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Broncos add beef to the D-line, cut two '09 starters

Jeremy Fleming
Denver Sports Blog
3/12/10

The Denver Broncos have added some major size to the defensive line so far in free agency. The Broncos added DT/DE Justin Bannan, DT Jamal Williams and DE Jarvis Green. Bannan recently played for the Baltimore Ravens and was a key part of their defense the second half of '09. Bannan played at the University of Colorado and was drafted by the Buffalo Bills. Jamal Williams has been terrorizing Broncos offensive lineman for the last 10+ years as member of the division rival San Diego Chargers. Williams resembles a house and is known for his ability to stop the run. He missed most of last season with a torn triceps, but should be healthy in '10. Jarvis Green has been a backup for most of his career with the New England Patriots. He will play DE in the 3-4 and will add veteran leadership and toughness to the Broncos defensive line. It's clear by these signings that the Broncos made stopping the run a key to the offseason.

Player profiles and contracts:

Justin Bannan: 6'3" 310 lbs 30 years old
Signed a 5 year contract worth $22 million. When he signed, it was thought that he would be playing nose tackle in the middle of the 3-4. After the Broncos signed Jamal Williams, that moved Bannan to the left defensive end position. Bannan will bring a great ability to stop the run and will most likely move to the nose tackle position on passing downs to help rush the passer. I really like this signing and look forward to seeing Bannan's toughness.

Jamal Williams: 6'3" 348 lbs 33 years old
Signed a 3 year contract worth $16 million. If you've watched any Broncos vs. Chargers games in the last ten years, you've seen Williams causing havoc. He outweighs many offensive lineman by close to 50 lbs and is a force in the middle. He made 3 consecutive Pro Bowls (2005-07) and has been part of some great run stopping defenses. I like this signing as well, but wonder if he will hold up over a 16 game season. He missed all of last year and is getting older, but I think he will greatly improve the middle of the Broncos defense. Look for him to play mostly on 1st and 2nd down.

Jarvis Green: 6'3" 285 lbs 31 years old
Signed a 4 year contract worth $12 million. Green has been an important part of the Patriots defense for many years. He's known as a versatile player that can play multiple positions. He will help stop the run and will be an upgrade as a pass rusher as well. Green should play the right defensive end position. I think this was another good signing, but don't think he will have as big of an impact as Bannan or Williams.

Players cut by Broncos:

Kenny Peterson: He was with the Broncos for a few years and started the last 2 seasons. In '08 he played DT and DE and was probably the best defensive lineman the Broncos had. In '09 he moved to the DE in the 3-4 defense and did a good job. I think Peterson will be a good pickup as a backup for other teams. Cutting Peterson was kind of questionable considering he was only due to make $1 million and he's been a starter for 2+ seasons. The Broncos resigned Le Kevin Smith once they cut Peterson, and this makes no sense to me. Smith is a former Patriot and didn't do much to help the Broncos defense in '09.

Andra Davis: He spent one season with the Broncos and was among the leading tacklers. Davis is a good run stopper, but is not great in passing situations. He's been a starter for 8 seasons and will mostly likely be added to another team's roster. This move surprises me, but makes me think the Broncos like Spencer Larsen. Cutting Davis leaves the Broncos thin at inside line backer, and leads me to believe they will go with an inside backer in the first round.

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Marshall, Dumervil, Orton among five tendered by Broncos

Associated Press

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- The Denver Broncos are doing everything they can to keep Pro Bowl pass rusher Elvis Dumervil in blue and orange.

Brandon Marshall, not so much.

On Wednesday, the Broncos slapped a first- and third-round tender on Dumervil, who led the league in sacks last season. Other teams would have to surrender those two levels of picks in the upcoming draft if they signed the restricted free agent who stands to make $3.168 million next season with the Broncos.

Marshall would get a 14.7 percent raise next season to $2.521 million if he's still in Denver.

The source of his discontent last summer was twofold: he was angry with the team's medical staff for misdiagnosing a hip injury that required surgery, and he wasn't happy with his undervalued contract.

A fourth-round draft pick in 2006, Marshall argued he should be compensated like other elite wide receivers.

He set an NFL record by catching 21 passes for 200 yards and two touchdowns in a loss to Indianapolis, but just a few weeks later he showed up 20 minutes late for treatment on a pulled hamstring and was benched for the season finale.

Quarterback Kyle Orton ($2.261 million) and guard Kris Kuper ($2.521 million) also received first-round tender offers, and tight end Tony Scheffler ($1.759 million) was given a second-round tender.

All five players would have been unrestricted free agents if the owners hadn't opted out of the collective bargaining agreement with the players in 2008. Among the ramifications for the upcoming season are no salary cap or floor and players have to have six years of service instead of four to reach unrestricted free agency.

To read full story click here.

