The Broncos have released 29-year old  CB Nate Jones.  Jones played in all 16 games for the Broncos last year and he had 57 tackles and 3 passes defensed.  This should be looked at as good news for Broncos’ fans as Jones wasn’t much of a playmaker in the passing game, despite getting quite a bit of P.T. in 2010.  So it’s out with the old and in with the new in Denver.

The Broncos will be without 29-year old inside linebacker D.J. Williams for the next 3-4 weeks due to a dislocated elbow.  Williams played in all 16 games for the Broncos last year and he had 119 tackles, 5.5 sacks, 4 tackles for a loss, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery and 9 passes defensed.  He has now played in 107 games in his first 7 years with the Broncos and he has 720 tackles, 46 tackles for a loss, 15.5 sacks, 10 forced fumbles, 6 fumble recoveries, 35 passes defensed and 2 interceptions.  The Broncos are really going to miss Williams as he is by far the best run defender on the team.

This game should have never been close, if you look at the stats.  But, the Broncos didn’t win this game until the last second when Steve Hauschka nailed a 51-yard field goal.  It wasn’t all good for the Broncos on special teams either as WR Doug Baldwin of the Seahawks returned a kickoff 105 yards for a TD in this game!  But, in the end, the Broncos were the better team last night.  Kyle Orton completed 16 of 23 passes for 236 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT.  Tim Tebow finished up the game by completing 6 of 11 passes for 93 yards without a TD pass or interception.  He also carried the ball 4 times for 25 yards (6.3 ypc) last night.  Knowshon Moreno led the way for the Broncos’ in the running game with 47 yards rushing on 10 carries (4.7 ypc).  He also caught 1 pass for 11 yards in this game.  Lance Ball rushed for 37 yards on 6 carries (6.2 ypc) and he also caught 1 pass for 26 yards in this game.  Willis McGahee pitched in with 25 yards rushing on 10 carries (2.5 ypc) with a TD run.  TE Julius Thomas (4 rec, 70 yards), WR Eddie Royal (4 rec, 62 yards) and WR Eric Decker (4 rec, 45 yards, TD) led the way in the passing game for the Broncos last night.  The Broncos finished up with 148 yards rushing on 34 carries (4.4 ypc) and they also completed 22 of 34 passes (64.7%) for 302 yards last night as they had possession of the ball for 34:42.

Rookie LB Von Miller led the way for the Broncos’ D last night with 4 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 2 sacks and 4 QB hits.  LB Wesley Woodyard (4 tackles, 1 QB hit and 1/2 a sack) and DT Jeremy Jarmon (3 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack and 1 QB hit) also had big games for the Broncos last night.  DE Elvis Dumervil pitched in with 2 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 1 tackle for a loss and 2 QB hits also had a solid game for the Broncos last night.  The Broncos were very impressive defensively last night.  The Seahawks rushed for 58 yards on 19 carries (3.1 ypc) and they also completed 18 of 30 passes (60%) for 125 yards last night.  The Broncos are now 2-1 on the preseason.

With John Fox calling the shots as the new head coach for the Broncos, you can bet that they will be running the ball a lot more in 2011.  24-year old Knowshon Moreno will likely be the Broncos’ top RB at the start of the 2011 season, but he will have to hold off Willis McGahee to keep the job.  Moreno played in 13 games (all starts) for the Broncos last year and he carried the ball 182 times for 779 yards (4.3 ypc) with 5 TD runs.  He also caught 37 passes for 372 yards (10.1 avg) with 3 TD grabs last year.  Moreno has the talent to be a good NFL RB and it will be up to Coach Fox to get the best out of him starting in 2011.  Moreno has now played in 29 games (22 starts) in his first two years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 429 times for 1,726 yards (4.0 ypc) with 12 TD carries.  Moreno has also caught 65 passes for 585 yards (9.0 avg) with 5 TD grabs so far in his NFL career.

29-year old Willis McGahee will battle Moreno for carries in 2011.  McGahee played in 15 games (2 starts) for the Ravens last year and he carried the ball 100 times for 380 yards (3.8 ypc) with 5 TD carries.  He also caught 14 passes for 55 yards (3.9 ypc) with 1 TD run last year.  McGahee will likely lead the Broncos in TD runs even if he doesn’t lead the team in rushing yards in 2011.  McGahee has now played in 105 games (66 starts) in his first 7 years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 1,541 times for 6,167 yards (4.0 ypc) with 55 TD runs.  He has also caught 164 passes for 1,047 yards (6.4 avg) with 4 TD grabs in his NFL career.

