The Broncos looked pretty good last Friday Night in Arizona.  Darrell Hackney got to show what he could do in this game and he was impressive.  Hackney completed 17 of 26 passes for 208 yards with a 87-yard TD pass to WR Keary Colbert.  He also carried the football 8 times for 35 yards (4.4 ypc) in this game.  RB Anthony Alridge had a huge game for the Broncos against the Cardinals as he carried the football 23 times for 110 yards (4.8 ypc).  WR Keary Colbert led the Broncos’ in receiving with 105 yards on 5 carries (21.0 avg).  The Broncos finished up this game with 187 yards rushing on 42 carries (4.5 ypc) and they also completed 17 of 26 passes for 206 yards.

The defense made a lot of big plays in this football game to help the Broncos pull away and win the game.  Linebacker Wesley Woodyard led the way in this game for the Broncos with 6 tackles and 2 sacks.  Linebacker Spencer Larsen was also effective with 4 tackles and a interception that he returned 39 yards.  CB Jack Williams only had two tackles but he returned a interception 89 yards for a TD.  The Cardinals finished up with 71 yards rushing on 22 carries (3.2 ypc) and they also completed 21 of 37 passes for 288 yards.  The Broncos finished up the preseason with a 2-2 record.

The Broncos played hard Friday Night but it just wasn’t enough to prevail over the Packers.  Jay Cutler had a good game completing 6 of 13 passes for 115 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 interceptions.  Patrick Ramsey also had a solid game completing 10 of 16 passes for 70 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 interception.  Darrell Hackney finished up this game completing 2 of 4 passes for 5 yards.  Andre Hall led the Broncos in rushing last Friday Night with 46 yards on 9 carries (5.1 ypc).  Selvin Young also had a solid game with 42 yards rushing on 6 carries (7.0 ypc).  Michael Pittman was very busy against the Packers as he carried the ball 10 times for 36 yards (3.6 ypc) and he also caught 6 passes for 25 yards including a 9-yard TD reception from Patrick Ramsey.  Brandon Marshall had a good game against the Packers with 2 receptions for 71 yards (35.5 avg) with a TD grab.  Nate Jackson also had a decent game pitching in with 2 catches for 18 yards (9.0 avg) with a TD.  The Broncos finished up with 131 yards rushing on 28 carries (4.7 ypc) in this game and they completed 18 of 33 passes for 190 yards.

The defense had big time issues trying to stop Aaron Rodgers who was shredding them through the air.  CB Domonique Foxworth and LB Jamie Winborn led the Broncos’ defense with 6 tackles apiece against the Packers.  The Broncos played well against the run holding the Packers to 94 yards rushing on 32 carries (2.6 ypc), but, the Packers completed 20 of 28 passes for 187 yards.

The Broncos looked really good against the Cowboys last Saturday.  Jay Cutler was incredible for the Broncos in this game as he completed 16 of 20 passes for 178 yards with 1 TD pass.  Patrick Ramsey also looked solid for the Broncos as he completed 8 of 13 passes for 67 yards.  Darrell Hackney only threw 1 pass in this game and he completed it for 10 yards.  Michael Pittman led the Broncos in rushing with 41 yards rushing on 16 carries (2.6 ypc).  Selvin Young also had a solid game with 36 yards rushing on 9 carries (4.0 ypc).  Andre Hall pitched in with 24 yards rushing on 7 carries (3.4 ypc) with a 1-yard TD run.  Rookie Eddie Royal led the Broncos in receiving on Saturday Night with 67 yards on 2 catches (33.5 avg).  Brandon Marshall was also busy with 6 catches for 59 yards (9.8 avg) with a TD grab from Jay Cutler.  The Broncos finished up with 101 yards rushing on 32 carries (3.2 ypc) last Saturday and they completed 25 of 34 passes for 253 yards.

The defense didn’t play great despite only allowing 13 points as the Cowboys rolled up 324 yards on them.  CB Domonique Foxworth led the Broncos with 6 tackles against the Cowboys.  CB Jack Williams also had a solid game with 2 tackles and a interception that he returned 34 yards.  The Cowboys finished up with only 70 yards rushing on 20 carries (3.5 ypc) and they completed 22 of 35 passes for 254 yards.

Mike Shanahan often looks like a psycho on the sideline but the man is a really good NFL head coach.  The best thing that ever happened to him is when he got fired by Al Davis and came to Denver.  I look at least season as a rebuilding year for the Broncos as it was Jay Cutler’s first as a starter.  The Broncos made some good moves in the off season to improve the team and I think they can make it back to the playoffs in 2008.  Shanahan has now been the head coach of the Broncos for 13 seasons and he has compiled a 130-78 (62.5%) record during the regular season and he is also 8-5 (61.5%) in the post season.  Shanahan led the Broncos to Super Bowl Championships in 1997 and 1998 with the aid of Hall of Fame QB John Elway.  Shanahan has now been a NFL head coach for 15 years in which he has a 138-90 (60.5%) record during the regular season.  He has only made the playoffs with the Broncos and I have a feeling he will be there again in 2008.

