Against All Odds: Denver Broncos Franchise (M10)

[Mr. Franchise]

Denver Broncos Hire McDaniels as Head Coach

DENVER, CO- Just after trading former franchise QB Jay Cutler, the Broncos have announced that Josh McDaniels, former Patriots offensive coordinator, will be the new head coach of the Denver Broncos. McDaniels will take over for Mike Shanahan, who led the team to and 8-8 record last season.

McDaniels spoke to us today and had this to say about his new team. "I'm very excited to be apart of this team, you know, we got a great QB in Kyle (Orton), and I know I can impliment a style of play to work to his beneft, you know, just be a game manager and win with our defense." McDaniels also stated the team had no interest in trading WR Brandon Marshall anytime soon. "(Brandon) Marshall is a great player, and you can't rule out anyone in a trade, but he (Brandon Marshall) is our best playmaker right now and we need him on the team.

All in all this season looks to be very interesting as it can be a boom or bust season, as it is with many rookie head coaches. We'll have to see how McDaniels pans out in Denver, and if we made a huge mistake in letting go of Shanahan.

[Mr. Franchise]

Denver Broncos 2009 Depth Chart & Schedule

Depth Chart

Bold = Team Captain

Quarterback-
Kyle Orton
Chris Simms
Tom Brandstater

Halfback-
Knowshon Moreno
Correll Buckhalter
LaMint Jordan

Fullback-
Peyton Hillis

Wide Receiver-
Brandon Marshall
Eddie Royal
Jabar Gaffney
Brandon Stokely
Brandon Lloyd
Kenny McKinley

Tight Ends-
Daniel Grahm
Tony Scheffler
Richard Quinn

Left Tackle-
Ryan Clady
Tyler Polumbus

Left Guard-
Ben Hamilton
Seth Olson

Center-
Casey Wiegmann

Right Guard-
Chris Kuper
Russ Hochstein

Right Tackle-
Ryan Harris
Brandon Groin

Left End-
Kenny Peterson
Ryan McBean

Right End-
Elvis Dumervil
Le Kevin Smith
Chris Baker

Defensive Tackle-
Vonnie Holliday
Ronald Fields
Marcus Thomas


Left Outside Linebacker-
Mario Haggan
Darrel Reid

Middle Linebacker-
DJ Williams
Andra Davis
Wesley Woodyard
Spencer Larsen

Right Outside Linebacker-
Robert Ayers
Jarvis Moss

Cornerback-
Champ Bailey
Andre Goodman
Alphonso Smith
Jack Williams

Free Safety-
Brian Dawkins
Darcel McBath

Strong Safety-
Renaldo Hill
David Burton
Josh Barrett

Kicker-
Matt Prater

Punter-
Mitch Berger

Schedule

Week 1:
@ Bengals

Week 2:
Vs. Browns

Week 3:
@ Raiders

Week 4:
Vs. Cowboys

Week 5:
Vs. Patriots AFL 50th ANNIVERSARY GAME

Week 6:
@ Chargers AFL 50th ANNIVERSARY GAME

Week 7:
BYE

Week 8:
@ Ravens

Week 9:
Vs. Steelers

Week 10:
@ Redskins

Week 11:
Vs. Chargers

Week 12:
Vs. Giants THANKSGIVING DAY GAME

Week 13:
@ Chiefs

Week 14:
@ Colts

Week 15:
Vs. Raiders

Week 16:
@ Eagles

Week 17:
Vs. Chiefs

[Mr. Franchise]

Around The NFL: Pre-Week 1

T.O. Bills debut:
Superstar wide receiver Terrell Owens is set to make his Buffalo Bills debut on Monday Night Football against the New England Patriots. We'll be sure to keep tabs on how he does.

Chris Cooley put on IR:
Pro Bowl TE Chris Cooley will be out for the year with a broken ankle. It is unknown who will be his replacement, but it should be a serious blow to the Redskins depleted offense.

Jay Cutler to make Bears debut:
Jay Cutler is set to make his long awaited debut as the new franchise QB of the Bears. Cutler will face the Packers on Sunday Night Football and we'll keep updates on how he does.

Osi Umenyiora to miss second straight year:
The Giants DE has been put on the IR for the second straight year and this should be a huge blow to the Pro Bowl DE's career. The Giants will surely miss him, as they were eliminated from the playoffs last year without him.

