Denver Broncos News: Horse Tracks - 2/21/12

by KaptainKirk on Feb 21, 2012 6:01 AM MST in Horse Tracks

2011 Season Rewind " DenverBroncos.com
The 2011 season was hardly as conventional as the Broncos’ 8-8 record might indicate. It was a season of ups and downs. It was a season during which the unexpected became the routine. And it was a season that leaves fans eager for 2012.

NFL Draft the best way for the Broncos to get better at defensive tackle - The Denver Post
The Broncos plan to be aggressive in free agency when the signing period starts next month, but they want the draft to be the foundation of their building project.

Coach John Fox busy refining Broncos' offseason wish list - The Denver Post
"They got me on a tight schedule," Fox, the Denver coach who just last week celebrated his 57th birthday, said Monday.

2011 Season Review: Playoffs
In the final installment of DenverBroncos.com's five-part series looking back at the 2011 season

Videos

NFL Scouting Combine: Love It Or Hate It? - ESPN Video - ESPN
Adam Schefter and Tim Hasselbeck share their feelings about the NFL Scouting Combine.

Biggest Impact Free Agent - ESPN Video - ESPN
Adam Schefter and Tim Hasslebeck debate which NFL free agent they think will make the biggest impact.

What Should Rams Do With No. 2 Overall Pick? - ESPN Video - ESPN
Adam Schefter and Tim Hasselbeck discuss what the Rams should do with their No. 2 overall pick in the 2012 NFL draft.

Blackmon To Test At Combine - ESPN Video - ESPN
Adam Schefter and Tim Hasselbeck agree that Justin Blackmon has a lot on the line and will be exciting to see at the combine.

Richardson Draft Prep - ESPN Video - ESPN
ESPN goes behind the scenes as Trent Richardson prepares for the NFL draft.

Arian Foster or Mario Williams? - ESPN Video - ESPN
Mark Schlereth gives his take on who he thinks Texans need to re-sign more.

Denver Broncos Blogs

2011 Denver Bronco Offensive Linemen - Predominantly Orange
Offensive linemen have to be a special breed and have very thick skin because when things go well they get very little credit, and when things go bad they may be the first group that gets the finger pointed at them.

Mile High Monday: 2011 From a Historical Perspective - Predominantly Orange
The 2011 season offered Denver Broncos fans a wild ride they won’t forget for quite some time.

Vital information at NFL scouting combine comes from medical examinations of prospects - The Denver Post
The most important part of the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis won't appear on the NFL Network.

Division News

AP Source - Chiefs, Routt Reach 3-Yr, $19.6M Deal - NYTimes.com
The Chiefs agreed to terms on a $19.6 million, three-year deal with cornerback Stanford Routt on Monday, which should help Kansas City absorb the potential loss of Brandon Carr.

Chiefs add talent, coverage skills with Routt | National Football Post
Free agent CB gives K.C. some flexibility in their defensive game plan.

Could Brandon Carr stay in the AFC West? - AFC West Blog - ESPN
Will the AFC West cornerback domino continue to fall? With the Kansas City Chiefs signing cornerback Stanford Routt on Monday, it all but guarantees

Bowe should stay put | ProFootballTalk
The Chiefs essentially decided to sign Stanford Routt over trying to re-sign cornerback Brandon Carr to agree to a long-term deal. One big benefit to Routt’s contract: Now the Chiefs can use the franchise tag on wide receiver Dwayne Bowe.

Do the Raiders need a top receiver? - AFC West Blog - ESPN
There has been a lot of talk this offseason that the Oakland Raiders should try to add a No. 1 receiver in free agency. There has been talk that Oakl

NFL News

Carolina’s offseason: All about defense | ProFootballTalk
The Panthers were one of the most imbalanced teams in football during Ron Rivera’s first season as a head coach.

Free Agency and the Draft

The Shutdown 50: No. 50 — Jonathan Massaquoi, DE/OLB, Troy | Shutdown Corner - Yahoo! Sports
Read 'The Shutdown 50: No. 50 — Jonathan Massaquoi, DE/OLB, Troy' from our blog Shutdown Corner on Yahoo

The Shutdown 50: #49 — Rueben Randle, WR, LSU | Shutdown Corner - Yahoo! Sports
Read 'The Shutdown 50: #49 — Rueben Randle, WR, LSU' from our blog Shutdown Corner on Yahoo! Sports.

ProFootballWeekly.com - Report: Griffin's pro day moved up one day
Baylor QB Robert Griffin III's pro-day workout has been moved to March 21, one day before Stanford's Andrew Luck goes through his workout for NFL scouts

NFL.com news: Eagles prioritize need to evaluate health of prospects at combine
The Philadelphia Eagles will take note of the 40-yard dash times of the players on their draft board during the 2012 NFL Scouting Combine.