26-year old Lance Ball will be the Broncos’ likely #3 RB in 2011.  He played in 10 games (0 starts) for the Broncos last year and he carried the ball 41 times for 158 yards (3.9 ypc).  Ball also caught 3 passes for 16 yards (5.3 avg) for the Broncos last year.  Ball won’t move up the depth chart or get much P.T. in 2011 unless Moreno or McGahee get injured.  Ball has played in 11 games (0 starts) in his first two years in the NFL and he has carried the ball 52 times for 241 yards (4.5 ypc).  He has also caught 4 passes for 21 yards (5.3 avg) so far in his career.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE BRONCOS RBS IN 2011:  C+

The Broncos looked pretty sharp last Saturday night against the Bills.  Kyle Orton looked really sharp in this game as he completed 10 of 13 passes for 135 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs.  Brady Quinn followed Orton into the game at QB and he looked solid in completing 10 of 16 passes for 130 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT.  Tim Tebow finished up the game at QB and he completed 1 of 2 passes for 10 yards.  He also carried the ball 1 time for 7 yards in this game.  RB Knowshon Moreno led the way on the ground in this game with 28 yards on 6 carries (4.7 ypc).  He  also caught 2 passes for 21 yards (10.5 avg) in this game.  Brandon Minor also had a solid game with 24 yards rushing on 6 carries (4.0 ypc) and he also caught 1 pass for 10 yards.  Willis McGahee pitched in with 5 carries for 6 yards (1.2 ypc) with a TD run and he also caught 2 passes for 33 yards (16.5 avg) with 1 TD grab.  WRs Brandon Lloyd (4 rec, 55 yards), Eric Decker (3 rec, 39 yards) and Britt Davis (1 rec, 24 yards, TD) led the way in the passing game for the Broncos.  The Broncos finished up with 101 yards rushing on 32 carries (3.2 ypc) and they also completed 21 of 31 passes (67.7%) for 264 yards in this game.

LB Wesley Woodyard (7 tackles and 1 pass defensed) and CB Syd’Quan Thompson (6 tackles) led the way for the Broncos on D in this game.  LB D.J. Williams pitched in with 1 tackle, 1 pass defensed, 1 QB hit and 1 interception in this game.  The Bills finished up with 126 yards rushing on 24 carries (5.3 ypc) and they also completed 21 of 40 passes (52.5%) for 188 yards in this game.  The Broncos are now 1-1 on the pre-season.

The Broncos have claimed 25-year old DT DeMario Pressley off waivers from the Colts.  Pressley didn’t play at all last year.  He played in 7 games for the Saints in 2009 (his only NFL career action) in which he had 15 tackles and 3 tackles for a loss.  This was a depth move and little more for the Broncos as Pressley doesn’t have a huge upside.

The Broncos have lost veteran DE Ty Warren for the next 4-6 weeks due to a triceps tear.  This is a big blow to the Broncos as they were depending on Warren to help out the run defense which is his forte.  Warren is not a great pass rusher, but the Broncos think that Elvis Dumervil’s return to health coupled with the pick of outside linebacker Von Miller will fix that.  The Broncos hope that Warren’s return time is closer to four weeks than to six weeks.

UPDATE:  (8/18/2011) – The Broncos have learned that Ty Warren needs surgery to repair his triceps.  This will cause him to miss the next 3-6 months.  This is a big blow as the Broncos were depending on Warren to help improve the run D.

The Broncos have released 26-year old RB LenDale White.  White didn’t play in any games for the Broncos last year despite being on the team.  White has played in 58 games (18 starts) in his first four years in the NFL and he has 628 carries for 2,349 yards (3.7 ypc) with 24 TD runs.  He has also caught 42 passes for 204 yards (4.9 avg) in his NFL career.  This is not a big loss for the Broncos as they think they are solid at RB for 2011.

The Broncos have claimed 27-year old linebacker Alvin Bowen off waivers from the Jaguars.  He played in 2 games for the Jaguars last year in his first taste of the NFL and he had 1 tackle.  The Broncos are leaving no rock unturned as they keep trying to improve defensively.  Maybe Bowen will respond to a change in scenery, if not, they can just cut him loose.

The Broncos played well on offense last night.  Kyle Orton started the game at QB but he didn’t look to sharp as he completed 2 of 6 (33.3%) passes for 37 yards.  Tim Tebow replaced Orton in the game and he was outstanding as he completed 6 of 7 passes (85.7%) for 91 yards.  He also carried the ball 2 times for 15 yards (7.5 ypc) last night.  Brady Quinn finished up the game and he was sharp to as he completed 8 of 14 passes (57.1%) for 120 yards with 1 TD pass and 0 INTs.  RB Jeremiah Johnson led the way for the Broncos on the ground last night with 28 yards rushing on 4 carries (7.0 ypc) with a TD run.  Knowshon Moreno (4 carries, 23 yards, 5.8 ypc) and Willis McGahee (2 carries for 17 yards, 8.5 ypc) also looked sharp last night running the football.  WRs Matt Willis (2 rec, 50 yards), Eron Riley (3 rec, 43 yards, TD) and David Anderson (3 rec, 38 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Broncos last night.  The Broncos rushed for 119 yards on 30 carries (4.0 ypc) last night and they also completed 16 of 27 passes (59.3%) for 238 yards.  The offense looked pretty good last night.

The defense didn’t look too good last night, especially on the Cowboys’ game winning drive.  Cowboys’ QB Stephen McGee hit rookie WR Dwayne Harris with a 13-yard strike for a TD with only 15 seconds left in the game to put the Broncos away last night.  LB Braxton Kelley (7 tackles) and CB Nate Jones (6 tackles) led the way on D last night for the Broncos.  DE Jason Hunter was almost impossible for the Cowboys to block last night as he had 2 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 tackles for a loss and 2 QB hits.  The Cowboys rushed for 103 yards on 25 carries (4.1 ypc) last night against the Broncos and they also completed 20 of 33 passes (60.6%) for 242 yards.  The Broncos still have a lot of work to do on defense.