Atended Training Camp on Sunday

Yes I was a part of the record breaking crowd for Broncos training camp on Sunday August 1. It was a great experince and enjoyed it you get really close to the field and I was in the front row so getting there early paid off! From what I saw our team looked good. As far as the QB go most of the snaps were taken by Orton and Tebow. Quinn definatly didn't do as many as the other two (atleast from what I could see). All three QB looked good in my opinion it should be a interesting competition this summer. The sour note was Knowshon Moreno getting injured He caught a pass and landed weird on the sideline. They walked him over right to were I was sitting and carted him off the field I was just a few feet away from it. Good new is Moreno will be back in 2-3 weeks and Buckhalter who also was injured in the same practive (that one I did not see and didn't know about till I heard it later on ESPN) will be back on Monday so just  like last year Buckhalter will be our number 1 back in camp only diffrence this year Moreno is not a rookie and will be able to transition to the regular season easier.

Tim Tebow Signs!

The rookie who makes all the headlines is offically under contract with the Denver Broncos! QB Tim Tebow and the broncos came to terms this afternoon on a 5 year deal worth $33 million with 8.7 guranteed. I gota say that was more than I figured it would be. Still glad we have him signed and that only leaves Deymarius Thomas left who was our first overal pick in this year's draft. Rumors are his contract will be signed in time for the start of training camp Sunday and if that happens Denver will have zero holdouts goin into 2010 camp which will be great!

3rd round pick Eric Decker Signed Tebow could be next

Broncos got a deal done with their 3rd round pick WR Eric Decker just in time for rookie camp that starts tomorrow.It is a 4 year $4.8 million deal. That only leave our two first round picks Deymarius Thomas and Tim Tebow as well as our secound round pick Zane Beadles unsigned. I haven't heard anything about Thomas or Beadles but rumors are Tebow deal will be done beofre tomorrow. It is looking promosing all our rookies will be signed by camp or shortly thereafter and we will avoid any nasty holdouts.

Rookie Camp opens up Wednesday

Rookies are reporting to training camp this Wednesday so I thought I'd look at wich rookies are signed and which ones the Broncos are still negotating. We have 4 more to get signed so we may have a few holdouts to start of training camp.

Rd1 Deymarius Thomas WR
Not signed

Rd1 Tim Tebow QB
Not Signed

Rd2 Zane Beadles OT
Not Signed

Rd3 J.D. Walton C
4 year $2.59 million

Rd3 Eric Decker WR
Not Signed

Rd5 Perish Cox CB
4 year $2 million

Rd6 Eric Olsen C
4 year $1.89 million

Rd7 Syd'Quan Thompson CB
4 year 1.85 million

Rd7 Jammie Kirlew DE
4 year $1.84 million

I hope we can get into camp with all our rookies signed but I would be happy with atleast Deymarius signed by Wednesday.,Thenext few days we are going to see a whole lot of siging of the first and secound round picks still unsigned accross the NFL especially with Dez Bryant getting a deal done with the Cowboys. This should start a domino affect for all the other first rounders.

Elvis Dumervil agrees to 5 year extention

Elvis has not left the building! Late Thursday the Broncos and #92 agreed to terms on a contract extention for 5 years worth $61.5 million. This is a big pay day no doubt but hats off to Elvis for being such a class act and team player and hats of to the Broncos front office for getting this done. Dumervil was a key componet to the defense last year and will be for years to come now! This is some of the best news all off season and Bronco fans should be thrilled! I know I have been waiting for this for a long time now! Here is to Elvis leading the leauge in sacks again in 2010!

Top 2010 Fantasy Football Picks

The Mile High Rater Haters leauge is shaping up nicely. I am excited for year 2 of fantasy football. Here are my thoughts on some of the top fantasy prospects this year

RB: Chris Johnson Tennessee Titans

The only doubt I had about Chris Johnson being picked first overall was his looming contract issues. The Tennessee Titans fixed that this week by restructuring his deal. He is set to be back in camp and on the field for the 2010 season. I have no doubt Johnson will tear it up again this year not sure if he will break the 2000 yard mark again simply because it's rarley done in back to back seasons but he should still have a productive year and see plenty of red zone caries. He should be a TD machine which equals big points in fantasy. The team overall this year will be improved upon last year's squad wich should help as well. Defenses can't only focus on Johnson either they have to keep QB Vince Young in check this will help.

QB: Drew Brees New Orleans Saints

Drew has so many weapons it's crazy. Brees was a top fantasy football QB last year and owners should expect more of the same. Between Colston, Shockey, and Bush he has lots of options to rack up the yards and more importantly the touch downs. A close secound to Brees this year should be Aaron Rodgers many leauges have im pined as the best QB on the board and I was close to doing the same but I got to give the nod to the super bowl MVP just a little more talent and better offensive line than Rodgers has but don't get me wrong I would be thrilled to have Rodgers as my QB in fantasy and real life for that matter!

WR: Brandon Marshall Miami Dolphins

Marshall is obviously going to be the top target in Miami. I fully expect another 100 catch season from Marshall this year in South Florida. Marshall has shown he can consistantly have 100 catch seasons weather the QB is Jay Cutler, Kyle Orton, or now Chad Henne. I almost give the nod to Texans WR Andre Johnson for the top WR but Marshall probably will have more looks this year.

