A look at who's where on the Broncos depth chart. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

This isn’t speculation, it’s here. The Denver Broncos have updated their depth chart following the final cuts of the day.

On the surface it’s basically the same, but there are some things that need to be noted.

The offense:

• Why is there no movement at quarterback?
• Is Lance Ball really the fourth best running back in Denver?
• Eddie Royal is listed as number two with no one behind him.
• There are two backups at offensive tackle D’Anthony Batiste and Zane Beadles (starting left guard).
• New tight end Dan Gronkowski is immediately third on the depth chart.
• Eric Decker is third on the depth chart at wide receiver behind Jabar Gaffney and Matthew Willis.

While I don’t see the depth at quarterback changing, I can see Brady Quinn being made the third string/emergency quarterback on game day. Bruce Hall must have a heck of a fan in Broncos running backs coach Eric Studesville (both came over from Buffalo), Ball clearly outplayed Hall in the preseason. The Broncos are either masking Decker by not putting him directly behind Royal or there’s something we’re not aware of. Depending on how hurt Ryan Harris is, Batiste could start week one and  is the only backup for the recently returned Ryan Clady besides Beadles who is scheduled to start at left guard. Willis being listed in front of Decker at outside receiver makes sense, Decker not being listed behind Royal doesn’t.

Defense and grades after the click. Click here to read the rest of this entry »

The Denver Broncos started the day with twelve thirteen roster spots needing to be freed up to cut the roster down to the 53 required by the NFL.

There are more than a few players on the bubble in Denver, but here’s the days activities thus far (and we’ll keep updating):

UPDATE: Broncos have announced Brandon Stokley was not cut, he was added to injured reserve until he is healthy and then he will be waived.

Cuts:
LB Kevin Alexander
TE Marquez Branson
WR Britt Davis
TE Riar Geer
DE Jarvis Green
S Kyle McCarthy
G Seth Olsen
OLB Darrell Reid
DL Jeff Stehle
LB Worrell Williams

Injured Reserve:
OLB Elvis Dumervil
WR Brandon Stokley

Reserve/Military:
DE Ben Garland

NOTES:

• Alphonso Smith has been traded to the Detroit Lions for tight end Dan Gronkowski.
• Bubble corner Cassius Vaughn’s agent has told Fox31’s Josina Anderson the player has made the team.
• Anderson is also reporting that Marcus Thomas has been told he needs to step up, but will make the team.

Alphonso Smith celebrates after a play against the Philadelphia Eagles in 2009. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Alphonso Smith has been traded to the Detroit Lions for tight end Dan Gronkowski agent Drew Rosenhaus has confirmed via twitter.

Smith was on the bubble in Denver as I pointed out earlier. Gronkowski comes to Denver as the second to last draft pick of the Lion in the 2009 draft (255th). Gronkowski played hop scotch between the practice squad and regular team roster for the rest of the season.

He was activated December 1st against the Baltimore Ravens after an injury to Brandon Pettigrew.

UPDATE: The Broncos have released wide receiver Britt Davis, Josina Anderson of Fox31 is reporting.

Six moves remain for the Broncos final roster, keep it here.

The Broncos will trim the roster to a final 35 by 4:00 PM (EST). (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

Yesterday the Denver Broncos released: wide receiver Alric Arnett, defensive lineman Chris Baker, offensive lineman Paul Duncan, linebackers Jammie Kirlew and Johnny Williams, tight ends Nathan Overbay and Kory Sperry. The team then placed running back LenDale White on the injured reserve, where he will serve his four game suspension.

Elvis Dumervil has been placed on the injured reserve and the team has cut Darrell Reid, Brandon Stokley and Jarvis Green. Ben Garland has also been placed on the Military/Reserve list.

That leaves seven players on a roster that now consists of 65 that will not be on the roster as of 2:00 PM (MDT) today.

