Broncos Vs Cowboys

What up gang! This week we play the Cowgirls in a game that will largely define our season. Many people have pointed out the teams we have beat are second rate and I would have to agree with them. The teams we have beat are not great teams but it is always hard to win games in the NFL, any given sunday? But this week puts us against a team that is meant to be top tier. This will be a hard fought battle as the Dallas Defense has started to fire. Also their offense is very good. So it will be a interesting game to watch. ~ On a side note I should be online for the game as I have that day off hi-five! Ok now to give you info from around the web.

NFL.com

Last meeting:
Jason Elam nailed a 55-yard field goal to give the Broncos a dramatic 24-21 win on Thanksgiving Day in 2005.

Streaks:
The Broncos have won the past three meetings and the overall series is tied at five, including the playoffs.

Last week:
Denver jumped out to an early lead and never looked back in a 23-3 victory over Oakland. ... Terence Newman put the game away with a 27-yard interception return for a touchdown as the Cowboys dropped the Panthers, 21-7.

Keep your eye on ...

Denver's first significant defensive test: The Broncos have played phenomenal defense this season and rank first in the league. That said, they have faced the league's worst two offenses the past two weeks and played against Cincinnati's 24th-ranked unit in Week 1. The challenge gets tougher this Sunday against the Cowboys' third-ranked offense.

Roy Williams' evolution as a No. 1 receiver: Slowly, but surely, Williams has become a bigger part of Dallas' offense. His four catches in Monday night's win over Carolina were his most in a Cowboys uniform and though he only has eight catches this season, he is averaging 22.4 yards per reception. He will need to come up big against a Broncos secondary that features Pro Bowl performers Champ Bailey and Brian Dawkins.

Dallas' ability to force turnovers: Through the first two weeks, the Cowboys defense had no sacks or takeaways. That changed against the Panthers as it tallied three sacks and three takeaways. It won't be as easy to force the Broncos offense into mistakes: Denver has only two turnovers all season and has given up only three sacks.

Did you know?

The Cowboys have won eight of their past 11 against the AFC. ... Dallas has rushed for over 200 yards in two straight games for the first time since 1979. ... The Broncos have not started 4-0 since 2003. ... Denver RB Knowshon Moreno leads all rookies with 184 rushing yards.

DenverBroncos.com

OFFENSE:

• The Broncos are one of two AFC teams (Baltimore) to feature two players with at least 180 rushing yards in RB Correll Buckhalter (230) and RB Knowshon Moreno (184). Denver is fourth in the league in rushing, averaging 158.7 yards per game.
• According to Stats Inc., LT Ryan Clady owns the longest active streak in the NFL (all 19 career games) of not allowing a full sack among starting tackles.
• RB Correll Buckhalter is averaging 7.2 yards per rush (17-122, 1 TD) in two starts this year. Since 2007, he owns the NFL’s third-best yards per rush average (5.2, 155-804, 7 TDs).

DEFENSE:

• Coached by long-time NFL defensive coordinator Mike Nolan, the Broncos have tied for the third-fewest points allowed (16) by an NFL team through its first three games of a season in the Super Bowl era (since 1966).
• Denver leads the league in several other defensive categories, including yards per game (214.7), yards per play (3.9) and fewest red zone drives (4).
• OLB/DE Elvis Dumervil ranks second in the league with six sacks, which have all occurred in the previous two weeks (most in the NFL). Dumervil has posted an NFL-best four sacks on third down.

SPECIAL TEAMS:

• The Broncos lead the AFC and rank second in the NFL in average opponent drive start after kickoffs (20.6-yard line).
• K Matt Prater is 3-for-3 on field goal attempts of at least 40 yards and is tied for the league lead in touchbacks on kickoffs (7).

ESPN.com
Dumervil has six sacks as he transitions to becoming a linebacker (he previously was a defensive end) in Denver’s new 3-4 defense. Dumervil, record-setting sack artists in college, is putting constant pressure. He had 26 sacks in his first three NFL seasons. But he is clearly taking his game to the next level. Pass rushers are one of the toughest commodities to find in the NFL. Dumervil will be coveted.

On that note I would like to give a shout out to Elvis 'Doom'ervil who has been playing off the chain the last few games. I hope to see it contuine against the Cowladies, good luck to him.

Joke:

Q: What's the difference between a Cowboys fan and a baby?
A: Eventually the baby stops whining.

Thats it from me ~ Aussie Out!

Broncos Vs Raiders

Raiders Stink, Picture from Drew Litton website, check it out he does good work.

What up gang been along time and quite around here. How about them Broncos 2-0 who would have thought. Only Jamie Dukes probably didn't, as for all us Broncos fans we knew our team is good.