TE: Antonio Gates San Diego Chargers

Antonio Gates no doubt will be Phillip Rivers top target this year and with a rookie running back Norv Turner should be passing the ball more versus running the ball. My prediction Gates will lead the leauge in TDs for TE. He should see many many balls in the red zone and all over the field for that matter. In addition he is a proven talanted veteran TE.

K: Matt Prater Denver Broncos

Basically take a look at my previous blog post. Yes this may be a slight homer pick but honestly Prater will be a top fantasy kicker and he was last year as well. The thin mile high air will give prater a slight edge on some long kicks!













Defense
Sorry I not sure wich defense I would pick but I can think of a few that stand out. The Jets, Ravens, Steelers (If Polomalu is back to form), and The Broncos come to mind for top defenses for fantasy this year. Just like last year's broncos and bengals i'm sure there will be a suprise defense that no one picks up that will be a hot pickup on the waiver wire once the season gets under way.

Matt Prater: Filling Jason Elam's shoes just fine

It's been a while since my last post! A topic you hear no one talk about is the Bronco's place kicker Matt Prater. One would think it would be difficult to come in after the great Jason Elam and follow in his foot steps but Matt has done just that. His rookie outing in 2008 he showed at the begining of the season he had a big leg (his longest kick was 56 yards) but then sputtered as did the entire team the secound half of the season. Josh McDaniels decided to keep him around for 2009 and i'm sure glad he did. He had a great year ALL yearin 2009! He made 30/35 field goals or 85.7% of his kicks with his longest being 51 yards. Ontop of that he is only 25 years old and should only get better as he continues his carrer. The Broncos should be set for years to come with Prater kicking for the Broncos. Hopefully it will be just like when number 1 would go up to kick the game winning field goal "WE GOT THIS!" A Mile High salute to Matt Prater for filling the huge void Elam left behing and here is to many more field goals to come!

All Time AFC West Team

So position by position what is the best all time AFC West Team? Well here are my thoughts of the best Broncos, Chargers, Chiefs, Raiders, and Seahwaks (yes many people including myself forget they use to be in the AFC West) of all time. HAPPY 4th OF JULY!!

Quaterback

John Elway (Denver Broncos 1983-1998)  

Running Back

LaDanien Tomlinson (San Diego Chargers (2001-2009)

Flloyd Little (Denver Broncos 1967-1975)

Full Back

Lorenzo Neil (San Diego Chargers 2003-2007)

Wide Reciever

Fred Bilentnikoff (Oakland Raiders 1965-1978)

Steve Largent (Seatle Seahwaks 1976-1989)

Rod Smith (Denver Broncos 1994-2007)

Tight End

Kellen Windslow (San Diego Chargers 1979-1987)

Offesnive Tackle

Art Shell (Oakland Raiders 1968-1982)

Gary Zimmerman (Denver Broncos 1993-1997)

Center

Tom Nalen (Denver Broncos 1994-2008)

Offesnive Guard

Gene Upshaw (Oakland Raiders 1967-1981)

Mark Schlereth (Denver Broncos 1995-2000)

Defensive End

Howie Long (Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders 1981-1993)

Neil Smith (Kansas City Chiefs 1988-1996, Denver Broncos 1997-1999, San Diego Chargers 2000)

Lyle Alzado (Denver Broncos 1971-1978, Los Angeles Raiders 1982-1985)

Linebacker

Junior Seau (San Diego Chargers 1990-2002)

Derrick Thomas (Kansas City Chiefs 1989-1999)

Willie Lamier (Kansas City Chiefs 1967-1977)

Corner Back

Champ Bailey (Denver Broncos 2004- Present)

Willie Brown (Denver Broncos 1963-1966, Oakland Raiders 1967-1978)

Emmitt Thomas (Kansas City Chiefs 1966-1978)

Nnamdi Asomugha (Oakland Raiders 2003-Present)

Safties

Steve Atwater (Denver Broncos 1989-1998)

Dennis Smith (Denver Broncos 1981-1994)

Deron Cherry (Kansas City Chiefs 1981-1991)

Kicker

Jason Elam (Denver Broncos (1993-2007, 2010 one day contract)

Punter

Ray Guy (Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders 1973-1986)

Kick Returner

Dante Hall (Kansas City Chiefs 2000-2006)

Punt Returner

Rick Upchurch (Denver Broncos 1975-1983)

Coach

Could not pick Just one

John Madden (Oakland Raiders 1969-1978)

Mike Shanahan (Los Angeles Raiders 1988-1989, Denver Broncos 1994-2008, Washington Redskins 2010-Present)

Don Coryell (San Diego Chargers 1978-1986) Just recently passed away RIP Don.

So there it is the only players/coaches still in the leauge today are Champ Bailey, Nnamdi Asomuga, LaDanien Tomlinson, and head coach Mike Shanahan. The AFC West has been a weak division the last few years but it is on it's way back to become a dominate force i the NFL just like this list proves it once was!

Vick in trouble again

There are now reports that are contradicting previous reports that the Eagles QB Michael Vick was not involved in that late night shooting and was not a suspect. Police reports say they now have not rulled out Vick as a suspect and I suspect they will be questioning him. It does sound like Vick may be inocent but at the same time what an idiot for getting in that situation. The big questions is in regards to one of the guest at the party. It was one of the dog ring guys he was involved with. Part of his probation states he is not to assoicate with any of thoes people. The fact that he did is just idiotic and shows Vick may not have learned all his lessons. We will have to see how this develops if he is found at any fault in this expect a loooooooong suspencion and his time in Philadelphia and maybe the NFL over.

