The 2008 National Football League schedule was announced today, and that officially gives every fan the information he or she needs to plan the fall football schedule, including whether that favorite team has a big home prime time game.
But you cannot play without a schedule, so this is the moment that starts it all.
As far as our Denver Broncos schedule is concerned, I personally like it a lot.
I once got a very cogent opinion from Mike Shanahan when I asked him how he liked our schedule compared to a rival’s.
He looked at both on paper, and said, “Looks like we each have eight at home and eight away.”
In other words, it always comes down to how you prepare and how you play, not when you play, where you play, or what the weather is.
But I like the idea that this year our fans do not have to sit in sub-freezing temperatures for a late saeason Sunday or Monday night game (unless we get flexed, of course, which would be a positive thing).
We all enjoy the exposure of Sunday and Monday night football, and we are not being overlooked in that regard, with three prime time games, but all on the road–the opener on Monday night at Oakland, a subsequent Monday nighter at New England, and a Thursday night NFL Network matchup at Cleveland.
There’s a lot of home-away, home-away to our schedule, and I have always liked the rhythm whcih that allows a team and its fans to get into, in addition to our season ticket holders and the televisoion networks being able to enjoy our spectacular Sunday afternoons.
As to the results?
You plan hard in the off-season, plan your program, work your plan, try to stay injury free and pack your lunchbox every day.
It is not rocket science, but it is hard work, and our staff and veteran players have a track record of putting in the effort and the hours.
It is easier to put in that work when you have something tangible on paper on which you can focus, and we all have that starting today.
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Thanks for the point of view. When it comes down to it, it’s all about the X’s and O’s, not about the date of the game.
Thanks for all of your hard work and for taking the time to speak to us fans through this medium!
-Kyle
-broncotalk.net
In the Old School we would live and die for a ticket. The colder the better for a true Bronco fan, do you think they cry in greenbay? I am trapped in Phoenix where I have only seen my Broncos during preseason at the new stadium. Could never get tickets when I lived in Colorado. They will get a feed in Albuq, nm, but alas with no broadcast (rabbit ears) TV night games. Even With cable I won’t get to see to many. WAHHHHHH! I call home and get scores. Anyone afraid of the cold…….I have long john’s send tickets ( just kiddin’)… I digress. Ditto the other comment let’s go get rid of them NE Pats….. I am having my AFC Champs superbowl shirts made as I type!!
first things first mr. jim saccomano. your pic looks like an IRS agent get it together.
And im writting it in blood we’ll win at least 10 wins and one of those will be over the patriots.
Hey Jim (Can I call you Jim?)
As mentioned above by the other fans, thanks for taking the time in keeping the blog alive. It is very much appreciated.
I just read on NFL.com Cooper (LB for San Diego) just received a 4 game suspension for violating the substance abuse program.. Hey Cooper think it’s time you stop using Meriman as a mentor? But don’t use Rivers as a mentor either cause then you’ll turn into a crybaby steroid user. Look at it this way goof ball, you can console your teamates on the sidelines while our boys stuff multiple end zone entrances up your a$$.
O.K. sorry had to get that off my chest. I’m telling ya, the lightning bolts are running a close second to the pukes in oakland.
In regards to NE, get ready boys. For the first 5 weeks all we are going to hear is how great NE is and how they are trying to avenge the SB loss to the Giants. Uh, yeah…if our Broncos were playing the 49ers, the dolphins, jets and KC throught the first 4 weeks then a bye…I’d love my record too. It won’t be until wekk 6 they meet competition going to San Diego then return home for an a$$ whipping from the ORANGE AND BLUE!! There’s 2 upsdies to this.
1. NE could recieve back to back losses
2. 1 of those losses will come from the ORANGE AND BLUE ON NATIONAL TELEVISION!
like the great fans already pointed out above, let’s buckle up and simply
GO GET EM’ BOYS!!!
Did anybody else see that we had a work out with Vanderjagt. He has been out of the league for like a year but I am pretty sure that he is still the most accurate kicker in NFL History. I would love to have him. What do you guys think?
