Broncos vs. Steelers: Injury UpdatesDefensive tackle Ty Warren has an elbow injury. His return is questionable.
For the Steelers, a pair of offensive linemen on the right side of the line left the game late in the first half. Tackle Marcus Gilbert (knee) and guard Ramon Foster (eye) are both questionable to return.
This blog will be updated throughout tonight’s game as more information as it becomes available.
First Quarter UpdateAt the end of the first quarter, the score is tied at 0 after both defenses dictated play in the early going. Pittsburgh has already notched a pair of sacks, and Broncos rookie Derek Wolfe has recorded one for the home team, the first of his career.
The Broncos started the game with possession, but the drive stalled near midfield. On Pittsburgh’s first possession, Denver forced a three-and out.
The Broncos’ second drive ended when running back Willis McGahee fumbled and Pittsburgh recovered at the Broncos 47-yard line. This time, Pittsburgh was able to pick up one first down, but Wolfe’s sack knocked the Steelers out of field goal range.
On the final series of the quarter, Denver started at its own 1-yard line and was only able to manage one first down before being forced to punt.
Broncos Win Coin TossThe Broncos’ season captains, quarterback Peyton Manning, running back Willis McGahee, cornerback Champ Bailey, defensive end Elvis Dumervil, and linebacker Wesley Woodyard, are joined by game captain kicker Matt Prater at midfield for the coin toss.
The Broncos won the coin toss and chose to receive.
The Broncos offensive starters at the skill positions are Manning, wide receivers Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker, tight ends Joel Dreessen and Jacob Tamme, and McGahee. The starting offensive line is made up of Ryan Clady at left tackle, Zane Beadles at left guard, J.D. Walton at center, Manny Ramirez at right guard and Orlando Franklin at right tackle.
The Broncos defensive starters up front are Derek Wolfe at left defensive end, Ty Warren and Justin Bannan at the defensive tackle positions and Dumervil. The Broncos’ starting linebackers are Von Miller on the strong side, Joe Mays in the middle and Wesley Woodyard on the weak side. In the secondary, the Broncos start Bailey and Tracy Porter at cornerback, with Mike Adams and Rahim Moore starting at the safety positions.
Broncos Recognize OlympiansBefore Sunday night’s season opener against the Steelers, the Broncos are hosting a number of 2012 Olympians with ties to Colorado. The headliner of the group is swimmer Missy Franklin, who won gold medals in the 100m backstroke, the 4x200m medley relay, the 200m backstroke and the 4x100m medley relay. Below are the other Olympians being honored.
Kelsey Campbell, a wrestler who placed third in the U.S. Open in 2012, said she’s been overwhelmed by the support she’s received since returning from London.
“I’m super excited,” Campbell said. “This is actually my first pro football game. It’s awesome. Everyone’s been really great. Everyone’s been so supporting. You felt the encouragement across the pond and then coming back, people just tell you, and they let you know how much you meant to them representing Team USA. It’s been good.”
Inactives AnnouncedThe inactive players for tonight’s Week 1 matchup have been announced.
The following players will not suit up for tonight’s Sunday Night Football contest between Denver and Pittsburgh:
Denver
OL Philip Blake
WR Andre Caldwell
RB Ronnie Hillman
DL Malik Jackson
LB Steven Johnson
OL Chris Kuper
DT Sealver Siliga
Pittsburgh
QB Charlie Batch
G Kelvin Beachum
S Ryan Clark
G David DeCastro
LB James Harrison
RB Rashard Mendenhall
NT Alameda Ta’amu
Editor’s Note: This season, DenverBroncos.com will feature two player blogs. Linebacker Von Miller and wide receiver Eric Decker will check in with a new post every week. Below is Miller’s first entry of the season. You can read Decker’s initial post here.
Hey Broncos Country!
Von Miller here with my first blog of the season. I’m looking forward to posting each week and giving you guys an inside look at what goes on as we get ready for the upcoming game each week.