Randy Moss placed on IR:
On of the best WR's of all time has been put on the IR today with a fractured elbow. This will hamper QB Tom Brady's return now as he losses his #1 receiver. We'll see if Wes Welker can handle the #1 WR role.

Brain Urlacher, Kris Jenkins, and Lofa Tatupa all out for 2009:
Although Urlacher and Jenkins were already on the IR, it was announced today that MLB Lofa Tatupu was also added to the list. This year looks to be a though year for defenses, as this is the 5th Pro Bowl defensive player to go down fo rthe year.

[Mr. Franchise]

Eddie Royal's 3 Kick Return TD's can't outweigh Orton's terrible performance.

Bengals- 38
Broncos- 31

Cincinnati, OH- Today's game was that of extreme ups and downs as it started off well for the Broncos, but ended with a complete offensive meltdown as turnovers did the team in. The Broncos had the lead into the 4th quarter after Eddie Royals 3rd kick return for a TD, which was an NFL record. But the Bengals were able to put 22 points up in the 4th, after Kyle Orton completed a 4th and 3 pass to Peyton Hillis, which he then fumbled after getting the first down. "I guess I just lost my head out there, I don't know how I could let that happen." Said Hillis after the game. "This loss is on me, there's no doubt, there's no way I an give up 4 INT's and expect to win." Said Kyle Orton after the game, whose 4 INT's, including a pick 6 to Keith Rivers, ended the game the the Broncos. "It's a though loss, but I saw some things I liked, Eddie Royal was insane, but we need to protect the ball, period." Proclaimed head coach Josh McDaniels, who lost his first game as Broncos head coach. Depending on Cutler's performancce tonight againts the Packers, we could see a riot by the fans of the Broncos.

Stats-

Passing-
K. Orton- 22/35, 273 YRDS, 4 INT
C. Palmer- 14/20, 231 YRDS, 1 TD
J. Sullivan- 9/14 129 YRDS

Rushing-
B. Scott- 22 ATT, 123 YRDS, 2 TD
K. Moreno- 14 ATT, 37 YRDS
L. Jordan- 9 ATT, 16 YRDS, 1 TD
B. Leonard- 5 ATT, 41 YRDS
P. Hillis- 2 ATT, 9 YRDS

Recieving-
B. Marshall- 7 REC, 113 YRDS
C. Henry- 7 REC, 132 YRDS
P. Hillis- 5 REC, 32 YRDS
C. Ochocinco- 4 REC, 88 YRDS
13 Players with 3 or less REC

Player of the Game-
Keith Rivers- 1 INT, 1 FF, 2 FR, 1 TD

News and Notes-

Correll Buckhalter went down with an injury-
Correll Buckhalter who was brought in as a screen reciever left the game with an unknown injury and did not return, it is unknown how long he will be out.

Champ Bailey left game in 2nd quarter-
Defensive captain Champ Bailey left the game with a jaw injury and did not return, it is unknown how long he will be out, but this is a huge blow to the Broncos secondary.

[Mr. Franchise]

Around The NFL: Week 1

T.O. Bills debut:
T.O. had a quiet day on MNF as he finished with 1 REC, 6 YRDS in the Bills 21-10 loss to the Patriots. Tom Brady also threw 2 TDS, 1 INT in his return from knee surgery.

Jay Cutler Bears debut:
Jay Cutler went 14/33 with 0 TDS, 0 INT in the Bears 31-12 loss to the Packers. Maybe the Broncos fans will settle down a bit after the loss.

Upsets of the week:
Redksins 24, Giants 21
49ers 34, Cardinals 27
Raiders 16, Chargers 12

Lions losing streak continues-
The Lions almost pulled the upset of the year in week 1 with a close 31-24 loss to the Saints. This loss sets the Lions streak to 18 straight losses since the end of 2007. #1 overall pick Matthew Stafford wen 15/26, 2 TDS, 2 INTS


Matt Hasselback has huge return:
After battling injuries last year, Matt Hasselback came back in week 1 and went 32/41 4 TDS in the Seahawks 34-14 win over the Rams.

[Mr. Franchise]

Denver Broncos Week 1 News

Champ Bailey to miss next week Vs. Browns-
It turns out Champ's injury last week was a broken jaw. Fortunately the Pro Bowl corner will only miss 1 week against the Browns. It is unknown who will take his place.

Correll Buckhalter to miss next week-
Correll Buckhalter will miss next weeks game Vs. the Browns with a leg injury, but will return after that. LaMont Jordan will take his place as he looked solid against the Bengals.