San Diego Woes Mounting

With the reports that San Diego may look at dealing WR Vincent Jackson thought I would look at the problems that are mounting for the Chargers. Super Bowl favorites? Far from it in my book. Let's take a look

So they loose Jackson oposing teams defenses will  not have to double cover him and in results less open targets for Rivers they an focus more on Gates now. They don't have a great depth at WR they lossed Chambers last year wich wasn't a huge deal only because Jacksonwas there. In two years they loose two of their starting recievers. So Rivers has no one dangerous outside of Gates to throw the ball to. Ok it's Rivers he should beable to overcome that. Oh wait their LT is refusing to play as well so now Rivers has no one to throw to and no one to protect his blind side that should mean more sacks and less completions for Rivers this season.

Hey all that's cool lets just run the ball. Hold on a moment they have a rookie in RB Ryan Mathews. He does have great potential but like Denver's own Knowshon Moreno he should experince growing pains and Moreno left much to be desire last year. Ryan Mathews looks promosing and should be an elite back in the future but it will take some time to develop just like Moreno. Their backup Sproles while a dangerous return man is not an every down back. Moreno had some support he was not the starter for many of the games last year Mathews will have to take the rock from day 1 without a reliable backup.

Ontop of that they did not do much to fix thier sub par defense from last year and they should be again sub par. This year the offense may not beable to put up 42 points to beat out the 41 points the defense gives up.

The Chargers have lots of question marks coming into the 2010 season and at this point I think the Broncos have a great shot at pulling past the Chargers and the AFC West champs confidence will be a mile high by season's end!

Elway Is Returning to the Broncos!

Ok So we arn't going to see number 7 doing another helicopter move in the super bowl this season but Elway is coming back in a mentor role for the Broncos! It has been anounced that Elway is going to work with head coach Josh McDaniels and be an advisor to all aspects of day to day operations! This is the best news of the off season and I could not be happier to have John Elway back and invloved with the Denver Broncos again. This will no doubt benefit the new kid in town Tim Tebow. Between Elway and McDaniels he is going to have some great teachers!

Check out this article http://www.denverpost.com/broncos/ci_15386559 it is one of the most intersting and juicy articles of the offseason. It is written by Woody Paige and it talks about Elway wanting to get back involved earlier but issues came up between Elway and Shanahan. I found this extremley suprising perhaps Shanahan wanted to win that 3rd ring without Elway as that has been the knock on him since Elway retired in 99. It also mentions how he is ready to get in to NFL ownership now that he has experince from owning the Colorado Crush (a defunct Arena Football team). Perhaps Pat Bowln will sell the team to John when he is ready to call it quits imagine that!

There couldn't be any thing more exciting coming out of Denver right now and this will bring even more optimism to the coming season. Now we just need to see it all come together in September once the season starts.

EDIT 6/27/10 10:03 PM

I wanted to add another point to all this. Now that John Elway and Rod Smith both legends in Denver are on board with the direction Josh McDaniels is taking the team this could and should go a long ways to Josh winning the fans over and forgeting about all the Cutler and Marshall drama that divided the fanbase over the last year. If Elway is on board what the hell we the fans should go along for the ride Elway knows a thing or two about Denver Broncos Football. So nice to see good news coming out of Denver and the off season AFC West drama shifted further west to San Diego this summer!

Were in the World Is Terell Ownes going to play this year?

It's been a slow week really of NFL news in general so let's look at a story that us sure to develop as the summer progresses. Were is ocho uno going to play this year. I've got a few teams in mind

Chicago Bears: The Bears are in need of a playmaker at WR the question is can Jay Cutler and Terell co insist that is a big maybe! Regardless Owens would be a good fit and a nice target for Jay Terell Ownes and Johnny Knox would actually be an ice duo I guess keep Hester in there as well they really should just put him back on returning kicks he was a beast of a return man.

Oakland Raiders: The Raiders are also in need of a WR. Granted no WR can look good with Jamarcus Russell throwing them the ball and a few of their young guys could prove themselfs now that Jabust is gone. With that said TO could bring some playmaking ability to the offesnive side of the ball.

Washington Redskins: This is what the TV companies are praying for TO returning to play with Donovan. They have both been on the record saying they would be willing to play with one another again. I'd belive it when I saw no bickering on the sidelines during the season! However it would not be a crazy move to bring in TO as they are another team lacking depth at WR position.

Arizona Cardinals: They lost Anquan Boldin TO would be a nice short term replacement and would comliment Lary Fitzgerald nice. TO may meltdown however if he is the number 2 behing Fitzgerald.

San Diego Chargers: With each day looking more and more likley that Vincent Jackson will be holding out San Diego may want to think about briging in TO to be a short term awnser to fill Jackson's void. Like  Cutler it's a big question mark if he could get along with their diva QB Phillip Rivers I see a definate personality clash there! I think  San Diego would have an advantage because it would be the only team out of these that TO would actually want to go to because they are the most talented.

Seattle Seahawks: The only reason I say this is because in a NFL Network interview TO mentioned a few teams were intersted and the only he named was Seattle. They could use another reciever to go along with Tj Houshmandzadeh

No mater what team takes him they will be taking a risk although being in Buffalo for a year may have humbled him a bit he is sure to have a home by Week 1 of the 2010 season the question is were. I have to say the Cutler and Rivers relationship with TO would be very interesting. On a side note the fact that both QB are such divas is what made their rivalry so much fun (although I admit I thought it was all Rivers when Cutler was in Denver) I miss that rivarly!

