The Broncos made enough big plays last night to defeat the Steelers pretty handily.  Kyle Orton started at QB and he completed 9 of 14 passes for 80 yards with 1 INT.  Tim Tebow seems to have jumped Brady Quinn on the depth chart.  Tebow completed 5 of 10 passes for 72 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT.  Brady Quinn only completed 1 of 2 passes for 2 yards last night.  Lance Ball (10 car, 75 yards) and LenDale White (12 car, 34 yards, TD) led the way on the ground for the Broncos last night.  WRs Matt Willis (3 rec, 55 yards), Brandon Lloyd (4 rec, 40 yards) and Eric Decker (1 rec, 3 yards, TD) led the way in the passing game last night.  The Broncos finished up with 128 yards rushing (4.6 ypc) and 140 yards passing last night.

The D might have got pushed around a bit in the running game but the secondary was outstanding all night long against the pass.  Linebacker D.J. Williams led the way for the Broncos’ D in this game with 7 tackles.  OLB Robert Ayers finally started to show some life last night with 4 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks and 2 QB hits.  CB Andre Goodman was solid with 4 tackles, 2 passes defensed and he picked off a Dennis Dixon pass which he returned 77 yards for a TD.  Rookie 7th round pick Syd’Quan Thompson also was a standout last night with 2 tackles, 2 passes defensed and a pickoff of a Charlie Batch pass that he returned 48 yards for a TD.  The Steelers finished up with 175 yards rushing (5.8 ypc) and 180 yards passing in this game.  The Broncos are now 1-2 on the pre-season.

The Broncos have cut 30-year old linebacker Akin Ayodele and 25-year old OT Tyler Polumbus.  Ayodele played in the first two pre-season games for the Broncos and he made 8 tackles.  He played in 16 games (15 starts) for the Dolphins last season and he had 71 tackles and 1 forced fumble.  I don’t think the Broncos’ D is good enough to be cutting guys like Ayodele who will likely hook on with another team soon.  Tyler Polumbus also played in the first two pre-season games for the Broncos.  He played in 31 games (8 starts) in his two years in Denver. 

The Broncos looked o.k. offensively in this game but they were awful on D and it cost them this game.  Kyle Orton was really solid as he completed 16 of 22 passes for 177 yards with 2 TD passes and 1 INT.  Brady Quinn was light years better than he was in the pre-season opener as he completed 11 of 17 passes for 115 yards.  Bruce Hall led the way for the Broncos on the ground in this game with 43 yards rushing on 5 carries (8.6 ypc).  Lance Ball (5 car, 17 yards and 3 rec, 25 yards, TD) was very busy and effective for the Broncos in this game.  Justin Fargas pitched in with 9 carries for 13 yards (1.4 ypc) in his debut with the Broncos.  WRs Jabar Gaffney (6 rec, 98 yard) and rookie Eric Decker (5 rec, 66 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Broncos.  TE Marquez Branson pitched in with 3 grabs for 20 yards (6.7 avg) with a TD.  The Broncos finished up with 75 yards rushing (3.8 ypc) and 264 yards passing in this game.

Linebacker Akin Ayodele led the way for the Broncos’ D in this game with six tackles.  The Lions finished up with 151 yards rushing (5.0 ypc) and 241 yards passing in this game.

The Broncos have signed 26-year old DE Jason Hunter who was just released earlier this week by the Lions.  Hunter played in 14 games for the Lions last season and he had 34 tackles, 5 sacks and he defensed 3 passes.  He has now played in 56 games in his four years in the NFL and he has 66 tackles, 7 sacks, 1 forced fumble and 3 passes defensed.  This was a good signing for the Broncos who need help rushing the passer.

The Broncos’ offense looked pretty good as they only had possession of the ball for 21:19.  Kyle Orton was razor sharp for the Broncos last night as he completed 8 of 13 passes for 84 yards with 2 TD passes.  Brady Quinn only completed 6 of 16 passes for 68 yards and he threw a pick six as Bengals’ CB David Jones returned it 24 yards to paydirt.  Tim Tebow looked pretty good in his first taste of NFL action as he completed 8 of 13 passes for 105 yards last night.  He also carried the ball 2 times for 10 yards including a 7-yard TD scamper.  Lance Ball led the way for the Broncos last night with 6 carries for 27 yards (4.5 ypc).  WRs Brandon Lloyd (3 rec, 23 yards, TD) and Eddie Royal (1 rec, 12 yards, TD) looked solid in the passing game.  The Broncos finished up with 36 yards rushing (2.4 ypc) and 251 yards passing in this game.

The Broncos’ D was pathetic last night as they couldn’t stop the running game or the passing game.  CB Alphonso Smith (6 tackles, pass defensed) and LB Welsey Woodyard (6 tackles) led the way for the Broncos’ D last night.  The Bengals finished up with 191 yards rushing (4.8 ypc) and they also passed for 218 yards last night.

The Broncos have released linebacker Nick Greisen.  He was on the Broncos’ roster last season but he never played a down for them due to a torn ACL.  The Broncos didn’t want to wait for Greisen anymore.  Greisen has played in 7 years in his NFL career appearing in 98 games in which he has 255 tackles, 13 passes defensed, 4 sacks, 5 forced fumbles and 1 interception.  The Broncos won’t miss Greisen in 2010.

24-year old WR Eddie Royal is a very solid kickoff returner for the Broncos.  Royal played in 14 games for the Broncos last season and he returned 26 kickoffs for 621 yards (23.9 avg) with 1 TD return.  He has now played in 29 games in his career with the Broncos and he has returned 49 kickoffs for 1,221 yards (24.9 avg) with 1 TD return.  Royal is fast and he has a ton of good moves in the open field as he is a threat to score any time he gets the ball kicked to him.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE BRONCOS KICKOFF RETURNERS in 2010:  B+

The Broncos have signed 30-year old running back Justin Fargas.  Fargas played in 12 games (4 starts) for the Raiders last season and he carried the ball 129 times for 491 yards (3.8 ypc) with 3 TD runs.  He also caught 17 passes for 113 yards (6.6 avg) last year.  Fargas has now played in 92 games (32 starts) in his NFL career and he has carried the ball 827 times for 3,369 yards (4.1 ypc) with 10 TD carries.  He has also caught 77 passes for 523 yards (6.8 avg) in his career.  This was a good signing for the Broncos as they are worried about Knowshon Moreno and Correll Buckhalter’s health right now.

The Broncos will have training camp battles to determine who starts at LG and C.  LT Ryan Clady hurt himself playing basketball in the off-season tearing a patellar tendon that required surgery.  He looks on track to be ready for opening day and the Broncos are happy about that because he is a solid blind side protector for Kyle Orton.  LG will be a battle between rookie 2nd round pick Zane Beadles out of Utah and veteran Ross Hochenstein.  Beadles appears to have a slight edge heading into training camp.  Seth Olsen will battle rookie 3rd round pick J.D. Walton out of Baylor for the starting center job with Olsen holding an edge right now.  RG Chris Kuper is a very solid run blocker who is a decent pass blocker.  RT Ryan Harris is a very good pass blocker and he’s solid in the running game too.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE BRONCOS O-LINE in 2010:  C+

The Broncos have lost 25-year old safety Josh Barrett on waivers to the Patriots.  Barrett played in 14 games for the Broncos last season and he had 10 tackles.  He played  two years for the Broncos appearing in 20 games in which he made 32 tackles, defensed 4 passes and he had 1 interception.  The Broncos sent Barrett through waivers with the thought of putting him on I.R. after he cleared them because he needs shoulder surgery.  Usually teams don’t claim those type of players but Bill Belichick and his Patriots did.