John-Jake-n-Jay
7;16,6
please do not get this dude!! he may be the most accurate but im sure he is also the worst clutch kicker in the last 5 years…he has leg…but im sure we can find a youngster that can take the job like Elam did back in the day!! Parker is an ok pick up but I think D. Jackson would have been a little better! Anyways…go Denver
hey what is all this talk about DJ leaving the broncos??????
As far as the schedule: looks like 11-5 is a real possiblity. If we can beat Pukeland in the opener on the road, we can lose twice to the chargers & still go 11-5. If we lose the opener, we will probably have to beat the chargers in Denver. Forget about that last game in S.D., hopefully we’ll have something clinched by then. Opening & closing on the road seems like cruel & unusual punishment from the NFL. So does 3 prime time road games + 5 road games total after the bye. It really does seem that the NFL is loading up on the Broncos for some reason. The good news is, we don’t have to go to KC in December !! In fact, we’ll have two nice weather games out of the last three. Jacksonville & NE back-to-back is tough !! I don’t know what it is about those jagwads but they pretty much own us in Denver (see last year). I feel that road wins at Pukeland, KC, Atlanta, NY & Carolina are a real possiblity. We should be able to handle NO, TB, Miami, Oakland, KC & Buffalo at Invesco. That equals 11 wins. Will that be enough to win the division, probably not, but should be enough to get a Wild Card. Can someone explain to me how the chargers get both Indy & NE at home ??? That aint right !!!! Anyway, that’s a lot of ifs. Of course, if our line play does not improve on both sides of the ball, we could go 7-9 again. The first seven games could be brutal. At Pukeland maybe against Darren McFadden, maybe a loss. SD in Denver, very possibly a loss. NO – could go either way. At KC – we don’t win there very often. TB is an up & coming team with a good defense. Jagwads = ych. That leaves us HAVING to win in NE !! Not a good position to be in !! Miami coming in after the bye looks like a cinch, Cleveland will be tough FOUR FREAKIN days later !! 10 days to prepare for a trip to Atlanta, no problem. Pukleand & KC at home wrapped around a trip to the Jets could equal three wins in a row. At Carolina – tough defense, Buffalo at home – no problem. SD on the road in a MUST WIN !! No Way !! Good Luck Broncos = you’ll need it.
First of all, thanks for the blog Jim.
Second, I agree Parker is just so-so, but Jackson isn’t much better. We need to quit wasting our time focusing on average WRs and focus on the real WR issue (Marshall). I know I will catch a lot of flak for this, but I say, trade B Marshall and maybe a mid round pick for Chad Johnson. He may have a mouth on the field, but he certainly does not cause problems off the field, something Marshall continues to have struggle with, and he is just getting started.
As far as Vanderjagt, I would have to think about that one for a while, but again, I think we are focused on the wrong issue. If we are focused on Kickers, we are in trouble. We have way to many other issues to be working out other than who we have as a kicker.
Sorry but i need to start this off with.. TRADE MARSHALL!!! are you crazy?? him and jay have a chance to be the next payton and marvin connection, there both going into their 3rd year.. just crazy to think that.. this wasnt an off the field issue for him it was an accident, they happen, fact of life.. anyways
I love how the schedule looks this year, we usually have a slow week 1, but i think we’ll still have enough to beat the raiders, and then we have a strong few weeks after that so possibly the chance to go 3-0 in the division real early.. im calling a 10-6 season and a wild card
EgoRegis,
Hey love the passion but not a smart move
Marshall will be just fine. I agree with lynch4prez, it happens, it happened, move on. Brandon wants to be here. He knows the opportunity he has here in Denver.
In regards to the schedule, I’m totally fine with it. I think one of the biggest things we gained is not having the bye week before week 5. I swear it seemed like we always had a bye week 4 or 5 then we play out the majority of the season with no break and broken. Week 8 will be a nice point 1/2 way to take a step back, re-evaluate heading into the final push for the post season.
GO GET EM’ BOYS!!