Elvis Dumervil signs his tender!

Great news today OLB Elvis Dumervil siged his one year tender and is officialy under contract with the Denver Broncos this year. That's great to hear and we are guranteed another year of Elvis's services. Dumervil lead the leauge last year in sacks and has proven to be a great asset to our defense. Even better they are still working on a long term extension to keep Dumervil in Denver for years to come. We should see a deal come down the pike soon!

A few other tibits of news out of Denver the team's coaches, management and players are all impresed with their two first round picks WR Deymarius Thomas and QB Tim Tebow. Champ Bailey has nothing but great things to say about Tebow's work ethic and the Denver legend Rod Smith was working with Thomas over the weekend (wich I am thrilled to hear) and is very excited about the potential he has. Lots of exciting news and players and a great time to be a Broncos fan we are not far from being back in the playoffs.

Another AFC West team on the west coast is making news about their unrestricted free agents and No it's not Oakland! San Diego WR Vincent Jackson along with LT Marcus McNeil have both stated they are refusing to sign their tenders and are willing to risk siting out the regular season. If their agents are worth a damn they will convince both to sign thier tenders before the June 15 tender (wich is tomorrow yikes!) and then try to force a trade. San Diego has stated they are not going to work on a long term contract with CBA issues still uncertain. It seems to me that even if they sign their tenders that they are still going to want a trade I say trade Vincent Jackson to WR needy Chicago and get a high 2011 draft pick and an impact player on defense if the two sides can't come together.  This is a scarry thought for San Diego doesn't have as good of depth at WR they need Vincent Jackson to keep up that potent passing game. 

Now for some speculation. The Chargers may want to get on the phone with TO to replace Jackson. It would be a short term fix and they would need to look at the 2011 draft for a long term replacement. Can you imagine Phillip Rivers and TO my god every single player would walk out of the building having to deal with thoes two divas I can see the sideline fights and distractions now and the grin on my face.

Pre Training Camp Depth Chart Predictions

Well the OTA are coming to an end and the first round of mandatory training camps are going to be underway soon. As it stands right now here is what I think the depth chart will look like Week 1. My opinions could and will change i'm sure once we get to pre season.

QB: Kyle Orton
QB2: Tim Tebow (no way we leave our first roud draft pick inactive on game day)
QB 3: Brady Quinn (heck of a 3rd string QB lots of depth at the QB position this year)

HB: Knowshon Moreno
HB2: Corell Buckhalter, JJ Arrington
3rd Down HB: Brain Westbrook (Yes I say Denver Signs him. JUST MY SPECULATION! Denver has yet sig him!)
FB: Spencer Larsen

WR: Jabar Gaffney
WR2: Deymarius Thomas
Slot Reciever: Eddie Royal
WR 4: Brandon Stokley, Kenny McKinley, Eric Decker

TE: Daniel Grham
TE2: Richard Quinn

LT: Ryan Clady
LG: Chris Kuper
C: Dusitn Fry or JD Walton (both rookies this year honestly don't know anything about either one)
RG: Seth Olson
RT: Ryan Haris

CB1: Champ Bailey
CB2: Andre Goodman
CB3: Alphonso Smith
CB4:  Perish Cox

FS: Brian Dawkins
SS: Relondo McClain

LOLB: Elvis Dumervil
MLB: DJ Williams
ROLB: Robert Ayers

DT: Jamal Williams
NT: Ronald Fields

P: Britton Colquitt
K: Matt Prater

KR: Perish Cox
PR: Perish Cox

This Year's Broncos Fantasy Football Sleeper Pick

This year I think WR Jabar Gaffney has the potential to be a sleeper pick for fantasy players this year. Jabar Gaffney is posied to have a break out year. Last year he exploded against Kansas City in Week 17 and had some solid stats in other games even at being a #3 and #4 WR. He also was a nice target for Tom Brady in his time in New England. With the departure of Brandon Marshall this off season Gaffney and Royal are going to be the main targets and Gaffney should put up some solid fantasy numbers this year. He performed well last year with limited caries and this year will see a lot more action. I bet im most drafts he will go undrafted. Wait and see once the season gets under way Gaffney could be a good secoundary reciever on your fantasy team.

Broncos Sign 5th Round Draft Pick Perish Cox

Broncos came signed 5th round draft pick CB Perish Cox to a contract today. I haven't seen details of the contract but gald to see we are allready signing draft picks. Many are saying Cox could be one of our best picks in the draft and a steal in the 5th round. Cox has some character issues in the past but many say he has 1st round talent on the field. Now he is locked up and ready for camp hopefully he keeps his head on straight (obviously McDaniels has confidence he will or he wouldn't have picked him) and he becomes a grait CB for years to come. Hopefully the goal will be Cox and Alponso Smith to be the future all star CB to replace Bailey once he retires.

The Best Players in the AFC West

A look at the best players in the AFC West. I think it says something when I can't mention a single Kansas City Chiefs player when puting this list together.

OFFENSE: Phillip Rivers QB San Diego Chargers

As much as I hate to put this prick at the top I have got to put my bronco homerism thoughts beside and admit he is the best offensive player in the AFC West. He is a pro bowl QB and has a lot of weapons to get it done. His biggest downside is his often poor play that helps contribute the charger's early exits. Other than that he can get it done and should play at a pro bowl level again this year and yes he was right about Jay Cutler all along.

