look for Hartley to come back.

He’s a good guy.

I am truly scared about our kicking situation.

Isn’t Mike Vanderjagt still unsigned? Sure, he missed one hugely important field goal in the playoffs by about, you know, 40 yards wide, but the guy did have 37/37 (pretty sure about those totals, but I know he was 100%) field goals in one year and is a proven vet.So why not jump on that and pick up a guy to help out the kicking situation for a year or two, and then draft a decorated college guy with talent to come in and replace him?

I’ll take a little different tack concerning Bell. Releasing him at this point is better than waiting until the end of camp. He has a better chance of catching on with another team. I was enthusiastic about Bell two years ago. He certainly looked good running the ball. Keeping him last year showed that the Broncos hadn’t given up on him yet, especially since they cut Johnson, but he was never really a FB and he apparently didn’t do particularly well at the other areas of the job.

It’s easy to get enticed by a prospect’s running ability but I’ve come appreciate those other responsibilities, i.e., blocking, receiving, etc., as I’ve learned more about the game. There was no question in my mind that Bell was going to be cut, although I searched for a way that they could keep him on. The position switch to FB was his final chance, and his numbers there speak for themselves. Looking at it with the advantage of hindsight, I’m not sure that the position switch ever made that much sense. And I also wonder about Sapp’s chances, although journalists have been cutting him for years only to find that the staff had other ideas. The only possible surprise this year may be if they find some excuse to keep Alridge as a sixth back—which is unlikely. However, he’s a shoo-in for the practice squad and I foresee them bringing him back on the regular squad if there’s any attrition at RB. Also, Hall is still the #4 RB, so Alridge will have to show in the pre-season that he’s got something else (think SPEED) that he can bring to the team before he can leapfrog Hall.

Say hi to Kubes.

I kinda expected a DL would be one of the cuts to make room for the rookies, but it is not shocking that Denver would want to give the DL an extended look in camp. The only thing a bit surprising is that Denver will go to camp with only one kicker on the roster. Even if they are absolutely convinced Prater is the guy, I would have thought they would have a second leg in camp anyway (even to have someone around to kickoff while Prater is focusing on FGs).

And I have to throw my two cents in about Vanderjagt. I still like him as a backup plan for Prater. He has the leg to hit from 50 yds and once he got a proper practice field his accuracy has been pretty solid in the CFL.

Perhaps it was an indication of how clear-cut the decision was. I don’t think that many of the DL prospects have a better claim to a roster spot, but it may be more difficult to separate the #5 DT from the #6DT, so they made a decision that everyone could agree on. I also think they’re going time mulling over the DL situation, and seeing them in action is going to be part of that decision making process. They also need to see them in the new defense, since their performance last year is not comparable.

that training camp rosters are restricted to just 80 players now, so more players on the “bubble” are getting cut before camp than has happened in the past. I’ve always thought, since the draft, that Bell was a gonner, but it’s unfortunate that he wont have a chance to redeem himself- in the Bronco’s camp anyway. And since the same roster restrictions are in place across the league, it’ll be that much harder for him to get on with another team.

The kicking game scares the crap out of me, but I keep reminding myself that I must trust Shanny and his staff to make the best decisions for the team, both short and long term. I just hope they’re right about this.

I have been a big fan of Mike Bell’s, having watched him for four years here at the U of A, then seeing that he grew up a Broncos fan. Really, how many players came to the Broncos, already bleeding blue & orange?

Watching Selvin Young last year, then seeing Torain and Hillis join the squad, I knew down deep that Mike’s number was up.

Best of luck, Mike. You’re a class guy. I know . . . I’ve seen it for six years now.

Hey Guys,
Enough of the “Chicken Little the sky is falling down” stuff. Go back and check Elam’s stats from the first years….they were not very good at all.
Understand Prater will miss some kicks…..Clady will miss some blocks, Royal will mess up on the KR, Hillis will miss a block etc.
The key to our woes is field position, not a kicker. If the special teams step up and Eddie Royal gives us good field position than those field goals become TD’s. the 13-12 game against Buffalo becomes a blow out.
I have faith that our offense will be explosive this year, and we will get in the end zone more. Even Elam himself has had some great things to say about Prater. He has a MONSTER leg and has kicked VERY well in camp.
I say stick with the young guy (unless he is really hopeless) and we mau have ourselves another kicker for the years to come.