Author: Bob Morris

I'm a sports writer in real life, though I've always focused on smaller communities, but that hasn't stopped me from learning more about some of the ins and outs of the NFL. You can follow me on Twitter @BobMorrisSports if you can put up with updates on the high school sports teams I cover.

75th Anniversary All-America Team: Some Became Broncos

The Football Writers Association of America has released its 75th Anniversary All-America Team, which recognizes its selection for the best college football players since the association started choosing teams.

Before anyone gets tuned up, the teams are selected based on what the players did in college, not the pros. So not everyone who made the team went on to greatness at the pro level, although a number of them did.

Those players who made the team who became Denver Broncos at some point are Champ Bailey, Tony Dorsett, Tim Tebow and Dre Bly.

And Merlin Olsen and Jerry Rice have loose ties. Olsen was drafted by the Broncos, but signed with the Los Angeles Rams back when the NFL and AFL were rivals. Rice attended Broncos training camp in 2005 but retired before the season started.

The FWAA can be found here.

Midweek Musings: Final Roster Cuts Won’t Be That Easy

Hello, Bronco fans! As expected, the chatter at Thin Air has increased now that the first preseason game is in the books. I’ve read a lot of thoughts about who looked good and who didn’t, which is expected. But I wanted to take those thoughts and give everyone some perspective on how difficult it’s going to be to keep everyone you happen to like.

As you know, every NFL team will have a 53-man roster and a 10-member practice squad. I will keep the focus on the 53-man roster so that people understand why there may be some decisions made that you may not like or want to make.
Continue reading Midweek Musings: Final Roster Cuts Won’t Be That Easy

How Rivers’ Extension Really Affects The Broncos

My Broncos preseason opener thoughts will be shared during my Midweek Musings later this week, but today, I wanted to briefly discuss a move made by an AFC West rival that may have an impact on what the Broncos do during the offseason.

That move was the San Diego Chargers signing Phillip Rivers to a four-year extension.


Continue reading How Rivers’ Extension Really Affects The Broncos

Your Friendly Reminder…

…that Drew Magary is continuing his Why Your Team Sucks series at Deadspin.

Today, he discusses the San Diego Chargers and tosses in this little gem about Phillip Rivers.

This could very well be Marmalard’s swan song for the Chargers. He’s in the last year of his contract and doesn’t want to play in Los Angeles, presumably because Los Angeles is an unholy dungeon of secular Hollywood wickedness. In the Rivers household, you watch VeggieTales, or you watch nothing at all. Now everyone gather ‘round the hearth for a good ol’ hymnal!

Let the jokes commence starting… NOW!

Midweek Musings: What We All Want To Know After The Preseason Opener

Here we are, two days away from the preseason opener, Bronco fans! We’ve talked a lot about what we might expect, and now that’s it almost here, we can talk specifically about what interests us the most. Let’s begin.

1. Of course, the offensive line has drawn the most interest. It started with Ben Garland, Gino Gradowski and Chris Clark in the starting lineup near the end of OTAs, and after a week of training camp, Max Garcia, Matt Paradis and Ryan Harris have moved to the first team. True, that means a younger offensive line, but I’m excited to see the likes of Garcia and Paradis work their way up the depth chart. I know some of you had high hopes about Paradis and what I read about Garcia told me he could be a starter one day, even if it took a little time to adjust to the NFL.

The preseason opener against Seattle will certainly be a good test for these young linemen, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them stay in the game a bit longer than some of the veterans, so the coaches get a better idea about how they measure up. That’s not to say they’ll play an entire first half, but more like, if Peyton Manning plays just one series, we could see Garcia and Paradis play two or three.
Continue reading Midweek Musings: What We All Want To Know After The Preseason Opener

Carrying Over An IAOFM Tradition

New York Jets quarterback Geno Smith is out six to 10 weeks with a broken jaw. Why?

Head coach Todd Bowles announced today that QB Geno Smith will likely be out until October, after he was hit by LB Ikemefuna “I.K.” Enemkpali in a locker-room fight this morning. Bowles used the words “cold-cocked” and “sucker-punched,” and said Enemkpali has been cut. Enemkpali was the Jets’ sixth-round pick in the 2014 draft.

Time to bring back an IAOFM tradition. Say it with me now…

LOLJets.

PFF: What Should We Expect From Peyton in 2015?

Pro Football Focus has a brief analysis about Peyton Manning and what their analysts believed was a decline in his play prior to the Week 15 game against San Diego when he injured his thigh.

According to our grades, it started well before Week 15. After a solid start to the season, Manning entered his Week 9 contest against the New England Patriots with a league-high passer rating of 119.1, though he “only” ranked sixth in our PFF passing grades. He was already forcing too many passes into coverage, but was getting away with them (keeping his stats clean) while receiving quite a bit of help from his playmakers. Week 9 marked the beginning of a three-week stretch of negative grades for Manning, including one of his worst performances in years against the St. Louis Rams in Week 11.

Continue reading PFF: What Should We Expect From Peyton in 2015?