Runner up: Vincent Jackson (WR SD), Ryan Clady (LT DEN)

DEFENSE: Nnamdi Asomugha CB Oakland Raiders

This is really really close between Champ Bailey and Nnamdi. They are both two of the best CB in the NFL. I give the nod to Nnamdi because he is yonger than Bailey and allready playing at an elite level. You may look at stats and say there are CB out there with flashier stats but the fact is QB avoid both Nnamdi and Champ side of the field all together.

Runner Up:  Champ Bailey (CB DEN), Elvis Dumervil (OLB DEN)

SPECIAL TEAMS: Matt Prater K Denver Broncos

Matt Prater is a clutch kicker in this leauge. He was 35/30 last year and delivered often. The other plus side this was only his secound year so he is young and should have a long promosing carrer ahead of him. Nice to see the Broncos found an imidate replacment to hall of fame kicker Jason Elam!

Runner Up: Sebastian Janikowski (K OAK), Shane Lechler (P OAK)

Wow that was quick Colts sign Brandstater

Well yesterday did a post on Tom Brandstater being released and thinking about were he would end up. He allready has a new home Colts picked him up on Monday. Obviously he's not starting but could be a decent backup behind Peyton Manning. Remember the Jets game when "the painter" came in last year and ended their undefeated season? Obviously needed an upgrade at the backup Q position. Good luck in Indy Brandstater!

Tom Brandstater is released

The Broncos made a move that leaves 3 QB now on the roster. They cut Tom Brandstater Friday. This seemed like it was only a matter of time until this would happen. More Importantly it now solidifies Orton, Quinn, and Tebow as the QB at this point I see none of them going any were and now the only question up in the air is who will start that still remians to be seen. Honestly don't know much about Tom he was a late pickup in last years draft in the 6th round. Heard some interviews that he may hove some potential but the question is will another NFL team pick him up. I can think of a few possibilities. The best situation for him in my opinion would be the Buffalo Bills or the Arizona Cardinals he may have a chance to actually compete for a starting job in thoes cities both are needing a QB. I can see some other teams that could bring him in as a backup as well. The New England Patriots (obviously the offense in New England is simillar to what Josh is running here in Denver. In addition The Kansas City Chiefs (the GM is a new england guy plus a division rival why not bring him in to give them so insight on what we do.) Regardless I wish Brandstater the best of luck wherever he goes!

NFC North 2010 Predictions

The NFC North should get shaken up a bit this year. I will let the predictions do the talking.

Green Bay Packers (12-4)
The Green Bay Packers have the most complete team in the NFC North. Behind New Orleans they are one of the best teams in the NFC. The divsion will go through the frozen tundra this year. They have an elite QB in Aaron Rodgers. With an awful offensive line last year he still had a pro bowl year. I think Rodgers is highly underated and a huge fan and like what he does and is capable of. I'm confident his game will setep up to an even higher level this season. Rodgers have some nice targets as well in WR Jennings, Driver and TE Lee. They have also worked on fixing that offensive line that caused them problems last year through both the draft and free agency. They also have a good defense ontop of their potent offense especially CB Charles Woodson. The one aspect of the game the Vikings have on the Packers is the running game but hard to beat Adrian Peterson. Even with AP still think the packers will represent the NFC North in the playoffs this year and have a chance to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl

Minnesota Vikings (10-6)
"Should I Stay or Should I go Now?" Grandpa time is playing that song over and over again for another off season he's just holding another NFC team hostage now. I think Favre will be back but I have to belive he won't have as remarkable of a year then he did last year coming off sergery.  With that said the Vikings still have a lot of talent but I can see a few less wins this year especially if Favre finally decides to call it quits so he can then be traded to Chicago so he con haunt two of his former teams. Adrian Peterson is obviously one of the elite RB in the game and he should produce again this year. The one drawback with Peterson is he is prone to fumble the ball he has to work on that. Vikings will have another sucesfull year and should get in the playoffs again this year.

Detroit Lions (8-8)
One of the suprise teams this year will be the Lions. Detroit fans should see a vast improvment over last year. QB Matthew Stafford is entering in his secound year and we should see an improvment in his game. He has a phenominal WR in Calvin Johnson and added a great recieving TE in Tony Scheffler. It was only two years ago in 2008 when Tony Scheffler and QB Jay Cutler were connecting big time and putting up great numbers in Denver. Also drafting Suh is a great move. He is a freakish athlete he literally just throws people to the ground he will be feared by oponents for years to come. The Lions have made a splash in Free Agency they were bussy retooling their team and they should see results this year. Granted I'm not ready to say the Lions are ready to compete with the Vikings and Packers but a 500 year is a sucess for a team who has been a 0-5 win team in recent years.

Chicago Bears (6-10)
Bad offensive line, bad running game, aging defense that isn't what it use to be, and no stars at the WR position. Jay Cutler proved last year he needs talent around him in all thoes areas to be sucessfull. Well Chicago still doesn't have much talent. Devin Hester being a number 1 WR is a joke. Last year Johny Knox showed some promise so there is a bright spot there. Matt Forte had a huge off year last year so if they have any hope for sucess he needs to imporve his game they did add Chester Taylor that was a good move on their part. They also signed Julius Peppers but one man can't turn the entire team around alone. And with limited draft picks this year (Denver had them all) they figured the best need was to draft a 3rd string QB. Unbelivable. The Bears will have another looisng year and Lovie Smith will be fired and they will clean house in Chicago.