Well it has been a long time since I have posted and it will probably be a while again before I post, especially since I understand cutbacks and trying to run a profitable business, but one of the problems we are running into is Jim you are doing a fine job but to cut back Andrew Mason who really gave us some insigt to the team and gave the fans a chance to respond and communicate with each other in the blogs sucks now that he is gone. I check the homepage on a daily ritual and it is frustrating to keep watching the team that I have cheered for for over 20 years now taking a really bad turn. It is pretty bad when I am listening to Sirius radio and the only comment that they make about denver today on the draft is “Look at their history”. We are a mockery when it comes to our team. Especially when we are talking about taking a DT in which we need because the other ones are not getting the job done. But taking Dwayne P. is ridiculous especially when you talk about getting a guy that can’t practice, has bad knees, and requires a huge salary. Didn’t we learn anything from last year in that position. How about WR Daryl J. another guy that won’t practice much and is on the decline. I mean seriously what message are we sending to the team? When do we really stay focused on the future? Another good comment made on Sirius which was not fun but it is true to an extent, is that you have not finished your career in football untill you have played for Denver. Wow, what are we doing for the future? Ok so we have some more bad years but where will we be in 5 more years??? Look at KC., struggling now but getting younger for the future. I love my Denver Broncos but am very leary of what is to come. We are getting older in a lot of positions now and then challenge our draft choices, I am not saying I could do a better job and I know it is not easy, but c’mon someone gets paid to do it and needs to be held accountable for it. A good example last years draft picks. Jarvis knew he had injury issues, think hes not going to have them this year? Marcus was said to be a steal in the draft if he could keep his issues off the field, well for the most part he did during the season, but performance? Now alot of that has to do with coaching and time to adapt to the NFl, I can keep going on and on, what is the main mission. Take it year by year or plan for a future let me know. Also everyone bashing Brandon remember at least his issues have not been to bad, I mean we still are supporting someone that luckily has a positive drug test thrown out that fathers 9 kids was paid alot of money to come to denver and how did he perform. Brandon is in the spot light and will mature give him time. For his salary how did he do last year? Rest my case.
I like the schedule and I think the first half seems tougher than the last. But who knows, personal changes so much in the NFL anymore, some teams will go from rags to riches. It may cure what’s ill with the Broncos. If our young players can buck up and win 5/8 the 1st half, they may gain some confidence and be able to get on a roll the 2nd half of the season. I like the off week in about the middle of the season too.
I think it is great playing the Raiders the first week, if you can’t get up for that , you can’t get up for nothing! I hope the Bailey Bros. get a chance to plant Javon Walker in the turf a time or two, he’s got it coming.
All our minds are on the draft, less than 2 weeks away now. With all the players picked up in the off season, it makes is kind glaring where the Broncos haven’t picked anybody up yet. I saw today Mel Kiper was running up J. Stewart who I think would be outstanding in Orange & Blue, that would take care of some of the red zone issues. With the Broncos having so many picks, makes you wonder if they are going to try and move up and get a DT? Only Shanny knows for sure. The suspense is killing me !
Five of the first eight regular season gamers are at home. Obviously that means 5 of the last 8 games are away. Three of those five are probably loosers (Cleveland, Carolina and San Diego). If the Broncos are to be in the hunt at the end they MUST win at least 6 of thr first 8. The NE game is one loss. That doesn’t leave much room for any off games. 9-7 is realistic with 11-5 possible with the right breaks.
I saw that we are bringing mendenhall in for a visit. I think this would be a great pick. O line is a big need but I think mendenhall may be the best game-changer avaliable and we can address both lines with our next few picks (trade up if shanny likes someone). I like henry a lot and young too but mendenhall looks to good to pass up and may be better than mcfadden or looks tougher to bring down in my opinion. I like adding parker and jackson which should give us a dangerous spread with cutler at the helm. DRAFT MENDENHALL AT 12
Nice assessment, Jim. Like other posters, I believe wholeheartedly that we’ll embarrass the Patriots when we play them, as we always do. Nice take on the flex schedule’s potential implications. Let’s play our way in. We can do it. Go Broncos!
yeah once again we play half the teams that were in the super bowl
I think if we get the draft right and the key players stay healthy we have a good chance of finishing 10-6 and clinching a wild card berth.
