Good Morning, Broncos fans! A couple of weeks ago, Woody Paige grilled John Fox about the playcalling toward the end of regulation in the playoff loss to Baltimore.
And although Fox sort of took the high road, it was apparent from Paige's writing that Fox was at least somewhat laying the blame for the Ronnie Hillman-exclusive approach at the feet of departed OC Mike McCoy.
As per the UTSD, McCoy had the following to say about whose decision it was to run the ball so much:
I’m not looking back at all. We called it. Hey, we called it as an organization and we’re moving forward from there. You can’t worry about that now. It’s over with. We called it. We thought that was the right thing to do and that’s what we did.
Happy Friday, Broncos fans! Denver wrapped up its final OTA on Thursday; they will hold their mandatory minicamp next Tuesday through Thursday, before taking a one-and-a-half-month break until training camp.
The big story next week figures to be whether Willis McGahee and Ryan Clady show up at Dove Valley, although Clady isn't supposed to be physically ready to go until training camp.
Back to OTAs, David Bruton has been rotating in with the defensive starters, while fifth-rounder Quanterus Smith's rehab from a torn ACL has gone well enough for him to perform individual and position drills for the past two day. Smith says he's not quite 100% yet, but suggests he could be there by the time camp rolls around.
Good Morning, Broncos fans! It's been often been suggested in recent years that sometime in the distant future, there would be an NFL franchise in London.
According to Jason La Canfora, that time may come sooner than most of us might have figured - possibly even within five or seven years.
La Canfora says talk about a London franchise has shifted from the consideration of a possibility to discussions of an eventuality, and he most frequently hears that the Jaguars would be the likeliest team to relocate across the pond.
As for other potential relocations, a future sale to Rogers Communications could mean several Canadian home games for the Bills, and the Rams, Chargers, and Raiders (only if Mark Davis sells) are still seen as candidates to play their games in La La Land.
Good Morning, Broncos fans! There was a bit of movement on Denver's remaining free agents on Tuesday.
First, Detroit agreed to terms with wide receiver and special teamer Matthew/Matt Willis, who as a restricted free agent a year ago had been grossly overpaid ($1.26M) relative to his role on the 2012 Broncos.
Willis spent the 2008 and 2009 seasons on Denver's practice squad, before suiting up for six games in 2010 and 31 over the past two seasons. He's best known around these parts for having competed on the American Ninja Warrior reality show, and for having been the intended target on Peyton Manning's two pick-sixes against the Chargers last season- the first one against new Bronco Quentin Jammer in San Diego on MNF, and the second against Eric Weddle in Denver.
In other words, Willis won't be missed, at least not here.
Good Morning, Broncos fans! The team's final set of OTAs began Monday and will run through Thursday. Yesterday, the biggest news out of Dove Valley was the return of Knowshon Moreno.
Moreno had undergone a stem-cell treatment to repair the knee injury that knocked him out of Denver's playoff loss, and of course, only three days ago had come ominous word from the DP that Knowshon wasn't yet cleared to go.
Instead, Knowshon says he worked Monday at 100% speed; of his prior limited work in OTAs, Andrew Mason says the fifth-year back "has looked smooth, with no hitch in his gallop."
Update 12:09pm ET - More remembrances of Deacon Jones added
Good Morning, Broncos fans! Denver may have dodged a bullet during free agency when they were outbid by Tennessee for the services of guard Andy Levitre, who is still recovering from a knee scope performed earlier in the offseason.
It may end up being no big deal, as Levitre himself suggests, but even still, this should enforce the notion that luck impacts football not just on the field, but on the transaction wire as well.
We can safely assume that ending up with Louis Vasquez on a $23.5M deal (while the Titans gave Levitre one for $46.8M) was a financial call, because there's no way the Broncos would have engaged in a bidding war for a player with known physical questions, right?
Considering how quickly he was signed and what he was paid, it's doubtful that the medical staffs for either Denver or Tennessee expected Levitre to be out of action through OTAs.
Updated 3:13pm ET
Continue reading "Never forget the influence of chance Lard"
Good Morning, Broncos fans! The ongoing debate over the racist name of Washington's football team has turned up a lot of amateur historians claiming the origin of the name had no racist intent.
Of course, the history shouldn't even factor in that sense, because the name is undoubtedly racist today. But it does matter in terms of setting the record straight. From Michael Tomasky of The Daily Beast:
Marshall had made a fortune in the commercial laundry business when he purchased the Boston Braves football team in 1932. His second coach was a man whose mother was thought to be part Sioux. Not known to be—thought to be. And on that flimsy basis, Marshall changed the name, in this coach’s “honor” (even though Marshall fired him after two seasons), from Braves to Redskins. It seems telling that “Braves” was somehow not authentic enough for Marshall.
Good Morning, Broncos fans! Earlier in the week, it was suggested (but quickly denied) that Matt Russell was interested in leaving his gig as Denver's director of pro personnel to become the AD at CU.
Instead, Russell continues to surround himself with familiar faces at Dove Valley, in a sense adding to his power within the organization.
Three weeks after hiring former Browns GM Tom Heckert to replace Keith Kidd as director of pro personnel, the Broncos have added ex-Browns director of college scouting John Spytek to fill that same role their scouting department.
Along with Russell, Spytek had worked under Heckert for several years in Philly, and he followed Heckert to Cleveland in 2010, but had no role in the Browns' 2013 draft-day decisions. The former Michigan linebacker was fired on May 1, reportedly after he declined a reduced role with Cleveland.
Continue reading "Russell’s power at Dove Valley grows Lard"
Happy Friday, Broncos fans! Apologies for the late entry, but I got myself irresponsibly stuck writing somethine else, which will post in a few hours from now.
By using a second-round pick this April to acquire him, the Broncos made it apparent they intend for running back Montee Ball to play a significant role in their 2013 offense.
Their public comments have done nothing to discount this impression, and recent circumstances have provided an even larger opening for the ex-Badger.
To wit, Lindsay Jones says that in the absence of Willis McGahee (an OTA no-show) and Knowshon Moreno (still rehabbing his knee), Ball has been attached to the hip of one Peyton Manning during recent practices.
Continue reading "Absence of McGahee, Moreno provide opening for Montee Lard"
Good Morning, Broncos fans! As we've discussed several times here, the Broncos have quite a few key players hitting free agency after the 2013 season.
Typically, it's not quite what Jeff Legwold portrays it as over at the DP.
Denver indeed will face big decisions regarding Wesley Woodyard and 2010 draftees Eric Decker, Zane Beadles, and J.D. Walton.
But Chris Harris, Tony Carter, and Trindon Holliday are not exactly set to hit the open market, as Legwold calls it.
Harris and Carter are scheduled to be restricted free agents, and we all know that the operative term there is restricted, given that it's been years since a player has ever changed teams via restricted free agency.