A Look back at the Post Elway Era QB

With all the talk about the QB position latley in Denver what a perfect time to reflect on the QB the Broncos have had since since the great #7 called it a carrer. We still haven't found our next Elway granted we will never truly replace Elway but hopefully we are close to getting that next true franchise QB.

#6 Bubby Brister 1997-1999
Ok so Bubby was mostly a backup to Elway but he is part of the story. He played well in 1998 when asked to fill in for Elway for a few games. He was poised to be the starter the following year in 99 but a suprising move by head coach Mike Shanhann changed things for Brister when he named the young Brian Griese as the starter.






Statistics as a Bronco                                                              

Year      Rateing      Yards      TD      INT      SACKS              
1997        79.9          48          0          0            0                  
1998        99.0         986        10         3            7
1999        30.6          87          0          3            0
---------------------------------------------------
Total-------------->1,121     10         6            7

Career Statistics

Rateing      Yards      TD      INT
  72.3         14,445    81        78

1986-1992: Pittsburgh Steelers
1993-1994: Philadelphia Eagles
1995-1996: New York Jets
1997-1999: Denver Broncos
2000: Minnesota Vikings

#14 Brian Griese 1998-2002
Brian Griese was the lucky one who's job was to fill Elway's shoes. Now the Broncos were not horrible under Griese but not spectacular either. He still had a lot of the talent from the Super Bowl Years early on in his carrer and still left much to be desire. It boiled down to consistantly. He never was consistantly good one game he show some promise the next game throw multiple picks and look poor. Unfortunatly for Griese his life after Denver was mediocore at best he was a backup most of his time in Chicago and Tampa Bay howevehe did start on both teams at one point in his carrer.



Statitics as a Bronco                                                              

Year      Rateing      Yards      TD      INT      SACKS             
1998        2.8             2           0          1            0                      
1999       75.6         3,032      14       14          27
2000      102.9       2,688       19         4          17                   
2001       78.5        2,827       23       19          38                
2002       85.6        3,214       15       15          34                
---------------------------------------------------                  
Total------------->11,763     71        53        116                   

Career Statistics

Rateing      Yards      TD      INT
  82.7         19,440   119      99

1998-2002: Denver Broncos
2003: Miami Dolphins
2004-2005: Tampa Bay Bucaneers
2006-2007: Chicago Bears
2008: Tampa Bay Bucaneers

#16 Jake Plummer 2003-2006

Jake Plummer is the secound best QB the Broncos have ever had. I miss Jake the Sanke. We experinced the most sucess in the post Elway era under Plummer. A lot of fans were divided some were Plummer fans other didn't like the number of picks he could throw. The fact is we won under Plummer and he consistantly got us into the playoffs. We experinced our only playoff win since Super Bowl XXXIII in 2005 against the Patriots. Jake also was amazing when he scrambled he was the king of the bootleg. After a poor showing in the 2005 AFC championship game loss at home against the Steelers Mike Shanhann decided Plummer was not the long term anwser when he moved up in the 2006 draft to select QB Jay Cutler in the first round. The writing was on the wall for Jake at that point and didnt make it trough the entire 2006 season.

Statitics as a Bronco                                                                   

Year      Rateing      Yards      TD      INT      SACKS             
2003        91.2        2,182      15         7             14                    
2004        84.5        4,089      27       20             15
2005        90.2        3,366      18         7             22                   
2006        69.8        1,994      11       13             18                   
-----------------------------------------------------
Total-------------->11,631    71       47         69

Career Statistics

Rateing      Yards      TD      INT   74.6        29,253     161    161

1997-2002: Arizona Cardinals
2003- 2006: Denver Broncos

#6 Jay Cutler 2006-2008
Mike Shanahan made a splash in the 2006 draft when he taded up for Cutler especially fresh off an AFC Championship location. Cutler started his first game in the last part of the 2006 season against the Seahawks (I was actually at that game It was a cold Sunday night game!) Jay had Denver fans really excited with his rocket arm. He started to emerge along with WR Brandon Marshall and TE Tony Scheffler. It was looking apparent these three were going to part of the bright future of the Denver Broncos. Only one problem Jay put up some decent stats and looked good but we were not consistantly winning under Cutler. It actually cost 14 year head coach Mike Shanahan his job at the end of the 2008 season. To Cutler's defense during his time in Denver Shanahan did not put the best product on the field on the defensive side of the ball but regardless he did lead the leauge from 07-09 in red zone picks. All was okay and fans were really excited when New England Patriots assistant coach and QB genius Josh McDaniels was hired as head coach. Only one problem Josh wasn't excited to work with Jay. He tried to trade for QB Matt Cassell who we had worked with the previous year that didn't go through and he went to the Chiefs. At that point the relationship between McDaniels and Cutler went sour and a very public divorse took place. We traded Cutler and a 2009 5th round draft pick for QB Kyle Orton, 2009 first round draft pick, and 2010 first round draft pick. I will admit I was a Culter fan while he was here in Denver but he imbaresed the Broncos franchise and after he left made some less than classy remarks. I am disapointed with Cutler and now love to root against him. He will regret turning his back on the Mile High City and he had a horrible year in 2009 with Chicago. The only thing he has proven is he is imature, lacks leadership, and has never had a winning season both in College and the NFL.