I say we win 10 and the 6 we lose are (Chargersx2, Jaguars, Patriots, Browns and Panthers).
I would really like to see Denver draft Kenny Phillips in the first round and a tackle in the 2nd. I think Kenny has so much talent and being from the U will produce amazing. Also being from Missouri, I highly recommend, William Franklin and Pig Brown. Both will make great potentials. Rucker is also just a powerhouse but he will be gone in the 2nd round.
lynch4ever,
I love what you have to say, except for the part about you being from Missouri. I myself, am a ROCK CHALK KANSAS JAYHAWK. Rucker would be a great pick up, but there is no reason for us to get a tight end that early. We already have Graham, Tony, and Nate so we would not waste a 2nd round pick on Rucker, even though I will admit he is a great player. I recommended that we pick up Derek Fine, from University of Kansas. Fine would be a great special teams asset and if he is there in the 6th round, pick him up. Anyway those are my two cents.
John-Jake-n-Jay
7;16,6
2 points: I now live in Missouri so I am not going to hate on you for that but my second point is that you are good people but you are just not Andrew Mason. Give the man his job back and quit trying to fill in with cheerleaders and mascots. It is really sad that you had to let the man go. Bite the bullet and bring him back to the fans. You paid John millions the last years on his contract, throw the boy a bone and let him tell us what we need to hear. I am 850 miles away and news is scarce when we are 7 and 9. Andrew told it like it was and kept me in touch with the greatest football team ever. I am a manager in a multi million dollar fortune 500 company and I make hard decisions about personel every day but even I have to admit on those rare occasions that I made a mistake, admit you are wrong and quit trying to do a job that someone else is better served to do. You go do vice president things and let the man tell us what is happening.
Ok. I am done. I now return you to your regularly scheduled wantta be’s to blog away so that we can bust on their lack of content and style.
jazzyfrizzle, that is good news. Glad we are gonna still be puttin’ “the Hammer” down! I thought he showed signs of brilliance last year! Hope we sign his bro.
I think Ramboskithefan heard that D.J. Williams was moving and thought he was moving out of Denver, not out of the middle linebacker spot. He played weak side his first year and he was AWESOME! I am stoked that he is moving back to that position , he was a natural and reeked havoc! I’m glad the Broncos have finally come to their senses and put him where he can do the most good. He is a great player and now should get the recognition just how good and smart he is and that’s grand!
Oldsouthsatnder, I don’t think home field advantage means as much as it used to in the NFL. I definately does mean as much at Invesco Field as it did at mile high . I’m more worried about the talent and coaching another team has rather than who has home field advantage.
I like J. Stewart the best of all the backs but Mendenhall will do just fine. Kind of a Clinton Portis type but maybe with a little more power. The Broncos have usually throw up a smokescreen when it comes to who they are interested in and often draft someone they haven’t spoken to so we all need to be prepared for the unexpected.
GO BRONCOS!
well
Well Jazzy,
First of all your right it does seem to come across negative and I really hope that I am wrong on a few of the things that I had mentioned, but as history has shown us that there is only a rough chance that people or history really truly change. I am a believer that people can only if they want to. As far as some back up to my theory. Jarvis was hurt thru college and had really only 1 good year, Marcus T. no problems off the field during last season but hit the paper in the off season. Travis H. had only 1 month left on his 1 year of probation for drugs got tested 1 month before his time was up and that was controversial. Now I could go on and on but for readers sake I won’t. I really hope that Jarvis and Marcus get better this year and can go a whole year, but what about Ryan H. what is going on with him. Also the first year as a rookie you are usually aching to get out there and play and when a starter goes down there is your chance and besides Brandon M. which other ones stepped up? Well and actually Brandon was in his second year. Anyways. I hope we have a good draft, and hope for a prosperous year, because Mike S. really could use a break and Jay needs to get his career going before other fans start booing him out and he has a lot of promise. Give him time to throw the ball and he looks alot like Tom Brady. So once again I apologize if it comes out negative, I just consider myself a realist. Go Broncos!!!!