Broncos sign Craig Steltz-
Te Broncos have signed 2nd year saftey Craig Steltz out of LSU after he was cut by the Bears last week. Steltz was moved the SS and will compete for the starting job.

[Mr. Franchise]

Moreno's big game boosts Broncos past Browns

Broncos- 37
Browns- 17

Denver, CO- The Broncos completely dominated 90% of todays game as Knowshon Moreno and Kyle Orton lead the offense to an easy victory. Moreno got a huge boost from left tackle Ryan Clady as he ran off of the left tackle all game racking up 100+ yards, including a 43 yard TD run. The Browns, on the other hand were shutdown all game, in which 10 of their 17 points came in garbage time. Even without Champ Bailey the young secondary was able to dominate Derek Anderson. Also, Craig Stelz was able to intercept a ball in his first game after signing with the Broncos.

"It was a big win, everything just went out way." Said Josh McDaniels after winning his first game. "I felt good, it helped the way Kno (shon Moreno) was running out there, it took a lot of pressure off." Said Kyle Orton, whose only interception was on a ball that slipped through Brandon Marshall's hands.

Stats-

Passing-
K. Orton- 17/21, 147 YRDS, 1 TD, 1 INT
D. Anderson- 23/40, 295 YRDS, 2 TD, 2 INT

Rushing-
K. Moreno- 18 ATT, 138 YRDS, 3 TD
L. Jordan- 16 ATT, 40 YRDS
J. Lewis- 12 ATT, 55 YRDS
P. Hillis- 6 ATT, 26 YRDS

Recieving-
R. Royal- 7 REC, 88 YRDS, 1 TD
D. Graham- 5 REC, 21 YRDS
B. Marshall- 5 REC, 58 YRDS
L. Jordan- 1 REC, 6 YRDS, 1 TD

Defensive-
Mario Haggan- 2 TAK, 1 SACK
Vonnie Holliday- 2 TAK, 1 SACK
Craig Steltz- 1 TAK, 1 INT
Alphonso Smith- 3 TAK, 1 INT

Player of the Game-
Knwshon Moreno- 18 ATT, 138 YRDS, 3 TD

[Mr. Franchise]

Around The NFL: Week 2

Raiders are now 2-0:
Miraculously the Oakland Raiders are now 2-0 after a 20-17 overtime win against the Chiefs. Could this be the year that the Raiders finally turn it around under the wings of Tom Cable?

Lions get first win in huge upset against Vikings:
The Lions broke their 18 game losing streak after rookie Matthew Stafford came in for an injured Daunte Culpepper and threw 2 TD's to get the 38-35 overtime win to upset the Vikings.

What's wrong with the Cardinals?:
The Cardinals are now 0-2 after a 20-17 loss to the Jaguars. Kurt Warner is struggling immensely and was even benched for Matt Leinart, who didn't play half bad, but still lot in the end.

Jay Cutler goes 0-2:
Jay Cutler and the Bears were smashed by the Steelers as Cutler threw 2 picks in the 27-13 loss. Bears fans are starting to get irate as it looks like Denever is getting the better part of the deal.

Matt Schaub out for year:
Matt Schaub of the 2-0 Texans was placed on the IR after he suffered an injury on his throwing arm. The Texans will now play Rex Grossman at QB, which could spell disaster for the Texans season.

Donavan McNabb out 8 weeks with broken hand:
Donavan McNabb will miss 8 weeks after breaking his hand in last weeks game. Could this be Vick's chance to return to promenece? Andy Reid has not commented on who his QB will be for week 3.


Standings-

AFC West:
Raiders- 2-0
Chargers- 1-1
Broncos- 1-1
Chiefs- 0-2

AFC North
Bengals- 2-0
Steelers- 2-0
Ravens- 1-1
Browns- 0-2

AFC East
Patriots- 2-0
Dolphins 0-2
Bills- 1-1
Jets- 0-2

AFC South
Colts- 2-0
Texans- 2-0
Titans- 1-1
Jaguars- 0-2

NFC West
49ers- 2-0
Seahawks- 1-1
Rams- 0-2
Cardinals- 0-2

NFC North
Lions- 1-1
Packers- 1-1
Vikings- 1-1
Bears- 0-2

NFC East
Redskins- 2-0
Giants- 1-1
Cowboys- 1-1
Eagles- 1-1

NFC South
Falcons- 2-0
Saints- 2-0
Buccaneers- 0-2
Panthers- 0-2