Here’s a position by position breakdown of the current depth chart:

Quarterback: Kyle Orton, Brady Quinn and Tim Tebow

Analysis: Though it’s possible the Broncos could move Quinn, it is unlikely that they will be willing to go ahead with just Tebow as a backup for Orton. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Tebow and Quinn flip-flop depth chart positions.

Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Brandon Stokley will sit out 2010 season for the Broncos. (REUTERS/Andrew Cameron)

The Broncos have just announced that defensive end Jarvis Green and outside linebacker Darrell Reid have been cut from the team.

They also made official that Elvis Dumervil and Brandon Stokley will be placed on injured reserve. Dumervil called the decision mutual.

With the selection of Eric Decker in April’s draft and the increasingly significant play of undrafted rookie receiver Matthew Willis, coupled with a groin injury that kept him out of the last three weeks of the preseason Stokley found himself on the wrong end of the depth chart. I had predicted in early August that Stokley wouldn’t make the team. The Broncos had a better idea.

Green is also a surprise cut, but the writing was on the wall with his limited playing time in the preseason.

Keep it tuned here as we will bring you the news as we get it as the Broncos trim their roster to 53.

Lance Ball carries the ball for a touchdown as Colt Anderson tries to make the tackle. (AP Photo/Andy Blenkush)

A game which saw the return of many veteran faces such as: Ryan Clady, Correll Buckhalter and Brian Dawkins should have brought more joy to fans of the Denver Broncos; yet it didn’t. Under the circumstances the fact that such veterans were starting in the fourth game of the preseason actually further laminated the problems the Broncos have been facing since April.

In a game which bordered on national attention for the possibility of an extensive amount of play by two quarterbacks Brett Favre and rookie Tim Tebow, the NFL made the right call early on last week in making this a local market only game. Favre suited, but did not take a snap and instead of Tebow, Broncos veteran quarterback Kyle Orton got the start. Orton and the rest of the Denver starting offense got the nod due to what Josh McDaniels expressed as disappointment in his first teams’ performance this preseason.

It’s easy to argue McDaniels’ point; prior to Pittsburgh the Orton led offense had scored on something like five of the quarterback’s seven drives. McDaniels must not have agreed with something he had seen from the offense versus the Steelers or Tebow likely would have gotten the start Thursday evening.

As it stands he didn’t and Orton’s offense made McDaniels’ point for him. They looked sloppy in their first series, going three and out just about as terrible as any team could. However, there was a bright point for Denver; prior to the teams first offensive series the Vikings had received the opening kickoff and rookie Perrish Cox took away any worry Broncos fans may have about the nickel back position or the absence of superstar Champ Bailey or Andre Goodman. On top of his more than stellar performance as the number one corner he did very well on punt returns and it’s going to be hard to argue against him starting there this season. There is of course another rookie corner whom I’ll get to in a second who will push him. Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Center J.D. Walton (#50) of the Denver Broncos prepares to snap the ball against the Pittsburgh Steelers during a preseason game in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

The Broncos haven’t earned an AFC West Championship since 2005, coming in 2nd place in all but one season since then. Nevertheless, with new weapons and a weak division, the ‘West may finally be back in the Broncos’ reach.

Last off-season nearly every NFL season preview had the Broncos ranking near the bottom of the AFC West, even ESPN agreed with that assumption. NFL Analyst John Clayton predicted the Broncos to finish 3-13, a harsh prediction many other NFL crystal gazers agreed with. The Broncos wound up finishing 8-8 for the second straight year.

The experts are now at it again, predicting the Broncos to finish 6-10 (most predictions I’ve seen have been about six wins or worse). By my calculations, if Denver was supposed to finish 3-13 last season and finished 8-8, and are supposed to finish 6-10 this year, they’ll go 12-4. And with the Chargers seemingly on the decline, it might not even take that many wins to win the division, writes Mark Kiszla.

“Josh McDaniels can get there [to the Playoffs] during his second season as coach in Denver.