Now we take on the pittful raiders who over the past few years have won as many games as Al Davis has brain cells. I don't see this game being an easy win, games with the Faiders are always physical and tough. But I like our match ups. I believe Russell will not be able to pass it on us because of our great secondary and hopeful our front seven can hold the likes of McFadden and Michael Bush who has been playing well.

The real battle that I am looking forward to is there D-Line verse our O-Line. The Traiders have the likes of Richard Seymour and Greg Ellis who are both very good football players. If our O-Line can contain these two I think Knowshon Moreno and Buckhalter will have big games. Well heres to 3-0 and beating the Raiderettes. ~ Aussie Out.

The New Brandon Marshall

Seems as though Brandon Marshall has grown up a bit during his suspension. I found a short article about him on DP and it's quite funny if you ask me. He's learned a thing or two about how to handle the media, and it's genius.

From the Denver Post:

Brandon Marshall is trying to douse the drama surrounding him and stiff-arm any potential distraction his past drama may have brought to the team.

The Broncos' once-star receiver was a soldier for the team-before-self concept today.

When Marshall was asked about not playing through most of the second quarter Sunday in a 27-6 victory against the Cleveland Browns, he said: "Sir, you keep asking the same question. I keep answering it. I don't know what else you want me to do. I'm excited about playing against Oakland. I'm excited about us being 2-0. All I can do is do my job.

"Me being out there, not being out there as much as I used to be is something I have to get used to, but it's the National Football league. Things change. I think I'm good enough to be out there, but it doesn't matter what I think, so all I can do is embrace it. I've learned from trying to fight the system. You know what, this is a great time of the season for us to be 2-0."

Does this mean Marshall, who issued a trade request on June 12, and again August 17, is happy to be a Bronco?

"You guys are asking me questions from a month ago," Marshall said. "That's in the past. We're 2-0, the fans are happy, the players are happy, coaches are happy. Everybody's happy. Every Denver Bronco, fan, are happy right now. And I'm the same."

Whoever he talked to during his suspension, got to him and it worked. He seems more calm and rational. He's learning about the virtue we call patience. Marshall is not going to get his way all the time and he became accustomed to that while a certain #6 was in town.

There is more than just one receiver on that field and I personally like the way Orton is giving a variety of guys on the team their chance to make plays, just like he's been given a chance. This is a team effort and Orton is showing that while Marshall is learning about it.

Brandon will get his opportunities to shine, I have no doubt about it, but he's come to the realization that he can't get all the attention on the field.

Whether it was Rod Smith or Brian Dawkins, Coach McDaniels or whoever... someone is instilling some good values, self-respect and leadership over this young man.

I for one am proud of him for coming back down to earth and taking a chill pill. Hopefully he'll get plenty of chances to make some incredible plays on Sunday against the Raiders. We could use a little #15 sunshine in the Black Hole.

Preliminary Hall of Fame Nominees

Several former Broncos were named nominees as part of the Preliminary Hall of Fame selection for 2010. Floyd Little was also named a senior finalist for HOF election. Hopefully Little and some others will get the recognition they deserve this time around. We all know there needs to be some more Bronco love up in Canton.

The 7 former Broncos named in the Preliminary round are:
Karl Mecklenburg, Terrell "Touch Down" Davis, Shannon Sharpe, Louis Wright, Steve Atwater, Head Coach Dan Reeves and yes, even Michael Dean Perry (who played the majority of his career in Cleveland).

Broncos Bengals Live Blog

2009 Team Captains

Defense--- CB Champ Bailey
S Brian Dawkins
ILB Mario Haggen

Offense--- QB Kyle Orton
C Casey Wiegmann
TE Daniel Graham

Special Teams ILB Westley Woodyard

Celebrating 50 years of Bronco History: The Beginning of Broncos Country

The 2009 NFL season will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the American Football League. The official 50th year of Broncos history will be in 2010 but I can’t wait that long to share the history of this team with my fellow Bronco fans.

There is a long historical past in this franchise that it is hard to recapture it all.

So, when someone mentions the Denver Broncos, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? John Elway? The Drive? Mile High Salute? Denver’s “Three Amigos?” The old uniforms with vertical striped socks? The one and only “Orange Crush?”… Our back-to-back Super Bowl wins? The never-dying “Mile High Magic?” Pick your poison.

Let’s relive some of this organization’s victories, losses, magic and as painful as it will be, even the struggles. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly.

The Broncos began their history with the help of a successful minor league baseball owner, Bob Howsam, who was awarded an AFL charter franchise on August 14, 1959. With a major lack of funds, Howsam put his team in used uniforms that came from the Copper Bowl in Tucson, Arizona… including vertically striped socks that made the uniform somewhat of a joke.

