Brandon Marshall makes TD catch in the Pro-Bowl

Brandon Marshall caught a touchdown pass from Matt Schaub in the pro bowl. WHile this is a meaningless game, it may be the last time we see Brandon Marshall score a TD in a Denver Broncos Helmet.

If coaches were voted to the Pro-Bowl, Josh McDaniels would not have been selected.

Don Martindale named Broncos Defensive Coordinator

As expected, Don Martindale was named the Broncos Defensive Coordinator today. I have one piece of advice for Martindale - start looking for a new job for the 2011 season. The Broncos only keep a person in this position for 1 season.

It will be interesting to see how much continuity Martindale brings. He was on staff last year as linebackers coach so this is not the same as bringing in an outsider.

In defensive news, Woody Paige's letters column today had an interesting question about why the Broncos didn't hire, or even interview, Rex Ryan. Ryan could have come in and focused on the defense while leaving the offense, and Jay Cutler, in tact.

Dean Pees hired as Ravens Linebacker coach..

Dean Pees was named as the linebacker coach for the Baltimore Ravens today meaning that he is out of the running for the Broncos' open defensive coordinator position. This means that current Broncos' linebackers coach, Don Martindale, is the favorite to assume the d-coordinator job. Martindale seems to be the consensus preference among the players.

Former New England Defensive Coordinator Dean Pees to replace Nolan

New England's defensive coordinator from last season, who departed the team under mutual agreement on Jan 14, is going to replace Mike Nolan. This may be the reason why Josh McDaniels showed Mike Nolan the door today.

Josh McDaniels continues his love affair with all things new england and all things cast off by Bill Belichick. And, as usual, at the expense of the Denver Broncos.

Make no mistake, Mike NOlan is not responsible for the second half collapse by Denver. He is responsible for the Broncos getting 8 wins to begin with, and will be missed

Broncos Defensive Coordinator Mike Nolan Resigns (or was Mike Nolan Fired?)

At the conclusion of his post-season meeting with Josh McDaniels, Defensive Coordinator Mike Nolan has resigned. Nolan led a defensive turnaround that was responsible for the large majority of Denver wins this year (wins against Cincinatti, Dallas, New England were completely due to the defense and all the other wins were heavily supported by the defense). Nolan was helping the team make the transition to the 3-4 defensive scheme.

This is an absolutely shocking turn of events and casts an even darker shadow on McDaniels' first season as head coach. It will be very interesting to learn the true story when it comes out but the initial reporting at the moment is sparse.

Is Josh McDaniels insistent on running all the best parts of the team out of town? Was he threatened by the fact that his coordinator was more valuable to the team's success than he was? Was he impossible to work with and Mike Nolan decided to leave voluntarily?

Special thanks to loyal reader and tipster Brian for pointing out the story to me.


Broncos' Nolan resigns - The Denver Post: "Broncos' Nolan resigns"

Denver Broncos playing 49ers in London in 2010

The Denver Broncos will be participating in the NFL's annual London game next year as they take on the 49ers as the road team. This means the team will still have 8 games at Invesco Field in 2010. The game will be on October 31st. This allows Josh McDaniels to take his frighteningly boring brand of offense to a global audience for the first time!

49ers to play Broncos in London in 2010 - NFL - Yahoo! Sports: "49ers to play Broncos in London in 2010"

Sources: Bobby Turner Has Made Decision to Join Redskins - FOX 31 U-Report Blog post - FOX 31 KDVR U-Report

After being denied the chance to speak to Bobby Turner about the running backs coach position, Mike Shanahan has hired Turner as the associate head coach. NFL protocol allows a team (in this case, the Broncos) to prevent a coach from speaking to other teams about a lateral move but not about an upward move.

IN other news, Rick Dennison has moved on to become the offensive coordinator of the Houston Texans.

Both these moves represent a further shift away from the Mike Shanahan regime, Dennison and Turner being two of the major coaching holdovers.


Sources: Bobby Turner Has Made Decision to Join Redskins - FOX 31 U-Report Blog post - FOX 31 KDVR U-Report: "Sources: Bobby Turner Has Made Decision to Join Redskins"

Donovan McNabb to be a Denver Bronco?

Wild speculation has suggested that the Broncos try to trade Brandon Marshall to the Eagles for QB Donovan McNabb. The city of Philadelphia has had their fill of Donovan McNabb (stupidly, because he is a great QB) and McNabb would be a fantastic fit in Denver. He would be an instant upgrade at quarterback and make this offense much more dynamic. Denver could then draft a QB in the first round and have 3-4 years to groom the pick into a starter - the way the Packers did with Aaron Rodgers.

With the likely losses of Marshall and Scheffler, the Broncos need to do something to upgrade the offense. This is an idea worth considering.