I just got a new camera – a Canon Mark II 5D. I haven’t gotten the Mark III, but I’m going to, so I’m hoping I can share a few pictures with you guys throughout the year. Whenever I get some cool shots, you guys will be the first to see them.
Everybody is excited to open the season at home at Sports Authority Field in front of the best fans in the NFL.
We’ve got the orange jerseys back this year and as a defense, we’re hoping to bring fans back to the Orange Crush days.
I’m ready to get out there in front of the fans. We had a lot of stuff happen around Denver in the last year and we just want to bring some happiness and joy – and hopefully some wins – back to Colorado this season.
On the college side, we have A&M in the SEC this year. We have our first SEC game this weekend vs. Florida, and I’m sure we’ll turn Gators into swampbait coming up. I’m pretty excited about that too.
Gig em!
U.S. Bank Presents Broncos FanCam
Broncos fans attending Sunday’s season opener vs. Pittsburgh are encouraged to be in their seats early to be included in a 360-degree, high-definition image that will be taken 10 minutes before kickoff.
The one-gigapixel composite image is so large and detailed that fans will be able to zoom in and identify themselves clearly.
After the game, fans can find themselves in the photo at www.broncosbanking.com/FanCam and share it via Facebook, Twitter or email.
To create the 360-degree picture, the photographer snaps as many as 700 images that are then combined in post-processing work. With that many high-resolution images, the final image could measure than 20 billion pixels.
For comparison, an image that size could take up the length of two football fields.
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Broncos Invite Fans to ‘Back to Football’ Pep Rally
Fans eager for the start of the 2012 season, which kicks off Sunday night at 6:20 p.m. MDT at Sports Authority Field at Mile High, are encouraged to head downtown this evening at 5 p.m. for the Broncos’ “Back to Football” Pep Rally.
The event will take place at Skyline Park (16th and Arapahoe) and feature appearances by former Broncos Mark Jackson, Vance Johnson, Billy Thompson and Ebenezer Ekuban, as well as current players including running back Willis McGahee, tight end Joel Dreessen, linebacker Joe Mays, wide receiver Demaryius Thomas and linebacker Wesley Woodyard. The alumni are scheduled to be there from 5 to 6:30 p.m., with McGahee and his teammates attending from 6:30 to 8 p.m.
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Editor’s Note: This season, DenverBroncos.com will feature two player blogs. Wide receiver Eric Decker will check in with a new post every week. Below is his first entry of the season.
What’s going on, everyone?
This is Eric Decker, and I’m excited to take over a blog this season. I’m going to check in once a week and give you guys a little insight as the season rolls on. I’m going to try to take you behind the scenes as much as I can and answer any questions you have.
It’s fun this time of year, because it’s been a great offseason. Everybody’s been working extremely hard to get to this point. We feel good about this team and we’re excited to kick it all off this Sunday against Pittsburgh.
We’re really counting on you guys to come out to the stadium and make sure we have that home-field advantage.
Pittsburgh’s definitely a tough team, and we’re going to have a test in front of us. But we’re excited for it and we know you guys are excited, too.
What I want to do at the end of each post is make sure to let you know you can ask me questions, and I’ll answer some of them each week next time I write a blog.
What do you want to know?
Looking forward to talking with you every week.
Steelers Prepare for Peyton
In a conference call on Wednesday, Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin updated the statuses of four key players.
Safety Ryan Clark will not play because of a blood disorder that becomes dangerous in high altitude.
Linebacker James Harrison, a Pro Bowler in each of the last five years, practiced for the first time in the preseason on Monday. Harrison has been out of action since undergoing knee surgery on Aug. 15th.
“We’re just taking it day by day and his availability is going to be based on how he feels following some cumulative work over the course of the week,” Tomlin said. “I think Monday’s work was a positive day, but we’ll continue to watch and see where it takes us.”
“I’m coming along,” added Harrison in a separate call.