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Posts Tagged ‘2009’

A Final Look Back

February 5th, 2010 - 10:55am by mike_riceOther posts by

I must admit, it has been a little strange to watch the playoffs without the Broncos taking part. Before the season began, I remember people asking me how I thought the Broncos would do. My response was I thought they would have a record in the 7-9 to 9-7 range and thought they would have a chance to make the playoffs.

In the big picture, the Broncos ended up pretty much where I thought they would. There are so many uncertainties when a new head coach and a new coaching staff take over. The fact the Broncos went 8-8 and missed the playoffs wasn’t discouraging to me. I thought they took some good steps, and I’ll talk about those in a moment.

What made the season so tough was how the Broncos arrived at their final record. When any team starts 6-0, one expects more than a final record of 8-8 and missing out on the postseason.

But in stepping back a little, which is always tough in light of a 2-8 finish, I still believe the Broncos did some really good things this year.

Here are a few of them.

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Interesting Conversation

January 7th, 2010 - 1:52pm by jim_saccomanoOther posts by

It has been real interesting reading the many comments to my blog posting of January 6, in which I said that the Broncos’ very success over many years is one of the reasons for frustration.

Lots of fans have written in with their comments, which is great and much appreciated.

I have a couple of thoughts regarding those who establish what they want us to believe is expert opinion.

Those opinions are largely established after the fact, not before the fact.

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Reid on ESPN First Take

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

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

Broncos’ 50th – By the Numbers

March 20th, 2009 - 1:09pm by jim_saccomanoOther posts by

One of the oldest sayings in sport is “You can’t tell the players without a scorecard.”

That goes back in time to the first and most basic team marketing efforts, that of selling scorecards for a penny (prices have really gone up!) to the fans in the stands.

Ever since teams started putting numbers on players’ jerseys — a practice which began in the 1920′s — what number a player wears has become as much an identification of some athletes as their name. I was just doing a little research into Denver Broncos all-time player numbers, with this being the 50th anniversary of the franchise, and here are a few Bronco number notations.

Every jersey number has been worn at least once in francchise history.

Three are retired: 7 for John Elway — one of three players ever to wear No. 7 — 18 for Frank Tripucka, and 44 for Floyd Little.

Three players have worn three different numbers: offensive lineman Sam Brunelli wore 64, 68, and 72; tight end Nate Jackson wore 14, 81, and 89; linebacker Keith Burns, now a Broncos special teams coach, wore 51, 55, and 56 while firing up the fans.

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The GREEK Roast, wonderful man, we all LOVE!

March 15th, 2009 - 8:48pm by mark_cooperOther posts by

The fundraiser was for Dani’s Foundation that raises money for pediatric sarcomas, which is a rare form of cancer that strikes children and young adults.

It was a comical roasting of one of the greatest men in Broncos history, Steve Antonopulos. The Greek. The hosts were Ron Zappolo and Dave Logan. The evening started out with the Mayor cracking on “The Greek”, then Vic Lombardi, Rich Karlis, Billy Thompson, me, Keith Burns, Claudie Minor and Gary Zimmerman taking shots at him, along with many others in the crowd, as Roasts are suppose to be. Zappolo and Logan chimed in occasionally between speakers too, taking shots back at some of us that fingered them out a few times.

The event, like all Roasts, ended with “The Greek” getting the last shots/cracks in at all of us individually and then on many of the alumni in the crowd. He was hilarious cracking back on everyone.

It was a wonderful evening for a wonderful cause for a man I love. Steve kept me and many of my teammates, current and past players on the field and in the league, probably longer than some of us could have without him. He is loved dearly.

The side note that has been written about is how Jay wasn’t there. No one actually expected him there with the media circus that’s been going on that’s hopefully cleared up tomorrow so we can get back to the main agenda in Broncotown… winning football games, period. He made a donation to the cause, and I respect that. Thanks Jay, that was the right thing to do.

Like I said before, people make mistakes… you – me – the President – all of us. I can agree to disagree with anyone and still get along… that’s what we do for the betterment of the TEAM.

Some folks have asked if I cracked on Jay. You bet, just like I cracked on “The Greek” and about 10-15 others……. because that’s what you do at a Roast. :o )

Heck. I even cracked on myself. If you can’t laugh at yourself, you better check your pulse. I still take credit for Elway’s scrambling abilty.