Where's the Outrage, Mr. Bowlen? - Clough Notes - Clough Notes - FM Sportsradio 104.3 The FAN

Check out Sandy Clough's blog post on 104.3 the fan*... he has an interesting point about how quiet Pat Bowlen has been in wake of this season's collapse.

Where's the Outrage, Mr. Bowlen? - Clough Notes - Clough Notes - FM Sportsradio 104.3 The FAN: "Where's the Outrage, Mr. Bowlen?"

*Just to clarify, since I bring up Sandy Clough and the Fan quite often - I am not affiliated with 104.3 the fan or Sandy Clough. I am just a fan of his point of view and insights.

Chiefs hire Charlie Weis as offensive coordinator

For those of you who are excited about Josh McDaniels establishing the Broncos as New England Patriots West, the REAL New England Patriots West is being established at our division rivals. The juggernaut (at least that's how they looked against Denver last week) Chiefs have hired Charlie Weis as their offensive coordinator and rumors are swirling that Romeo Crennel will be next as defensive coordinator.

So, if Josh McDaniels is failing at bringing the Patriots organization to Denver, what exactly is he doing for the Broncos?

To pre-empt some commenters, Weis may have been a lousy head coach at Notre Dame, but there is no doubt of his credentials as offensive coordinator and he is the person Josh McDaniels has to thank for paving a smooth road for JOsh to follow in New England.








Chiefs hire Charlie Weis as offensive coordinator - NFL - Yahoo! Sports: "Chiefs hire Charlie Weis as offensive coordinator"

New Poll: Mike Shanahan vs. Josh McDaniels

In honor of Mike Shanahan being named the new head coach of the Washington Redskins and in honor of the fact that we now have a head to head comparison moving forward of who the superior football executive/coach is, please vote in the new poll. Who will have more wins next year: Mike Shanahan/Redskins or Josh McDaniels/Broncos?

Mike Shanahan Signs as New Coach of Redskins

Mike Shanahan was hired today as head coach of the Washington Redskins for a reported $50 million over 5 years. Shanahan will also have final say on all football decisions, putting him in much the same position he was in with the Broncos.

The Redskins benefit from the Broncos loss. The good news for Pat Bowlen is the money he owes Mike Shanahan will be offset by the new contract so Mr. Bowlen will not have to pay Shanahan anymore.

Josh McDaniels is no Mike Shanahan. Congratulations to the Redskins and their fans. They also may be able to get a great WR and receiving tight end and a very serviceable running back...

Josh McDaniels Post Season Press Conference

You can listen to it courtesy of the team's official site:

http://www.denverbroncos.com/page.php?id=349&videoID=2816&type=broncosTV&year=&month=

Can anybody count how many times Josh McDaniels said "um" during the complete press conference? That might be a good job for Kasabian.

McDaniels lied about Marshall

Just reported by Sandy Clough on 104.3 the Fan No BS Post Game Report - Josh McDaniels told the Denver media that Marshall's benching had nothing to do with Marshall having missed a treatment session. However, the next day McDaniels talked to Ed WErner of ESPN and said that the benching was primarily due to Marshall missing a session.

McDaniels lied to the Denver meda and then went to the national media to try and spin the story to his advantage.

McDaniels also never took the time to tell Tony Scheffler face to face why he was being demoted to the scout team.

As Sandy Clough astutely noted, McDaniels seems to have been trying to create some scapegoats for the Broncos massive collapse.

Since Scheffler and Marshall didn't play, I am not sure who McDaniels will blame for the beating the Broncos just took against the Chiefs. Maybe that is why he allowed Peyton Hillis to return kicks.

Epic collapse...

The Broncos have given upany chance to make the playoffs with an epic second half collapse against the Chiefs. We are now down 44-24. It's hard to understand how we could be losing so badly to the Chiefs at home.

Orton has been terrible. The defense was terrible. The play-calling has been terrible. And, I think McDaniels lost the team by suspending Marshall and Scheffler, because the Broncos did not come prepared to play today.

As you can all see, I have changed the name of the blog back to Fire Josh McDaniels Now. We need a new coach.

Orton throws pick six; Broncos down 10

Do the Broncos have a chance to win this game? Is this the beginning of the end for Josh McDaniels? All Denver had to do was beat Oakland and Kansas City to make the playoffs and it looks like neither may end up happening.

Broncos, Chiefs Tied 10-10 at halftime

Denver seems reluctant to go to the playoffs - they are merely tied with KC at halftime and needed a late field goal (again failing to punch in a TD in the red zone) to tie it.

Jabar Gaffney has 10 receptions and could challenge Brandon Marshall's NFL record for receptions in a game. Even with marshall out, Kyle Orton still locks onto a single receiver.

Uninspiring game.

Kansas City already has a 100 yard rusher

... this is a bad sign for Denver. In most of the games we've lost, the opposition has been able to run all over the field. Denver is not doing a good job against the run today.

