Good Morning, Broncos fans! Thursday night made for an understated Broncos debut for Wes Welker; he was only targeted once by Peyton Manning, and the result was an incompletion.
Much is expected of the wideout, whose signing by Denver is widely considered the biggest free-agent acquisition by any team this offseason.
But despite Welker's having piled up 741 receptions for 8,145 yards and 41 touchdowns (including playoffs) during his six seasons in New England, Jeffri Chadiha says Welker feels he has much to prove, at least to the Patriots.
According to Chadiha, Welker is still burned up over his contract negotiations with New England over the past two years, and both Welker and new Chargers running back Danny Woodhead felt stung by a lack of appreciation as free agency opened.
That is the Patriot Way1, though, and these players shouldn't have been all that surprised by the way their New England careers ended.
Of course, motivation is always welcome, and if Wes gets a little bit extra out of his Pats departure, then the Broncos figure to benefit.
Should be interesting to see how Welker is received in New England come Week 12, especially if he drops some more juicy quotes about Bill Belichick between now and then.
1 The Patriot Way has never been about gathering nice people, as was claimed while the Aaron Hernandez murder accusations emerged; not sure where that all came from.
Broncos News
Thursday will mark the end of training camp, the appeal hearing for Von Miller's suspension, and the potential end of Tom Heckert's DUI-induced suspension.
For as well as he played on Thursday, Julius Thomas doesn't seem too impressed with himself.
Stewart Bradley says he's a lot more comfortable in Denver's defenseive scheme than that of Arizona's.
C.J. Anderson admits he has a lot to learn about playing special teams, given that he didn't do so at Cal.
Rahim Moore and Champ Bailey saw plenty to love about Duke Ihenacho's performance, but they say it was simply a continuation of how well he's practiced.
For now, Verizon customers are going to have a better wi-fi experience at SAF@MH than those who use other carriers.
Broncos Analysis
Jeff Legwold says the Broncos didn't expect Omar Bolden to reach full health until late last season or perhaps even now, but despite that, the dude was an exceptional special teamer as a rookie.
Mark Kiszla predicts that if Von loses his appeal, the Broncos will not attain the AFC's #1 seed, which is a bit presumptuous.
News
It's surprising how long this took, but the No Fun League is banning custom facemasks. Meanwhile, the No Females League's misogynist bag policy is off to quite a start.
A cousin of Aaron Hernandez's, who allegedly purchased a bus ticket to help accused murder accomplice Ernest Wallace get out of dodge, is being held in contempt after refusing to testify before a grand jury investigating murder charges against Hernandez.
Meanwhile, it sounds like prosecutors believe that Hernandez's fiancee may have discarded the guns used to kill Odin Lloyd.
Steelers TE Matt Spaeth is out 8-10 weeks with a foot injury; Jets RB John Griffin fractured his leg; Atlanta placed T Mike Johnson on IR.
2012 LOLJets Quarterbacks/Punt Protectors
Buttfumble started his preseason off with a pick-six on a screen pass but recovered admirably.
The Sanchise's former backup was horribly inaccurate as usual, but there are books to be sold, so let's refer to a screen throw as a great pass, you guys! (h/t AldenBrown)
Here are some epic Photoshops of NFL figures with Sanchez's lame headband, including one of PMFM and another of the UT™. (via Deadspin)
Analysis
Mike Tanier discusses the unveilings of Chip Kelly as NFL head coach and Tim Tebow as Patriots quarterback.
Andy Benoit on the Raiders; PFF on the Packers.
Media
Randy Moss is heading to either Fox or Fox Sports 1 as an analyst.
Pop quiz: What's worse - watching Skip Bayless speak on television, or reading anything written by Jen Floyd Engel?