Coop

Dove Valley Update: March 13

March 13th, 2009 - 1:58pm by Adam ZinserOther posts by

On Monday, a number of guys were at Dove Valley continuing their rehab from injuries in 2008, or they were just stopping by. Today, a pair of Broncos stopped in after getting into town ahead of time for Monday’s offseason conditioning program.

Matt Prater and Brandon Stokley were hanging out down in the locker room. Both players have spent their offseason spending time with family back in their respective home states.

The kicker traveled down to Florida to enjoy time with his three brothers and the nice weather “instead of freezing out here” he said with a laugh.

“I hung out with the family back in Florida,” Prater said. “That’s pretty much it. I’ve been lifting weights, trying to stay in shape, but I took a little time off.”

One of his favorite things to do in his time off is go fishing, so he made up for lost time on the water by reeling them in with his brothers. A self-proclaimed “home body,” Prater isn’t one to do a lot of traveling. He’d rather just kick back with his family and enjoy spending time with them.

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Dove Valley Update: March 10

March 10th, 2009 - 2:53pm by Adam ZinserOther posts by

It’s called the offseason. After all, the Broncos aren’t holding practices or playing games on Sundays.

But as Daniel Graham said last Friday at a community event, “What offseason?”

With the offseason conditioning program set to kickoff Monday, March 16 at Dove Valley, a number of guys are already back in town to get ready. Sure, many of them enjoyed traveling around the country and relaxing, but even then, most of them have been working out to stay in shape so that they can hit the ground running once the team reconvenes.

This morning, there were several players in the locker room and training room at Dove Valley. Boss Bailey, Peyton Hillis, Kory Lichtensteiger, Tyler Polumbus, Carlton Powell and Ryan Torain were all at the facility.

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Lots of Characters in 50 Years – Gene Mingo

March 10th, 2009 - 10:10am by jim_saccomanoOther posts by

Continuing with the theme of taking a look back at some of the guys who were Denver Broncos back in the day, Gene Mingo is a gentleman who occupies a unique position not just in Bronco history but in the annals of all professional football.

Mingo was unique and accomplished on several levels.

An Ohio native who did not play college football, Mingo was a high school star who continued to play in the United States Navy during a time when many military bases had excellent teams and service football was very competitive, often at the college level.

But in the late 1950′s just as now, players who did not go to college had virtually no future in pro football.

However, sometimes ability and time combine to create opportunity, and such was the case for Mingo when the American Football Legue was formed in 1959, with the first season of play slated for 1960.

The Broncos were among the cheapest and most hardscrabble of teams, looking at any and all players that they could get on a “cost effective basis,” and they took a look at the young Navy veteran.

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New Numbers

March 9th, 2009 - 4:53pm by Adam ZinserOther posts by

I thought y’all might be interested in knowing that the roster has been updated to include the numbers that the new Broncos will wear in 2009.

2 — Chris Simms
10 — Jabar Gaffney
20 — Brian Dawkins
21 — Andre’ Goodman
23 — Renaldo Hill
28 — Correll Buckhalter
31 — J.J. Arrington
32 — LaMont Jordan
54 — Andra Davis
60 — Matt McChesney
66 — Lonie Paxton
71 — Clint Oldenburg
87 — Adam Bergen
91 — Ronald Fields
95 — Darrell Reid

Any thoughts?

– Adam Zinser, DenverBroncos.com

Taking Stock

March 9th, 2009 - 11:48am by mike_riceOther posts by

The initial flurry of free agent activity has subsided and the Broncos were as active as any team in the NFL. Their list of acquisitions looks like an oversized draft class. They signed players at a variety of positions, which is good because the Broncos have a variety of needs.

Here are some thoughts about the Broncos’ moves in free agency. Keep in mind that I am an optimist and look for the bright side of things.

RUNNING BACK

I like what the Broncos did here. They brought in experienced NFL players Correll Buckhalter, J.J. Arrington and LaMont Jordan. Add them to a group of young backs including Peyton Hillis, Ryan Torain, Selvin Young and Andre Hall and the Broncos will have plenty of options once training camp starts.

They simply had to bring in some guys who have produced in the NFL. They accomplished that. When Coach McDaniels was in New England, the Patriots used several running backs instead of one workhorse back. I can see the Broncos using the same philosophy at running back in 2009. If they do, they’ll have some good candidates from which to choose.

I think Buckhalter, Arrington and Jordan can and will be productive, assuming all are on the team in September when the regular season opens.

And let’s not forget that Hillis showed he is an NFL-caliber player in 2008 and Torain showed flashes of good play in his short time on the field before injuring his knee.

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