We are not out of the game, but consider that Kansas City is one of the worst teams in the league and they are playing us extremely tough at Invesco. Is this Denver team worthy of the playoffs?

BOOOOOOO!!!!!

Do you hear that Josh?

Horrible start...

It looks like Josh McDaniels spent more time on disciplinary issues this week and sniping with BRandon Marshall in the media than he did getting the team ready to play. After Denver stalled on its opening drive when Moreno failed to convert a 3rd and inches (shocking!!), Kansas City drove 89 yards in 4 plays to score a touchdown and take a 7-0 lead. Matt Cassel went for two long completions in a row to wide-open receivers.

If Denver loses today, the name of this blog is changing back to Fire Josh McDaniels Now immediately.

Marshall, Royal, and Scheffler all out...

Just a reminder, due to suspensions and injuries, the BRoncos will be without Brandon Marshall, Eddie Royal, and Tony Scheffler today. Likely, both Marshall and Scheffler have played their last games as Denver Broncos and I wouldn't be completely surprised to see Royal moved in the off-season as well.

Who will Orton throw to today?

Houston Over NE, PIttsburgh defeats Miami

After the morning games, Denver now needs to win its game and for either Baltimore or New York Jets to lose in order to make the playoffs. This is thanks to Houston's comeback victory over New England. Had New England won, coupled with Pittsburgh's win, Denver's playoff scenario would have been very dire. Now, at least there is some hope.

Pittsburgh defeated Miami 30-24 but is unlikely to make the playoffs, needing Baltimore, NYJ, and Denver all to lose.

Broncos Precarious Playoff Positioning...

The early morning games are nearly half way over. As it stands, Pittsburgh leads Miami 14-10 with the ball in the red-zone and New England leads Houston 10-7. If both of these games hold up, then a win by either Baltimore or New York would eliminate Denver from the playoffs.

There are multiple scenarios that can result in Denver making the playoffs. Here are the key games and how Denver needs them to fall:

Denver vs. KC - Denver must win
Pittsburgh @ Miami - Denver needs Miami to win
Baltimore @ Oakland - Denver needs Oakland to win
New York vs Cincinatti - Denver needs Cincinatti to win
New England @ HOuston - Denver needs NE to win.

Assuming a Broncos win against KC today, denver needs any two of the other results to occur as listed above to make the playoffs.

Josh McDaniels Management Style

In light of the recent benchings of both Brandon Marshall and Tony Scheffler, there are two new reasons to question Josh McDaniels' management and leadership style.

All was well when Denver was 6-0, but now that the team has gone 2-7 in the last 9, Josh McDaniels seems to be losing control and the only thing he knows to do is bench players.

Tony Scheffler, a player who under Mike Shanahan was a hard worker and strong contributor, has been benched for what we now know is some sort of undisclosed attitude problems. Could these be the same type of attitude problems that have led to Peyton Hillis being relegated to the bench? Hard to say.

Now, we have Brandon Marshall being benched because Josh McDaniels questions the severity of Marshall's hamstring injury. By benching Scheffler and Marshall, McDaniels has removed two strong offensive weapons. It's lucky Denver is playing Kansas City on Sunday, because against a more worthy opponent these two losses may be too difficult to overcome. As it is, Kansas City will have a lot less to worry about and should not be overlooked.

Back to the point of this post - why is Josh McDaniels so quick to suspend players. To me, that may indicate a coach who is losing control of the team and has to resort to draconian methods to assert his power. I also think it was a big mistake for McDaniels to publicly accuse Marshall of faking the severity of an injury. If I were a player in the NFL, I would look at that behavior and think twice before signing with Denver.

Josh "My Way or the High Way" McDaniels seems a little immature to me. Are the Broncos spinning out of control? Tomorow is a must win game to have a chance to make the playoffs, but it is probably more of a must win to quell the discontent that will reverberate throughout Denver if the Broncos go into the off-season having finished 2-8.

There have been calls for me to change the name of this blog back to Fire Josh McDaniels Now. It's definitely something I am considering.

McDaniels benches Brandon Marshall

Josh McDaniels has decided to bench Brandon Marshall for the season's final game against Kansas City on Sunday for undisclosed reasons. However, it seems to be with a dissatisfaction over Brandon Marshall's toughness. Marshall has been out of practice this week with an injury.

So, we have come full circle on the season - Marshall and McDaniels are at odds again.

The good news for Kansas City is that they will be facing a Denver team without Marshall and without Tony Scheffler. Plus, Eddie Royal is coming off an injury.... who is Orton going to throw to?

The BRoncos need a win against Kansas City and help to make the playoffs. Why is McDaniels disarming the offense at this critical time?


McDaniels benches star receiver for season finale - NFL - Yahoo! Sports: "McDaniels benches star receiver for season finale"