Football Blog

Who Will Start for the Broncos in 2009?
By: Ryan Ayars

With all of the surprising changes and moves that highlighted this year’s offseason reports, the Broncos’ training camps look to be quite exciting.

There are a bunch of new names on Denver’s roster this year.  For some new players, training camp symbolizes the start of a new career. For others. it’s just another long day under the Colorado sun.

The purpose of this article is to analyze the current and possible starters for each position for the 2009 campaign.  Part one of this two part series, will focus on the offensive side of the team.

Quarterback

The leader of the pack.  The brains behind the brawn.  The “Big Cheese” as they would say in Green Bay.  The quarterback is the most important position in football.  No other player touches the ball as much as the quarterback and who ever has the ball, has the power.

For the Denver Broncos, there are three new faces at quarterback; Kyle Orton, Chris Simms, and rookie Tom Brandstater.

As of now Kyle Orton is the front runner to be this year’s starter.  Orton is a good game manager and positive locker room personality.  As long as he stays level headed and follows the coach’s plan, he should do just fine as the starter this year.

Chris Simms is definitely a dark horse in this competition.  He has an NFL pedigree and played very well in his first years at Tampa Bay.  However, Simms suffered a season-ending injury in game three of the 2006 season, in the form of a ruptured spleen.  Simms hasn’t been the same since.  Could a change in scenery restart his career?

Tom Brandstater was a sixth round pick in this year’s draft.  He has a lot of upside and will look to compete for the second string spot in this year’s Bronco offense.  However, it’s more likely that he will become the third string quarterback and walk the sidelines with a clipboard this year.

If he doesn’t show any potential, the Broncos will send him to the practice squad and give him another chance to show up next year.

Offensive Line

Offensive line has always been a source of constant production for the Broncos.  Their zone blocking scheme has become the scourge of the NFL, with many challengers and champions.  Regardless the perception is of this scheme, it works.  McDaniels looks to capitalize off of the success of the zone blocking scheme and infuse it into his own spread offense scheme.

Broncos promote Xanders to GM, fire two front office executives

Associated Press

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — Brian Xanders, who begged every NFL team for a job after graduating from Florida State, was promoted to general manager of the Denver Broncos on Thursday.

Xanders, a former walk-on middle linebacker, joined the Broncos on May 5 after 14 seasons in the Atlanta Falcons organization. He served as assistant general manager in Denver along with Jeff Goodman, whose father, Jim, was the Broncos’ vice president of football operations.

Both the Goodmans were fired when Xanders was promoted.

When owner Pat Bowlen fired coach Mike Shanahan on Dec. 30, he decided not to give his new coach as much power and said he would search for a general manager after finding his new coach.

Upon hiring Josh McDaniels as Shanahan’s replacement, Bowlen said his GM was already in house — presumably Jim Goodman. But Bowlen changed his mind and decided Xanders was the man best suited to lead the Broncos back to the postseason after three straight seasons out of the playoffs and just one playoff victory in the decade since Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway’s retirement.

"In evaluating the work of our football operations department over the past several weeks, it has become clear to me that Brian Xanders is the right person to step into our general manager’s job," Bowlen said in a statement. "I am confident he will work in tandem with head coach Josh McDaniels to re-establish our football team at the level we desire."

Xanders, 38, didn’t immediately return a phone call to The Associated Press but said in a statement that his promotion was bittersweet: "This appointment comes with unfortunate circumstances as I have enjoyed working with Jim and Jeff over the last year. Nevertheless, I am humbled by this opportunity and accept it as a great challenge on behalf of our fans, our community, Mr. Bowlen and the organization.

"I am excited to work together with Coach McDaniels and put our collective resources into winning football games."

McDaniels thanked the Goodmans for their contributions and said he was excited for Xanders and looked forward to "working with him hand-in-hand well into the future."

Xanders, who negotiated some of Denver’s bigger contracts last season, is now in charge of all player personnel issues, including college scouting, pro personnel and labor negotiations with the Broncos.

Xanders graduated from Florida State with a bachelor’s degree in business management and a master’s degree in business administration. He was on four bowl-winning teams with Bobby Bowden’s Seminoles.

In 14 seasons in Atlanta, he worked with the Falcons in a variety of capacities, including player personnel, coaching, salary cap management, information technology and business management.

Xanders said in an interview with The AP last year that he sent resumes to every NFL team and was rejected at least three times by all of them until finally landing a job for $19,000 a year working as assistant general manager at the Falcons Sports Complex, a sports health club that was open to the public and his ticket to the NFL.

"I was changing light bulbs, scrubbing toilets and cleaning racquetball courts, and then they made me GM three months later of the Falcons Sports Complex," Xanders said.

Two years later, he taught himself databases and began working in information technology by day and helping the coaching staff put together tape in the night. That led to a job as the Falcons’ defensive quality control assistant in 1997. He was a member of the Falcons’ coaching staff on their 1998 Super Bowl team, which lost to the Broncos.

Shanahan hired Xanders last year to assist the Goodmans in the front office following the firing of GM Ted Sundquist.

Asked if he aspired one day to be a general manager of an NFL team, Xanders told The AP: "I just want to win. That’s first. I’m just fortunate to be here and have that opportunity to win. That’s what’s primary for me. I have high expectations for the team. Down the road, whatever happens, happens."

Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press

Denver Broncos, NFL.com

The Denver Broncos hired Roman Phifer as assistant linebackers coach Monday.

Phifer, a 15-year NFL veteran and three-time Super Bowl champion, is starting his first coaching assignment since retiring from the NFL in 2005. He will assist Don Martindale in coaching the Broncos’ linebackers.

Phifer, 40, was a second-round draft pick (31st overall) by the Los Angeles Rams in the 1991 NFL Draft. He played eight seasons for the Rams, leading the team in tackles during the 1993, 1995 and 1996 campaigns, and he was named a Pro Bowl alternate in 1995. He played for the New York Jets from 1999 to 2000 and totaled 95 tackles, 8.5 sacks and four forced fumbles.

Phifer is best known for his contributions as a linebacker on three Super Bowl-winning teams with the New England Patriots, for whom he played from 2001 to 2004. In his four seasons with the Patriots, Phifer recorded 384 tackles — second only to linebacker Tedy Bruschi — and helped New England win Super Bowls XXXVI, XXXVIII and XXXIX. Phifer retired from football after an injury-shortened stint with the New York Giants in 2005.

Phifer played 212 games in his NFL career and recorded 1,296 tackles (923 solo), 29 sacks and 11 interceptions.

The Broncos also announced Monday that they have retained Keith Burns as a special teams assitant, completing new head coach Josh McDaniels’ staff for the 2009 season. Burns, a 13-year NFL veteran who spent 11 seasons of his career with Denver, worked with the Broncos’ special teams the past two seasons.

NFL.com

Who do you think will take over the head coaching position for the Denver Broncos?

Today they interview the Cowboy’s Jason Garrett.