Jim… Do have any idea if the Broncos are doing Fan Fare and if so do you have the dates> I need to book my airline tickets and hotel if so. Please find out if you can..Thanks, Martin
dbronc,
i have to disagree with your assessment on jarvis and marcus.. if you look throughout the history of DE’s and DT’s in their first year you’ll see that it is a RARE occasion where they come out and make a big impact their rookie season.. Mario Williams, Gaines Adams, Haloti Ngata, Kameron Wimbley are all guys taken in the 1st round who made little impact to their team in their rookie season, just give them some time..
second thing, im sitting on the fence for moving DJ back to weakside, sure he’ll have the opportunity to make more big plays from there, but he made a lot of plays from the middle last year. guess we’ll just wait and see
i would love to see us trade up a few spots if we had the chance to pick up Dorsey or Ellis, those two are beasts and going to be doubled teamed every play for the rest of their careers and would be exactly what our D-line could use.
dbroncfan,
Are you serious? Man, brother woke up on the wrong side of the bed
Look here’s the thing. We all know Bates’s system SUCKED! Hell, even Champ admitted they didn’t want him and wanted Coach S all along. Tell me that defense isn’t going to be lights out. Seriously! think about it. We all were excited when Bly was signed. Then several posts on this blog not from all but from some, wanted him thrown under the bus. It is clear to see that the whole defense of scheme SUCKED! What NFL team wouldn’t want our secondary and LB core. Then add a healthy dummervil, thomas, crowder, moss….Come on these are young players that have bright futures.
You can’t keep using injuries to state your case. Every team has them. You don’t think Shanny cuts every player if he knew they would always have injuries? Sure he would but he obviously doesn’t know that. He will assess this team with the understanding that key players will be healthy to play.
The offesense will be just fine. I truly think our record is going to scare some people out there. This is a well put together team. There is talent on this team that can get the job done. The super bowl job!
Mark my words, the defensive problems are fixed. It was Bates. The offense will be there and we will be playing and winning our next SB!
I couldnt agree with u more Broncfalls..Well said:)…now thats looking at the glass half-full…..
some of us here are predicting too early….with loses to NE and SD and Jax….i guess thers no harm in being pessimistic,,but theres no harm in being optimistic either…
I just hope we have a kick-ass season…and I guarantee we will!
Go Broncos!
Just out of curiosity, why are most of us counting on the broncos to lose both games against the bolts? We have beaten them in the past and last year Bates system sucked. So what’s to say we can’t beat them this year?
i agree with k-n9ne why cant we beat the chargers they r just another football team and i garuntee we will beat them at least once this year
Jim,
Off subject a little, but was wondering if you could tell all of us fans, why the Traditional part of the DenverBroncos.com web site has not been updated since 2004. I know everyone is very busy at Dove Valley and with the organization loosing Andrew Mason, will this section ever get updated? Or is this why he was let go, seeing how he was the website manager, not keeping up with his responsibilities. Thanks for the info if you have any insight on this issue. Will aslo try and email Kasey Byers to see if he knows why. Thanks.
broncos20,
Thanks for the response man. Optimistic is probably a great word! But here’s the thing. One of the greatest things about being a die hard fan is I know my team is going to compete year after yera. Sure I dissagree with descisions here and there but we compete!
Secondly, this is probably stretching it. But, you know as a fan when you search for that signal. A signal that might tell you what is being talked about behind the scenes? Well, I think I got my signal. JOHN LYNCH!
John Lynch came back for one more year. Wonder why? This guy had 15 amazing NFL years and television is his next stop. He couldn’ve picked up a number of NFL spots doing TV but he came back..hmmm.
I think my ass kicking saftey is telling us something. That after careful consideration he thinks suiting up and taking the hits is worth it one more year! John wants a championship and considering his circumstances, I like my signal.