Statistics as a Bronco                                                                 

Year      Rateing      Yards      TD      INT      SACKS                
2006        88.5        1,001       9          5             13                   
2007        88.1        3,497      20        14            27
2008        86.0        4,526      25        18            11                  
-----------------------------------------------------                
Total-------------->9,024      54       37         51

Career Statistics

Rateing      Yards      TD      INT
  83.8        12,690     81       63

2006-2008: Denver Broncos
2009-Present: Chicago Bears

#8 Kyle Orton 2009-Present
After the bitter breakup between the Broncos and Jay Cutler in comes Kyle Orton. In my eyes he had a solid year. With that said there is room for improvment. After Plummer and Cutler we were use to mobile QB and one who could make the big play with his arm. Orton didn't exactly throw it deep last year and is not mobile at all. He did put up some good stats but unfortunatly it was another 500 year for the Broncos. Orton most likley won't be a Bronco for the long term. McDaniels showed his desire to upgrade the QB position when he traded for Brady Quinn and moved up in the first round to draft Tim Tebow in the first round this offseason.


Statistics as a Bronco                                                                                                                           
Year      Rateing      Yards      TD      INT      SACKS             
2009       86.8         3,802       21       12            29                   

Career Statistics
Rateing      Yards      TD      INT
   76.9       9,121       51       39


2005-2008: Chicago Bears
 2009-Present: Denver Broncos


That brings us to 2010. Since Elway left we have only hung on to a QB for a few years we still are looking for the long term franchise QB. Let's hope Josh McDaniels was spot on with Tim Tebow and he becomes the face of the Broncos for 15 plus years. In the short term we should expect to see another year of Kyle Orton or Brady Quinn and hopefully Tebow will be ready. Josh says Orton is our starter but he also said he was excited to work with Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall, and Payton Hillis. Cutler is now a Bear, Marshall a Dolphin, and Hillis a Brown. Point is I'll just wait and see who walks out on the field Week 1 in Jacksonville kind of hard to take McDaniels for his word. Regardless McDaniels can redeem himself after his collapse last year and there is a lot of hope and exciment going into the 2010 season! GO BRONCOS!

AFC North Predictions

The AFC North should prove to be one of the weaker divisions this year. Steelers are a mess the Browns still are a mess and Cincinatti isn't going to win the division like they did last year although should still have a decent year.

Baltimore Ravens (13-3)
Watch out for Baltimore this year. This team has a deadly running attack with Ray Rice and Willis McGahee and in addition they added a top target in Aquan Boldin for Joe Flaco. Speaking of Flaco he has proven himself in the first few years and is one of the brigh young QB in the leauge he will continue to develop and imporve this year. The defense took a step back last year but it's Baltimore they should get back their from a little bit this year.

Cincinatti Bengals (9-7)
Cincinatti should fall behind the Ravens this year. Still see them having a good year but a step back from last year's sucess. They broke down at the end of last year and I have a feeling that will cary over to this season. I got them at (9-7) but it is still possible for them to prove me wrong and make the playoffs again I will say with confidence however no way they do better than Baltimore.

Pittsburgh Steelers (7-9)
Yikes this team is a mess. Big Ben is going to be out for the first 6 games and they don't have a viable option to replace him. Now here is a story line what if one of their other QBs proves me wrong and lights it up and the steelers are winning when Big Ben suspension is over do they sit him and deal him in the off sesaon? Something to ponder. Unforutnaly for Steelers fans that probably won't happen and Big Ben will be their best option. Loosing Santonio Holmes will hurt too what were they thinking! If anything the defense could save the Steelers they always have a great defense and next year should prove to be the same.

Clleveland Browns (5-11)
Read the team name and that should anwser your questions. More of the same this year form the mistake on the lake. How many picks will INT machine Delhome throw this year it may be a competition between Jake Delhome and Jay Cutler this year! Maybe in a few years Colt McCoy will be ready and they will have built up some talent around him but the Browns still have a looooong ways to go.


So with that my AFC predictions are complete If my predicitions prove to be true (of course they will) here is what they playoff picture would look like

1st: Baltimore (13-3)
2nd/3rd/4th: Indinapolis (11-5) San Diego (11-5) Miami (11-5)

and for the Wildcards
5th: Texans (11-5)
6th: Denver/Tennesee/ New York Jets (10-6)

Time to look at the NFC I'll start it out next time with the NFC North with Grandpa Time and his grandson who lives in Chicago.

AFC South Predictions

This should be the best division in the AFC for 2010. It includes the defending AFC Champs but there are 2 other teams that arn't far behind them.

Indianpolis Colts (11-5)
Number 18 is the QB again this year so the Colts should be fine. Not much to say here the Colts will just keep doing their thing they have some young targets for Manning now and they should continue their sucess they have experinced in the past decade the frist year of this new decade. If I can point out one weakness it is the running game but Indy has never had a strong running game that's because they have the best QB in the NFL Peyton Manning!

Houston Texans (11-5)
Gary Kubiak has got Houston headed in the right direction. Matt Schaub is one of the most underated QB in the entire league (along with the likes of Aaron Rodgers). Ontop of Schaub they got one of the best WR in the league in Andre Johnson and they are running the same offense that got Jake Plummer and the Denver Broncos to the AFC championship games not too long ago. The Texans will reach the playoffs for the first time in franchise history in 2010.

Tenessee Titans (10-6)
This is a tough one Tennesee started (0-6) last year but proved they can get it done the secound half of the season. Chris Johnson is amazing and Vince Young has made huge strives this year. Most were calling him a bust but he may not be done yet he may just prove to be the best choice in the 2006 QB draft class (which includes Lienart, Young, and Cutler.)  Infact I'll say it Young IS the best QB from the 06 draft class! Now Young does have a lot of improvment but he has come a long ways since he was reported missing and the suicide rumors were swirling.  Titans should have a solid year and a good shot at a plyaoff birth.