The socks became such a sore sight to look at, the year Jack Faulkner took over as head coach they were burned in public ceremony. Imagine, a bonfire made especially for brown and mustard yellow vertically striped socks. Anyone else find that funny?

But for the Broncos, the goofy uniforms were the least of their worries, but nevertheless, a memory they wouldn’t be able to live down.

On September 9, 1960, the Broncos made their pro football debut and did it with a 13-10 win over the Boston Patriots in the first-ever AFL game.

In the inaugural season for the Broncos, Goose Gonsoulin became a part of the team and stayed there for 7 seasons (1960-66). He left a strong impression with the Broncos even though they never achieved a winning season while the Goose was in town.

His rookie season was his best, by far. Out of Baylor University, he became a cornerback for the Broncos and in his first season he recorded 11 interceptions for 98 yards, seven of those INTs occurred in his first three games. Over his 7 year streak with Denver, he recorded a total of 43 interceptions.

Goose also managed to take two of those 43 INTs back for touchdowns (one in ’62 and ’63). Remind you of anyone we currently have on our defense?

His time ended with the Broncos in 1966 and then he spent one more season playing pro football for the 49ers in ’67. He also became a 5-time Pro Bowl selection, two- time All-AFL selection as well as a member of the AFL Hall of Fame. Gonsoulin’s achievements also led him to be one of the four original Bronco Ring of Fame inductees.

Well deserved, if I do say so myself.

August 5, 1967 finally came around and the Broncos took the first win ever for an AFL team with a 13-7 victory against an NFL opponent (the Detroit Lions).

The few accomplishments the Broncos made during the ‘60s would only put them in the spotlight for so long. By the end of the decade, Denver’s 39-97-4 record was the worst for any of the original 8 AFL teams. Still, the Broncos had something to prove.

Atlanta became interested in the team and several minority partners formed a majority voting block to sell the Broncos. Instead, Gerald and Allan Phipps gave the Broncos a fresh start and bought the team. They also purchased the 34,657-seat Bears stadium and that was when the fans came alive.

23,000 season tickets were bought in appreciation of this uplifting change, a huge upgrade from the previous year when only 7,996 tickets were bought.

Fans of this beloved Denver team began to show true support and in their own way, gave this team the “Mile High Salute” it deserved.

The growth of the Broncos began to prosper, as did the number of fans. The stadium was bought before the 1968 season by the city and was named the “Denver Mile High Stadium”. The number of seats at the stadium continued to grow over the years along with the number of season-ticket sales and fans.

From the beginning in 1960, the Broncos struggled to create a winning season. They almost had it in ’62 when they got off to a 7-2 start and were sitting in the top spot for the first 9 games. Yet somehow, the final 5 games turned their record into a 7-7 ending. Along with one losing season after another, the Broncos went through coaches like a hungry farm.

Four coaches in 6 seasons, 13 consecutive losing seasons… nothing seemed to stick with the Mile High team.

Still, through all these struggles and losses, one major factor still managed to grow and stick around for the love of their team. The fan base; the solid foundation of the Denver Broncos never ceased to show their support.

It was then in their 14th season, the Broncos seemed to come alive. They earned their first winning season ever with a 7-5-2 record under head coach, John Ralston. That was the beginning of improvement for Denver. Over the next 20 seasons, they fell below the .500 mark only 3 times. Impressive, if you consider their previous 13 seasons of bad luck.

A few years later in 1967, running back and now Hall of Fame nominee, Floyd Little, joined the Broncos as the team’s first ever top draft pick. He certainly lived up to that hype. Here’s a quick recap of his legendary time with the Broncos.

Long before the great Terrell “Touchdown” Davis or John Elway, Little was the face of the Denver franchise. He gave the Mile High city 9 incredible seasons (1967-75) and left an unforgettable impression with the fans. In his career he rushed for 6,323 yards on 1,641 carries and 43 touchdowns. Little also posted 12,103 all-purpose yards in his career as well as a team record of 2,523 yards on kickoff returns.

Number 44 was also one of the four original Bronco Ring of Fame inductees and is one of three former players for the Broncos that have their jersey number retired. His contributions to the team led to him being ranked first in All-Time Career Bronco rushing attempts at 1,641, he became the first 1,000-yard Bronco rusher (1,133 yards in ’71) and had the longest non-scoring kickoff return (89 yards). He’s a legend of his own kind.

Now, it’s time to relive the infamous year of 1977. Bronco fans young and seasoned, should know all about the year the “Orange Crush” surfaced and terrorized offenses all over the league. This was the first time in 17 seasons the Broncos had earned their best winning record (12-2). The team as a whole finally gelled together and did it with the best defense this team has ever had.