It wouldn’t take a miracle … San Diego has lost its mojo, Kansas City isn’t quite ready for prime time and Oakland remains hopelessly lost in an Al Davis time warp,” said Kiszla in his latest Denver Post article.

“Nothing much is expected of the Broncos in 2010, which, in an odd way, passes for progress. A year ago, Denver was believed to be a disaster waiting to happen.” Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Denver Broncos' Vonnie Holliday, right, and Tony Carter celebrate in the third quarter after Carter recovered an Oakland Raiders' fumble during an NFL football game in Denver on Sunday, Dec. 20, 2009. (AP Photo/Chris Schneider)

The Denver Broncos announced on Monday that they have released running back Justin Fargas and designated cornerback Tony Carter as waived/injured.

Fargas was with the Broncos for less than one month, having signed as a free agent on Aug. 11. Carter spent the past two offseasons with the club, having joined the Broncos as a college free agent on April 27, 2009.

Fargas had one carry for four yards in very limited action late in the Broncos’ 34-17 preseason victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday. RB LenDale White got the start while Lance Ball received the bulk of the carries in the second half.

Carter spent the first 14 weeks of the 2009 season on the Broncos’ practice squad before making his NFL debut in Oakland in December.

These players come from the two positions, in our opinion, that are least settled when it comes to determining the Broncos’ 53-man roster, so it’s not surprising the Broncos are moving ahead with thinning the numbers to get a better look at those that remain. Assuming Carter clears waivers, he will be placed on Injured Reserve.

Quarterback Tim Tebow of the Denver Broncos lines up over center J.D. Walton against the Pittsburgh Steelers. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

In his preseason home opener, Broncos’ rookie QB Tim Tebow went 5-of-10 for 72 yards, a score and an interception in Denver’s 34-17 disposal of the Steelers. Playing as the 2nd quarterback, Tebow showed some rookie flaws and some nice management of the offense.

Running back Lance Ball, who is in a fierce roster spot fight, also had a nice evening, rushing for 75 yards on just 10 carries. Ball can be easily spotted in the two highlights after the jump.

As a whole, the Broncos second team offense shredded up the Steelers secondary defense, marching right down the field for back-to-back scores. Although it was “just” preseason, I loved seeing the Broncos physically out-play Pittsburgh, something the coaches talked about during the whole week prior to the game.

Below is one of the Tebow-led drives that bogged down for a field goal. You may recognize one of the commentators, who by-the-way had some nice things to say about Tebow.

See the second team’s touchdown drive after the jump. Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Cornerback Perrish Cox #32 of the Denver Broncos celebrates his interception of a pass by quarterback Dennis Dixon of the Pittsburgh Steelers in the endzone during preseason NFL action at INVESCO Field at Mile High on August 29, 2010 in Denver, Colorado. (Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

It was a night of sacks and pick-sixes for the Denver Broncos defense, who took full advantage of the Pittsburgh Steelers‘ sketchy quarterback situation to score two defensive touchdowns and defeat the Steelers 34-17 in preseason action.

More impressive was the fact that they accomplished such with the likes of Elvis Dumervil, Champ Bailey, and Brian Dawkins sitting this one out.

Against the Steelers’ starters, who only played QB Ben Roethlisberger for one series, Denver outgunned and outrunned Pittsburgh in the first half to a 17-3 lead. QB Dennis Dixon was intercepted twice — dramatically — once by rookie Perrish Cox in the end zone and once by veteran Andre Goodman who returned it 77 yards for a touchdown.

Dixon’s backups didn’t fare much better. Byron Leftwich went 0 for 4 as the 3rd QB and Charlie Batch had an interception returned for a touchdown by rookie Syd’Quan Thompson. With Roethlisberger set to miss four games with a suspension, the Steelers didn’t answer any quarterback questions tonight, and may have garnered some new ones. Click here to read the rest of this entry »