Author: Nick

Another week, another worst case scenario for the Broncos–though at least this week it wasn’t quite as unexpected.  When this happens, there’s not much that changes, so I’ll keep things real brief here to review.

Continue reading Broncos Playoff Standings: 2015 Week 16

Feel free to add more as the reports continue to come out, but being out at least two, if not three, safeties is not a good thing in anticipation for facing Ben Roethlisberger.

#Broncos again will be short-handed at safety this week vs. Pitt. TJ Ward and Omar Bolden is out, while Darian Stewart is questionable.

— Lindsay Jones (@bylindsayhjones) December 18, 2015

Meanwhile, the Steelers will be coming in incredibly healthy as far as their current roster goes: nothing but probables, and only DeAngelo Williams was limited in practice on Friday due to an illness.

Did you enjoy the progress made toward the playoffs last week?  I hope you did, because the Broncos are now back to where they were two weeks ago.  You’ll see some familiar goals to what you saw in previous weeks.  But for this week, I’m going to add a good dose of pessimistic scenarios to the mix.  It must be admitted that there is a chance, even if the odds are slim, that the Broncos could see the AFC West slip out of their fingers–or even be eliminated from the playoffs altogether.

Continue reading Broncos Playoff Standings: 2015 Week 15

Via The Players’ Tribune:

Von is the guy who teaches me the physical stuff. DeMarcus is the veteran — the guy whose brain I just want to pick. He’s so much more technical. We’ll be watching film, and he’ll stop, rewind, and replay it in slow motion.

“Hey, did you guys see that? The quarterback is leaning before he snaps the ball. If you key on that, it can help you get off the ball faster.”

We’re all looking around at each other.

I didn’t notice that … you?

Nope, me neither.

DeMarcus picks up on things nobody else in the room sees because he’s just been doing it for so much longer.

I’ve been on the record several times as saying that DeMarcus Ware is a likely cap casualty for 2016.  But stories like this told from Ray help to slow my roll.  Even though Ware has been limited this year on the field, his behind the scenes contributions can’t be taken for granted.

Ray’s entire entry is worth a full read.

Broncos have signed former Texans safety Shiloh Keo. #9news #9sports

— Mike Klis (@MikeKlis) December 9, 2015

As Ian Rapoport also pointed out in reply to Klis, Keo was quite direct and public in his desire to play for the Broncos:

@kaleo10 Keo–Josh was with us in camp and first 4 games-u know how much I think of u–hope that little Keo is doing well

— Wade Phillips (@sonofbum) December 2, 2015

@sonofbum I hear ya, still the same system tho. Little man is doing great. Keep me in mind tho if things don't pan out

— Shiloh Keo (@kaleo10) December 2, 2015

Coming from the Idaho Vandals in college, Keo was selected in the fifth round by the Texans, and played for both Gary Kubiak and Wade Phillips during his entire tenure in Houston, which included 11 starts in 2013.

Via Andrew Mason:

The Broncos waived QB Christian Ponder on Tuesday, leaving them with 52 players on the primary roster, including three quarterbacks — one of whom, Peyton Manning, will not play this week as he continues his recovery from a plantar fascia tear.

The roster vacancy leaves the Broncos room to make a move as soon as Wednesday. That spot could be used to address the safety position, which is coping with injuries to T.J. Ward, David Bruton Jr. and Omar Bolden.

Continue reading Christian Ponder, We Hardly Knew Ye

As part of OTC’s ongoing 2016 Free Agency Preview series:

The Broncos may make a big push before free agency to lock [Malik Jackson] up before having to turn their attention to Von Miller. It actually may benefit the Broncos to use up some cap room on Jackson to try to show a more limited pool of money when dealing with Miller. If Jackson hits free agency expect the teams that miss out on Wilkerson or don’t want to spend top tier money on a 34 end to be very active in acquiring Jackson.

Projected Value: 5 years, $36-$40 million

[…]

If the Broncos don’t see any positive signs with Jackson they will quickly turn their attention to [Derek] Wolfe. It’s possible they may prefer Wolfe if they had to choose one or the other though Jackson is probably the more expensive player with a bit more upside. If the Broncos don’t push to re-sign him, he should find a pretty robust market as he should be about as sure a bet as there is in free agency to fill a specific role as good as anyone else in the league. If Denver lets him go I would not be surprised if he lands with the Chargers.

Projected Value: 5 years, $33-$37 million

These projected deals fit well in line with the current gap between the first and second tier of 3-4 defensive linemen (excepting that JJ Watt is in his own world).

My own take on how to deal with Wolfe and Jackson remains simple, and unchanged from the beginning of this season: whoever takes the more team-friendly deal first stays, and the other one walks. It will be very difficult for the Broncos to keep both of them while at the same time retaining Von Miller, Brock Osweiler, and their wide array of RFAs and ERFAs.

We all know and respect John Elway mostly for his accolades in professional football.  But the Pac-12 made incredibly sure not to ignore his college accomplishments, as in the lead-up to Saturday’s conference championship between Stanford and USC, Elway was named the Pac-12 Offensive Player Of The Century.

Legends in the house. The Offensive and Defensive Players of the Century @johnelway and @RonnieLottHOF. #Pac12FCG pic.twitter.com/o5L0Tjnd8V

— Pac-12 Networks (@Pac12Networks) December 5, 2015

Continue reading Stanford University: A Wealth Of Broncos Connections