Jacksonville Jaguars (7-9)
7-9 may be too generous for the Jaguars when I think about it. They just haven't done much. They really needed to draft a QB the home town hero Tim Tebow would have esentially saved the entire franchise and re energised the fan base. Now Tim Tebow will be winning super bowls in another city :) and the LA Jaguars will be born. I am very suprised Jack Del Rio is still the head coach of this team and they have not done much this off season to improve thier team. Simms-Walker and Maurice Jones-Drew are proven to be effective but overall this is just a mediocore team and that won't work for a allready frail fan base. Writing is on the wall Jacksonville will be without a team within a few years.

San Diego Downtown Stadium Proposal

The City of San Diego last week released the first details of a proposed stadium that would be located in Downtown San Diego. The proposed stadium is going to cost $800 million and $500 million is proposed to come from the tax payers of San Diego. The remaining amount is said to come from investments from the team itself ($200 million) and the NFL ($100 million). The stadium would hold 62,000 people.

     First, the fact that San Diego is unable to sell out every game I highly doubt the tax payers of San Diego would approve paying so much for a new stadium for a team they don't even support. Also the size of the stadium is puzzling. Qualcomm Stadium capacity is 71,294 so this new stadium would have 11,000 less seats. Lots of revenue your missing out on. What i'm getting at is The Chargers have not been treated fairly in San Diego. The only thing they haven't done is win a super bowl but they have been competive within the AFC for most of the last decade. Teams like Kansas City, Washington, and Cleveland all have seen better days but continue to sell out every game even though they are posting sub 500 seasons year in and year out. This new stadium is a great idea however the location is not and no i'm not talking about building it elsewere in San Diego i'm talking about building it in another city. Why would you build a smaller stadium then you allready have it just doesn't make since to me. LA is the first city that comes to mind for most for the chargers to relocate to but they may want to explore getting out of southern California all together. Some citiesI think would accept the Chargers with open arms are Portland, Oaklahoma City, Las Vegas (if the NFL could get over the gambling issue), Omaha, Salt Lake City, and San Antionio to name a few. Sorry San Diego fans it looks like it's a mater of when the Chargers leave San Diego not a matter of IF.

To Check out the full story on this new proposal here is the link
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/may/19/chargers-release-downtown-stadium-plan/

AFC East 2010 Predictions

Round 2 of my 2010 predictions. This time we focus on the AFC East. I've shaken this division up a little more than the AFC West. This should be one of the better divisions in the AFC this year.

MIAMI DOLPHINS (11-5)
Surprise pick to win the AFC East. Thinking about the Dolphins they won the AFC East in 2008 and when you look at their offense last year they had an effective offense but then you think who their playmaker at WR was. They now have a playmaker and legitimate threat in Brandon Marshall. They will continue to dominate with the wildcat which they proven is not a gimmick with RB Ronnie Brown and Ricky Williams. Chad Henne isn’t the world’s greatest QB but seems to get the job done. Mike Nolan will be a nice addition to the defensive side of the ball as well.

 

NEW YORK JETS (10-6)

On paper the Jets have had one of the best off seasons in the NFL. They had some success last year and if Sanchez continues to improve and develop I’m confident the Jets will see similar success again. Shown Green is sure to have another good year and he has a nice backup in LT who in a more limited role should prove to be effective. Rex Ryan knows his defense and he has already built an impressive defense and made some moves this off season to improve it further. I got the Jets in second place but they could easily beat out Miami to win the AFC East this year.

NEW ENLGAND PATRIOTS (9-7)

You read it right New England in 3rd place in the AFC East. The Patriots have regressed quite a bit from their 18-1 season in 2007. They have a young and inexperience defense that didn’t look too impressive last year. Tom Brady didn’t seem like he was back to his from before his injury and frankly I don’t think he will ever get back to the level he was at. I honestly thought the Patriots were going to draft Clausen with their first pick to eventually replace Brady don’t be surprised if he only last a few more years. The Patriots are still going to be a completive team but the competition within the division has gotten better and frankly the Jets and Dolphins are poised to be better teams this year.

BUFFALO BILLS (3-13)
“With the 1st pick in the 2011 NFL draft the Buffalo Bills select.” Sorry Bills fans your team is poised to be one of the worst teams in the NFL this year. Drafting a RB with their first pick was a real head scratcher. And who is their QB? They have no viable option at all. Not aware on any good WR on their team except for TO who is no longer there. One bright spot they do have Marshawn Lynch so naturally it made since for them to draft CJ Spiller! The Bills have a long way to go before they can be considered in the AFC East going to be a long season in Buffalo and Toronto!


That's it for the AFC East. Next time I will look at the AFC South

Miami WR Brandon Marshall Needing Surgery

Surprising news out of Miami. Newly aquired WR Brandon Marshall needs surgery on his other hip (remember last year Marshall needed sergery on his right hip). He is going to be out till training camp. Not sure what to think this could hurt however Brandon will have all of training camp to learn the offense. I think he'll be just fine. Something to think about could Miami void the trade because of this and Marshall is back in Denver. The odds of this happening are slim next to none but I wonder if McDaniels and Xanders knew anything about a potential injury. Good luck Brandon still wish you sucess in Miami just not when you play Denver!