With new head coach, Red Miller, the Broncos not only reached their best winning record but achieved the AFC West title, their first ever playoff berth and the AFC Championship. The party didn’t stop there. They went all the way to the promise land, Super Bowl XII .

Though the ending to that ultimate achievement didn’t work out the way the Broncos had hoped, with a 27-10 loss to the Dallas Cowgirls (my bad, meant Cowboys), it was a victory for Denver on a whole other level. Some people will say the Broncos just got really lucky that year, other people (the real fans) will tell you it was the “Mile High Magic” that finally came to life.

The ‘77 Denver Broncos earned their trip to the Super Bowl and that was good enough. They showed the world of football that they were good for something better than just one losing season after another.

As I like to say, good things come to those who wait. Indeed, it was a long and very painful wait for the Broncos but as a team, they made it known they still had something to give.

Some of the faces of the Orange Crush that helped reshape the defense as well as the team include: LB Randy Gradishar , LB Tom Jackson, DL Rubin Carter, DE Lyle Alzado, LB Bob Swenson, DB Billy Thompson and DB Louis Wright.

May their legacy live on within each player who steps on to that field wearing the Broncos Orange & Blue.

The following season was still a good performance for the defense with Randy Gradishar earning the Defensive Player of the Year honor and they got another division title. The Broncos reached the playoffs in ’78 and ’79, but that’s as far as they would get.

By the beginning of the 80s, the defense began to slow down and got sloppy. When they once allowed only 148 points the year of the Orange Crush, that number had more than doubled a few years later. Things seemed to be taking another turn for the worse.

Denver then got themselves another new coach by replacing Red Miller with Dan Reeves following the 1980 season. The Broncos went through a winning season but missed the playoffs and then had their first losing season (2-7) in 7 years the following year.

In the first 20 seasons of the Broncos franchise there was plenty of drama but they persevered and once again showed they had something to prove. Many of the doubters probably would have never thought they would reach the playoffs, let alone a Super Bowl.

Those doubters got a nice cold dish of crow the year the Orange Crush came alive and took the Broncos to the Super Bowl. Indeed, that was a fun time.

So as you can probably tell, the beginning years of the Denver Broncos turned out to be a roller coaster. Plenty of struggles, heartaches and losses showed up at their door, however, they also had several highlights worth mentioning.

Now that we’ve taken a stroll down memory lane and relived how Broncos Country came to life, stay tuned for the second issue of this 3-part article… The Elway Era.

Through the good and bad, crazy and unbelievable, the icky and the yucky, wins and losses… the Broncos will always be #1 in my book.

Roster Breakdown

Breakdown:

9 offensive linemen: the starters (Clady, Hamilton, Wiegmann, Kuper, Harris) plus backups Seth Olsen, Russ Hochstein, Tyler Polumbus and Brandon Gorin.

6 wide receivers: Marshall, Eddie Royal, Brandon Stokley, Jabar Gaffney, Kenny McKinley, and Brandon Lloyd.

4 running backs: Knowshon Moreno, Correll Buckhalter, LaMont Jordan and Peyton Hillis, who doubles as a fullback. Spencer Larsen also on the fullback depth chart.

3 quarterbacks: Kyle Orton, Chris Simms, Tom Brandstater

3 tight ends: Daniel Graham, Tony Scheffler, Richard Quinn

6 defensive linemen: Ronald Fields, Chris Baker, Kenny Peterson, Ryan McBean, new DE Vonnie Holliday, Marcus Thomas

9 linebackers: OLBs Elvis Dumervil, Mario Haggan, Darrell Reid, Robert Ayers, Jarvis Moss; ILBs DJ Williams, Andra Davis, Wesley Woodyard, Spencer Larsen.

4 cornerbacks: Champ Bailey, Andre Goodman, Alphonso Smith, Jack Williams

5 safeties: Brian Dawkins, Renaldo Hill, Darcel McBath, David Bruton, Josh Barrett

3 specialists: K Matt Prater, P Brett Kern, LS Lonie Paxton

Roster Cuts

What up all, guess who is back, been missing me? Just want to say tough break to Florio, must really suck about the hip. Hope you pull through ok.

Now to the cuts. So far it has been these nine:

DL Matthias Askew 3 Michigan State

G Kory Lichtensteiger 2 Bowling Green State

QB Ingle Martin 3 Furman

CB Rashod Moulton 1 Fort Valley State

T Clint Oldenburg 2 Colorado State

DL Carlton Powell 2 Virginia Tech

ILB Lee Robinson R Alcorn State

WR Nate Swift R Nebraska

RB Marcus Thomas 2 Texas-El Paso

Discuss and tell us what you think. Oh an another 12 players need to be cut by tomorrow afternoon so say tuned - Aussie Out

Add to that list Josh Bell who was injuried and waviered.