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Broncos cut C Wiegmann, RB Jordan
2/23/10

The Broncos have released C Casey Wiegmann and RB Lamont Jordan, The Denver Post reported Tuesday. Wiegmann, 36, has started every game for the Broncos over the last two seasons and played in 8,936 consecutive snaps, according to the Post. Jordan, 31, was a backup to rookie Knowshon Moreno and veteran Correll Buckhalter last season after following coach Josh McDaniels from New England to Denver in free agency.
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Broncos offense lacking big plays

Jeremy Fleming
Denver Sports Blog
11-4-09

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The Denver Broncos are 6-1 through the first 7 games of 2009. There’s not really much to complain about, especially considering the offseason they had. Mike Shanahan retired, Jay Cutler was traded and many other familiar faces are gone. The Broncos have surprised many analysts and fans across the country. The 6-1 start has been a big lift for fans that expected the team to be average at best. I did a little research and came up with one major thing the Broncos need to address if they want to be a legitimate playoff team in 2009.

I’m not trying to only look at the negative, but there’s on glaring weakness the Broncos have shown so far in 2009…a lack of “explosive plays”. An explosive play is any play that gains 20 yards or more. I hate the term "explosive play" but its commonly used by football analysts. So far the Denver Broncos are among the worst in the league in explosive plays. This may not be a big deal if the Broncos were among the leaders in yards and points per game. As of week 8, they rank 15th in total yards and 20th in points per game. The explosive play, which was a staple under Mike Shanahan, has become nearly non-existent for the Denver Broncos in 2009.

This brings up two questions:
1) Is the lack of explosive plays due to play calling?
2) Is the lack of explosive plays due to poor execution by the players?

I think anyone that watched the Baltimore Ravens defense dominate the Broncos offense on Sunday would agree, the play calling was the problem. The Ravens continually blitzed the Broncos all game long. Kyle Orton was hit so many times I could'nt keep count. Instead of trying to open the middle of the field by throwing passes over 10 yards, the Broncos repeatedly ran short crossing routes and screen passes. This approach played right into the hands of the Ravens defense. They were not worried at all about getting beat deep, so they moved up the safeties and kept the blitzes coming. Why not try a fade to Brandon Marshall? The guy is 6’4” and can jump. Tony Scheffler, where was he? Scheffler made an amazing catch on a fade route over a smaller defender against the Chargers, why couldn't he against the Ravens? The Ravens have small corners and they were considered to be the weakness of the Ravens defense. The Broncos did little to take advantage of the size and talent advantage of their receivers vs the Ravens corners.

I don't want to put all the blame on the Broncos coaches for the poor offensive performance on Sunday. There's no doubt in my mind that Kyle Orton had plays where he could have looked for a deep route. For the most part, Orton had no time to throw. I understand pass protection was a major problem for the Broncos this weekend. I still think that with the size of Brandon Marshall and Tony Scheffler, there should have been opportunities to throw deeper passes. You can't forget about Eddie Royal either. He's a very quick, speedy receiver. There should have been opportunities to get him the ball as well. I'm sure after watching film of the game, Broncos coaches and players were disgusted by a lack of plays down field.

The Pittsburgh Steelers come to Denver on Monday night and will undoubtedly bring many blitzes. I'm assuming the Broncos will be taking more chances down the field to slow down the Steelers amazing pass rushers. The game next week will be a big test for the Broncos coaching staff and it's players. Whether or not the Broncos look to play more aggressively on offense may decide the game.
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Orange Crush back in Denver?

Jeremy Fleming
Denver Sports Blog
10-4-09

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The Denver Broncos beat the Dallas Cowboys 17-10 today. The Broncos wore their orange jerseys for the first time this season, just in time for the "Orange Crush" to make an appearance. The Cowboys were supposed to have the #1 run offense in the NFL, and Tony Romo was supposed to make big plays. The Broncos "Orange Crush" defense held the Cowboys to just 10 points by stopping the run and getting pressure on Tony Romo. The Broncos defense came up huge over and over in the win, finishing with 5 sacks, 1 interception and 1 fumble recovery.

Watching the game, I started wonder how many times the defense could stop the Cowboys from scoring. The Broncos offense was struggling to score and the defense needed to come up big. They did just that, and in doing so silenced many critics that said the Broncos hadn't played any good offenses yet. One play really stood out to me and it seemed to give the Broncos the momentum to win the game. In the fourth quarter, with the Broncos down 7-10, Cowboys receiver Roy Williams went up for a catch that would have given Dallas a first down and a chance to at least kick a field goal. As Williams reached up for the ball, DJ Williams hit him hard right in the chest and sent Roy Williams flying. The hit was devestating and Roy Williams didn't do much afterwords. The Broncos got the ball back and were able to finally score a touchdown and take the lead.