The Broncos have signed 36-year old CB Tyrone Poole to help out with depth in the secondary.  Poole last played in the NFL with the Raiders in 2006 so he could be rusty.  Poole has played in 142 games in his NFL career and he has made 497 tackles, has defensed 121 passes, has 6 sacks, forced 10 fumbles and he has intercepted 18 passes.  Don’t look for Poole to get a lot of playing time unless the CBs ahead of him get injured.

The Broncos fought hard on Saturday Night but they lost on the last play of the game as Kris Brown nailed a 25-yard field goal as time ran out.  Jay Cutler looked good Saturday completing 8 of 10 passes for 59 yards.  He also carried the ball 1 time for 15 yards and it was a TD scamper.  Patrick Ramsey looked awful completing 6 of 11 passes for 32 yards with 2 interceptions.  Darrell Hackney had a solid effort in this game completing 4 of 7 passes for 62 yards and he also carried the ball 1 time for 16 yards.  Andre Hall led the Broncos in rushing against the Texans with 43 yards on 8 carries (5.4 ypc).  Anthony Alridge also was busy rushing for 20 yards on 4 carries (5.0 ypc) and catching 3 passes for 20 yards (6.7 avg).  TE Tony Scheffler led the Broncos in receiving with 47 yards on 3 grabs (15.7 avg).  The Broncos finished up with 123 yards rushing on 26 carries (4.7 ypc).  They also completed 18 of 28 passes for 153 yards against the Texans.

Linebacker Wesley Woodyard led the Broncos with 9 tackles.  CB/S Christian Morton (7 tackles, sack) and safety Josh Barrett (7 tackles) both also had decent games for the Broncos against the Texans.  The Texans finished up with 140 yards rushing on 36 carries (3.9 ypc).  They also completed 18 of 25 passes for 179 yards on Saturday Night.

The Denver Broncos have lost rookie running back Ryan Torain for the next 2-3 months due to a broken elbow suffered in practice earlier today.  Torain was looking good this training camp and the Broncos were getting pretty excited about him.  His loss will mean that Andre Hall and Michael Pittman will have to step up and get some carries behind 2nd year man Selvin Young.  It’s also possible that the Broncos will place Torain on the Injured Reserve List ending his rookie season before it starts.

The NFL has handed down a 2-game suspension for WR Brandon Marshall which would bump to a 3-gamer if he doesn’t accept counseling.  Marshall has been arrested three times in the past year and the NFL will not tolerate with that.  The Broncos need Marshall to take the couseling because they can’t afford to be without their top receiver for three games.  Marshall will miss two division games which could hurt the Broncos big time as he will miss the first game at Oakland and the 2nd game at home against the Chargers.  The third game of the season is at home against the Saints in a possible shootout so they will need Marshall if they want to have a good chance to come out on top.  Marshall needs to act his age off the field because every arrest from now to the end of his career could result in suspensions.

The Denver Broncos are treading some serious rough water in handing over the starting job as kicker to 23-year old Matt Prater.  He started last season as the placekicker for the Falcons but that didn’t last too long.  Prater played in 4 games with the Broncos and Falcons as a rookie last season and he only made 1 of 4 field goals (25%).  He has a strong enough leg to handle the job but his accuracy is a huge problem.  He won’t last long with the Broncos unless he improves big time.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  D-

The Broncos are deep and talented at the tight end position.  25-year old Tony Scheffler has turned into one of Jay Cutler’s favorite targets in the passing game.  He is a big target at 6’5″, 250 pounds and he combines solid hands with enough speed to get down the football field.  Scheffler played in all 16 games for the Broncos last season and he caught 49 passes for 549 yards (11.2 avg) with 5 TD grabs.  Look for his numbers to be even better in 2008 as Scheffler should be even more involved in the passing game in 2008.  Scheffler has now played in 29 games in his NFL career and he has caught 67 passes for 835 yards (12.5 avg) with 9 TD grabs.

29-year old Daniel Graham is also a big target at 6’3″, 257 pounds in the passing game.  He’s also a pretty solid run blocker which earns him a lot of playing time.  Graham played in 15 games with the Broncos last season and he caught 24 passes for 246 yards (10.3 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Graham should catch about the same amount of passes in 2008 as Scheffler will be playing a lot more than him on passing downs.  Graham has now played in 78 games in his NFL career and he has caught 144 passes for 1,639 yards (11.4 avg) with 19 TD grabs.

29-year old converted WR Nate Jackson has never really broke through for the Broncos.  He played in only 5 games for the Broncos last season and he caught 3 passes for 34 yards (11.3 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Don’t expect much out of Jackson in 2008 unless Scheffler or Graham get injured.  Jackson has now played in 31 games in his NFL career and he has caught 16 passes for 156 yards (9.8 avg) with 1 TD grab.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE 2008 SEASON:  B+