown (93 yds. in first quarter) and a punt return for a touchdown (71 yds. in second quarter) in the same game. He is the sixth player to accomplish that feat since the 1970 NFL merger.

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Broncos at Chargers: Second Half Live Blog

October 19th, 2009 - 8:22pm by Gray CaldwellOther posts by Gray Caldwell

Q3 14:56: The Broncos receive the kickoff to start the second half, and the offense takes over at the 26-yard line after Eddie Royal’s kickoff return. On first down, Knowshon Moreno is wrapped up near the line of scrimmage for no gain. Second down brings a deep pass from Kyle Orton intended for Tony Scheffler, but it is broken up. Flag on the play — pass interference on the defense. That sets up a first down on the Denver 45-yard line.

Q3 13:50: After a six-yard gain on a pass from Orton to Scheffler, Moreno finds a hole for a gain close to the first-down marker — it sets up 3rd-and-1. The handoff goes to Moreno, and there’s no indication whether it’s a first down or not — there are flags all over the field. Two fouls. Illegal shift on the offense, which is declined, and delay of game on the offense for spiking the ball after the play. It’s fourth down, and Brett Kern is in to punt. Darren Sproles is back at his own 10-yard line ready to return. The punt sails into the end zone for a touchback.

Q3 12:34: Brian Dawkins is back in the secondary and Mario Haggan is back in at linebacker as the defense trots onto the field. Andra Davis makes the tackle on first down as LaDainian Tomlinson picks up three yards. On second down, Rivers is nearly sacked by Dumervil before throwing a ball intended for Chris Chambers that falls incomplete. Two flags on the play, both on the Broncos. A holding call on Haggan makes it 1st-and-10 for the Chargers at their own 28-yard line.

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