The great thing about the Denver Broncos defense is that they play tough, physical football. They make opposing offenses grind out yards on the ground and can get to the quarterback often. Tony Romo looked totally out of sync most of the game and I think the Broncos physical style had a lot to do with that. Romo was hit often and had to run for his life to avoid sacks. There were a hand full of passes where the Dallas receivers had balls bounce off their hands...maybe hearing footsteps? Defensive Coordinator Mike Nolan deserves a great deal of credit for the defense playing so well. With all the new players in 2009, most critics thought the Broncos would struggle....so far they've surprised everyone. I think It's officially time for the "Orange Crush" to be used when talking about the Broncos defense.

Tony Romo on Denver's defense - “They’re a good defensive unit and a good team. They’re number one in the league for a reason and you don’t go out there and move the ball like it’s nothing. They came out and showed why they are the number one defense."

Roy Williams on the hit from DJ Williams - “Never in my life have I been hit like that, from Pop Warner through my six years in the league. I’m 5,200 feet above sea level with asthma so I was obviously hurting.”
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Denver's version of James Harrison?
Can the outstanding defensive end make the move to outside linebacker?

By Jeremy Fleming
DenverSportsBlog.com
02/08/2009 6:20 PM MST

Denver, CO. --- The 2008 Denver Broncos defensive unit was one of the worst in the teams history. There were not many highlights in a season that ended with the Broncos having an explosive offense and a defense that couldn't keep the opposing team's off the scoreboard. Fast-forward to mid-February and the Denver Broncos look like a very different team.

Gone are Mike Shanahan and Bob Slowik, the former Head Coach and Defensive Coordinator.The Head Coach of the Denver Broncos is 32 year-old Josh McDaniels, the Defensive Coordinator is Mike Nolan. McDaniels and Nolan have a history of running the 3-4 defense, as opposed to the 4-3 Broncos fans are accustomed to. The change to a 3-4 defense means the 2009 Denver Broncos will look much different than the 2008 version, at least on defense. Many players will not be back, and many others will be playing new positions. The most important change will be moving Elvis Dumervil to outside linebacker.

Elvis Dumervil stands 5'11" and weighs 260, according to the Denver Broncos official roster. When he was drafted in 2006 out of Louisville, many scouts and coaches felt he was too small to play defensive end in the NFL. Dumervil has been the Broncos best pass rusher the last 3 seasons. His best season came in 2007 when he posted 12.5 sacks, 4 forced fumbles, 3 fumble recoveries and 56 tackles.

In 2006, some scouts saw Dumervil having to play outside linebacker to make it in the NFL. The Broncos took a chance on using him at the defensive end position. In 2009, the Broncos coaches will have to take a chance on Dumervil learning how to play outside linebacker. The biggest change will be learning how to play in space and make more open-field tackles than in the past.

This is where James Harrison, the outstanding outside linebacker of the Pittsburgh Steelers comes in. Harrison stands 6'0" and weighs only 242, according to the Pittsburgh Steelers official roster. Harrison came from relative obscurity to be arguably the best defensive player in the NFL. Harrison learned how to use his speed, power and leverage to beat opposing offensive lineman on his way to 24.5 sacks in the last 2 seasons. The amazing thing is that not only does he sack the quarterback, he makes many open-field tackles and plays tough run defense.

The success of the 2009 Denver Broncos defensive unit may depend on if Elvis Dumervil can learn the outside linebacker position. I see Dumervil making doubters out of many people across the country, just the way James Harrison did with Pittsburgh. Playing outside linebacker in the 3-4 defense will allow Dumervil to continue to make plays in the opponents backfield, as well as overpower running backs and wide receivers in the open field. Don't expect Dumervil to be the Super Bowl MVP or the AFC Defensive Player of the year, but he will be an impact player for an improved defense. Elvis Dumervil just might be Denver's version of James Harrison...
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Elway saddened by Broncos feud

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- John Elway is saddened for both Jay Cutler and the Denver Broncos in the simmering feud that could end in an ugly split.

The Broncos Hall of Fame quarterback made his first comments about the conflict, telling The Pueblo Chieftain the rift between the quarterback and the new regime of coach Josh McDaniels and general manager Brian Xanders is "sad and unfortunate."

"Obviously, there was a lack of communication somewhere to where it blew this thing up to where it has got to now," Elway told the newspaper while in Pueblo for a fundraiser on Thursday night. "I'm sad for both sides.

"... I understand Jay's feelings got hurt, but it's too bad it has got to where it is. I wish Jay would have got some better advice from whoever he was getting advice from."

The feud started when Cutler learned McDaniels had brought his name up in trade talks that would have brought Matt Cassel from New England and sent Cutler to Tampa Bay.

The sides talked twice, once by phone and once face-to-face, but were unable to repair the relationship.

Cutler has instructed his agent, Bus Cook, to ask the Broncos to trade him. McDaniels still hopes to smooth things over with his quarterback.