GO GET EM’ BOYS!
lynch4prez: DJ is a great athelete and will make an impact at any position he plays. He recorded a lot of stats last year but had a D-line that did not play well. That being said, I don’t think he was moved because of his performance physically , but because he is not a natural born leader which is manditory at middle linebacker. That’s why they picked up Niko, he is a born leader and was a team captain at Seattle.
I always look at the Broncos as being able to go 16-0 until I’m proven wrong. They have a great staff and as strong a desire to win as any team in the league. They have been competitve almost every season I have been a fan and how many fans can say that about their favorite team? I don’t think any adversary ever thinks the Broncos are just going to roll over , even last year with a porous defense they were still 7-9.
The draft is less than a week away……….
Glad to see Fox is still with us!
Anyone else notice our schedule contains the entire AFC east? What is up with that? Was that planned or purely coincidental? I find it funny that we play more teams in the AFC East than we do in the AFC West.
What’s that moderation crap? This site does some weird stuff sometimes. I don’t know about you guys, but I sure miss Andrew Mason. When you’re a year round fan , it’s sure nice to get a little scrap of information more than once in a blue moon. Mason understood what it was like being on the outside looking in and tried to keep us abreast. Made us feel kind of special. No offense to those that are trying to keep us going………….
sess44,
Dont quote me exactly on this but i think how the schedule works year to year is that you play your division twice (6 games), a division in the AFC and one in the NFC (8 games) and then another two that im not sure how those are figured out
sess44. WOW
umm first WE are a team in the AFC west so we cant play our self so that brings it down to 3 other teams we can play in our division, but we play each one of those 3 teams twice. And playing all the teams in another division is how the NFL schedule works. We also play all the teams in the NFC south. All the teams get a schedule with this type of arangment. And then they get 2 other games. But thats it.
Actually im fine with the schedule, we play 2 of the weaker divisions in the league so we should have a pretty good year, and since we always beat the patriots thats nothin to worry about. So this season should be a good one for us
imready,
I agree with you. My conversations with family and friends at the beginning of each year is always something like; “We’re going to be good this year!”
I have always thought they had that chance to do something special. It’s that feeling that hates to see the season end after a dissapointing year, because you knew in your heart they were better than the performance. It’s the NFL and I’m always fortunate that my team as dissapointing as may be from time to time, makes me come back hungrier than the year before.
Also, MASON you know you’re out there. So listen carefully.
WE LOVE YOU. YOU NO LONGER WORK FOR THE ORGANIZATION SO HOW ABOUT THIS! BLOG ANYWAYS!! LOG ON. GIVE US SOMETHING! WHAT LOYALTY DO YOU HAVE? I’M NOT SAYING THROUGH THE CONFIDENTIALITY OUT THE WINDOW, BUT COME BACK FOR AN ENCORE! ONE LAST TIME!!!!! NOT AS AN EMPLOYEE BUT AS A FAN!!!
Go Get Em’ Boys!
C’mon Jim, put down the orange pom-poms. The home schedule absolutely freaking sucks. Garbage bad and/or boring opponents (all the Florida teams, the Jets). The only exciting games will be LT/Chargers and Bush/saints. And now MNF/SNF games a blessing because it’s cold — this aint intramural football, it’s pro football where cold/snow/etc are part of things. Besides, the mid-October Steelers game was a bit chilly but the later Packers and Tennessee games were great weatherwise. Unfortunately this just shows how fall the Broncos have fallen with all the impulsive moves (the Broncos’ primetime/featured games are way down this year as well).
go broncos!
hey those last two games that we play are against the two teams in the afc north and south that placed second in their divisions as we did. since we already play the east and we are the west, those are the teams we play.
I am pumped, let’s be smart now and get Ryan Clady in the draft
and to reply to SeeItAsItIs, It’s good we aren’t on primetime, let’s fly under the radar and surprise some people this year!!!
Are you out of the Loop about the Draft
This blogger brings us some reviews of the lions draft:
A — Rick Gosselin, Dallas Morning News: "The Lions wanted to make this a defensive draft and selected three potential starters in the first three rounds. But their offense…
will rod smith be returning to the lineup this year