Still Keeping Score

Days before the Broncos travel to Oakland to play the arch rival Raiders on Christmas Eve, chaos reigns supreme. Broncos Country is in full, open rebellion. From the always on the hot seat head coach, to the players on the field the to very leaders atop the organization in Dove Valley, no one is safe from the growing critique of unhappy customers. There are rumors of old coaches returning to town, rants regarding possible turns the Broncos could have taken or should have taken. Coulda, woulda, shoulda. Angry callers rule the radio air waves. Former quarterback Chad Kelly due back in court. Dogs and cats living together! Losing to the Cleveland Browns may be the straw that broke the last line of defense, turning the last of the loyal fans against the home town team. If that's not enough crazy for you, there are factions of the Bowlen family pushing in different directions for ultimate control of the team. Bill Bowlen's recent legal court actions await the NFL and...

Ready or not, the new NFL season is here. Broncos Country is about to find out if the most recent overhaul of the roster will be enough to return the team to winning ways. Led by the cast-away quarterback, Case Keenum and a fascinating draft class, Denver will face off against former AFC West division rivals and their Super Bowl XLVIII oppressors, the Seattle Seahawks. Most fans and local media members are attempting to temper their excitement as no one really knows if all of the changes made in the off-season can move the Broncos in a more competitive direction. Even the Vegas oddsmakers are shrugging their collective shoulders for the opening contest. The line opened with both teams as even, save for a slight home field advantage with game hosted here in Denver. I made the trek to Dove Valley during training camp and I learned a few things by watching from the grassy knoll overlooking the team practicing under the summer sun. The first thing I noticed was that a number of grump...

Of all the moves the Broncos could have made to improve at the quarterback position, they went for practical play over the spectacular. Apparently, the Broncos do have a "Plan B" and his name is Case Keenum. As the legal tampering period leading to NFL free agency opened up yesterday, Denver was linked with every single soon to be available quarterback in the league. I heard A.J. McCarron in the morning, and by the evening the name of future hall of fame quarterback Drew Brees was mentioned as a real possibility. Of course Drew Brees would have been the fun way to go and the Broncos would have been able to take a short cut through a lot of roster holes with a guy who has looked great throwing for over 70,000 yards in his career. It was a beautiful fantasy football moment that vanished into the night and there would be no repeat of the Manning-style free agent quarterback miracle in the Mile High City. I'm certain John Elway heard long before the rest of Broncos Co...

Once the last whistle sounded at the Super Bowl and well before the green victory confetti settled on the artificial turf in Minnesota, speculation season kicked off in grand fashion. Heck, the media folks were asking Eagles' quarterback Nick Foles if he thought about where he would play next year -- right after he was asked about being the ultimate surprise Super Bowl MVP of the new century. The only one-punt championship game of any era I can remember produced instant questions in a league that has been suffering a bit of a quality quarterback shortage the last few years. The Eagles shut down some of that speculation by not offering Foles to any other team. The rumored asking price was as high as two first round draft picks. It is a nice way to tell the league to buzz off while the team tries to figure out whether Foles' seven million dollar salary is too much to pay for quarterback insurance if their youthful gunslinger Carson Wentz gets hurt again. I can't blame the...

While the rest of the world prepares for the next Super Bowl this weekend, Broncos Country is already hard at work with ideas on how to get Denver back into the big game. After reading through social media responses, tuning into local sports radio and reading way too many sports blogs, it appears the fans and the armchair experts have figured it all out. But the answers are as varied as Colorado weather. Everything from blowing up the entire offense and starting over to all we need is to draft Baker Mayfield with our rare number five overall pick and we're golden. With the Broncos coaching staff volunteered for the Senior Bowl, that horribly played exhibition was covered by local media as if it was the Super Bowl.  You could hear folks really wanting Wyoming quarterback Josh Allen to our magic answer. And well, we heard how well Oklahoma signal caller Baker Mayfield impressed the crowd of credentialed reporters when the word "aura" was utilized with great reverence af...

When the Broncos lined up to play the winless New York Giants on a nationally televised Sunday night game, optimism, and maybe a dash of overconfidence filtered up into the mile high night sky.  After all, the home team was 3-1, with two impressive division wins, and a rare romp over the Dallas Cowboys, one of the toughest teams in the NFC.  It appeared team co-captain Trevor Siemian had put the quarterback question to rest, and Denver was aiming at a return to the post-season. What a difference a handful of days can make. The Broncos were stunned by the Giants, and then shut-out in the very comfortable confines of Stub Hub Stadium in Los Angeles, with half of the small crowd clad in orange before turning the ball over five times to the division rival Chiefs on Monday Night Football. By the time the final whistle sounded, 15-days passed, from the loss to the Giants October 15th to error filled loss in Kansas City on the October 30th. It was far more trick than treat for ...

Mister not so irrelevant Chad Kelly recently mentioned in an interview on 104.3 The Fan , that he is planning to wear number six for the Denver Broncos. Like most jersey numbers from a team with a history dating back to 1960, the history is a bit of a mixed bag. As many kickers as quarterbacks have donned the number, but with competition like Bubby Brister, Jay Cutler and even worn by Brock Osweiler during his rookie season, Chad Kelly could be the best six Denver has ever had. Of course we're getting ahead of ourselves, the jersey number selection isn't official yet for the newest batch of draft picks, and we aren't even sure if the brash rookie out of Ole Miss will make the final roster. But I'm thinking he will. First off, how much fun would it be to spend an afternoon with John Elway's contact list? In the old days we needed a rolodex or phone books, or little tiny hand scrawled notebooks with phone numbers and now smart phones can stack up a lifetime of d...