NFL.com news: Dolphins O-coordinator Sherman praises Tannehill's confidence
Baring a trade into the top of April's draft, it's highly unlikely the Miami Dolphins will be in position to select either of the consensus top two quarterbacks available

NFL.com news: Griffin III likely won't throw at combine, will wait until pro day
Robert Griffin III is trying to make his best case for being the No. 1 pick in the 2012 NFL Draft.

Pre Combine: Top 15 prospect rankings | National Football Post
Who makes our top 15 before the start of the 2012 NFL combine?

Nicks likely to get tag if Brees deal finished in time | ProFootballTalk
Saints quarterback Drew Brees believes he’ll have a new contract before free agency starts.

Ray Rice wants Adrian Peterson money | ProFootballTalk
Ravens running back Ray Rice is set to become an unrestricted free agent next month, and given that there’s been no progress on talks for a long-term deal

ProFootballWeekly.com - Free-agent scouting report: Eagles WR DeSean Jackson
he Eagles plan to use the franchise tag on Jackson, sources have told PFW and various other reports have suggested, but do they want to keep him?

Osi Umenyiora won’t be surprised if the Giants trade him | ProFootballTalk
Osi Umenyiora says Super Bowl XLVI may have been his last game in a Giants uniform, and he’s OK with that.

Seahawks "deep" in contract talks with Lynch, prepared to use tag | ProFootballTalk
The free agent running back market looks good on paper, but all the best options aren’t going to change teams.

Titans, Finnegan still far apart on possible contract | ProFootballTalk
Before last season, the Titans offered cornerback Cortland Finnegan a contract worth roughly $28 million over four years.

1 recs | 20 comments

Comments

thanks kk!

boydy2669 - February 21, 2012 reply

boydy

just saw a reply from you a couple of days ago. Things are pretty much the same in life here, sadly. I have had some things to keep me busy over the past few months. Thanks for asking.

Waiting to see how the combine turns out and anxious for some more FA signings, or at least our FA’s.

Sean in Pa. - February 21, 2012 reply

I am definitely more excited for the 2012 season than I should be coming off of 8-8.

Typically, this time of year I am slathering myself in baseball. Unfortunately, as an O’s fan, there is no hope there, so that’s kind of diluted my excitement for baseball. But now it sucks that I am so excited to see what new players come in and how Denver does next season… and it’s still so far away. >.<

Tezcatlipoca - February 21, 2012 reply

Probably because there is no lockout upsetting us.

With the Combine, Draft and OTA’s, it will be time for Training Camp soon.

KaptainKirk - February 21, 2012 reply

Sadly, the draft is still pretty far away.

Gotta get through March Madness, first. Of course, I doubt my Terps are going to get into the NIT, much less the dance.

Maybe I’ll take the down time to actually get around to writing a Fan Post. I’m intrigued by the concept of trying to do Yards Per Tackle for Denver’s defensive players and perhaps another team like Baltimore, to see how they compare.

Tezcatlipoca - February 21, 2012 reply

That sounds interesting

perhaps Topher can help you out with that, if you need it.

KaptainKirk - February 21, 2012 reply

I am also an O's fan

so screw baseball with all due respect, my Dallas Mavericks are beginning to play well in the NBA again, but Broncos training camp is never far from my mind

the new Bradfather - February 21, 2012 reply

Two O's / Broncos fans in the world.

Who’d’ve thunk it?

Tezcatlipoca - February 21, 2012 reply

Klis' article is full of good tidbits...

…for me to read too much into.

Dawkins, a nine-time Pro Bowler who missed the Broncos’ two playoff games because of a neck injury and will turn 39 in October, will retire or return to Denver for one more season. “Obviously he’s been a great player in his career and for us,” Fox said. “Both of us need time.”

I can understand why Dawkins would “need time” to heal and ponder the future, but why does Fox (and Elway/Xanders?) need time? I guess EFX is trying to decide whether or not to bring Dawkins back. I’d hoped that – provided he clears medical – they’d definitely bring Dawkins back. His play last season – when healthy – was stellar.

“The good news is this draft is good in all our needs: D-line and secondary.”

I wonder if he inadvertently revealed what he believes are the Broncos’ two most pressing needs here. It’s not a surprise to many of us here (or to any interested observer) that we’re deficient in these areas. What’s interesting to me is that he makes no allusion to linebacker. I think the brain trust isn’t looking to the draft for next season’s starting middle linebacker.

Agent Jerry Fletcher - February 21, 2012 reply

I don't think its a surprise to anyone in the league what our two biggest needs are so him revealing them probably doesn't amount to much.

I am happy to hear though that they feel the same way many of us do. I’m excited to see who they are targeting for the D-line and CB. I am also excited to see who they have in mind in FA for the S and LB positions since it has been rumored that we will look to it to fill them out.

BroncoMath101 - February 21, 2012 reply