Well, it turns out the Broncos are much better than many people thought, but not nearly as good as some had hoped for.  After beating a group of pretty good teams (NE, SD, DAL, CIN) and two not-so-good teams (CLE, OAK), Denver lost to two pretty good teams (BAL, PIT) and lost to a not-so-good team (WAS).

All in all, the team is still 6-3, tops the AFC West, and has the tie break over SD.  So far, so good.  Now comes the bad news.  SD is a team that is starting to surge, while Denver has dropped three straight.  QB Kyle Orton is hurt and may not play.  If Kyle can play, he may not be 100%.  While Denver has home field, we have to bear in mind that SD has the "advantage of first loss", which is the concept in coaching that a team learns more from losing to an opponent than winning.  In the NFL, it is hard to beat a team twice in one season.

Frankly, Denver has a tough battle in front of them this week, and I'm glad that the new format for the MHR staff picks won't force me to pick this game.

Still, I think the future overall looks bright.  Really.

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WHAT: The Pro Football Hall of Fame has teamed up with Van Heusen in search of the Fan's Choice for the Class of 2010.  As part of the campaign, The Van Heusen Pro Football Hall of Fame Fan's Choice is hitting the road and visiting INVESCO Field at Mile High on Sunday, November 22, 2009 when the Broncos take on the Chargers.

The Fan's Choice program is the first-ever dedicated forum for pro football fans to "voice their choice" at www.fanschoice.com and cast their ballot by voting for the players, coaches and contributors they believe deserve to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2010.  Onsite fans will have the opportunity to:

• Interact with Hall of Fame greats
• Vote for their choice for the Class of 2010
• Check out memorabilia from the Pro Football Hall of Fame

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NFL Films - Week 11: Chargers vs. Broncos Preview - Video

DB - Week 11 - Thu: McDaniels - Broncos TV

DB - Taking Notice - Zach Eisendrath
"There were four changes to the Broncos’ Injury Report on Thursday. After neither player participated in Wednesday’s practice session, Josh Barrett (hamstring) was a limited participant on Thursday and Brandon Marshall (neck) was listed as a full participant. Correll Buckhalter (knee) and Brandon Lloyd (foot) were both limited participants on Wednesday, however, neither took part in Thursday’s practice session."

DPP - Broncos' Kyle Orton misses practice again - Jeff Legwold
"The injury has been described as a torn ligament by some, but it is a case of semantics, given that any sprain is, by definition, a tearing of soft tissue."

DPP - New team brings unrivaled disdain in Broncoland - The Denver Post
"Broncos fan website Mile High Report conducted a similar survey Thursday, and found a similar response. With more than 1,200 online votes recorded by late Thursday afternoon, 62 percent picked the Chargers, compared to about 20 percent for the Raiders and 17 percent for the Chiefs."

"What I've seen in the comments on the poll, it is almost divided by age group," said John Bena, a longtime Broncos fan who founded Mile High Report three years ago. "The really old-school fans, they picked Kansas City, because that's the oldest rival. Then the older fans that grew up in the '70s-'80s-'90s, it's the Raiders. But for newer fans, from the Super Bowl years on, it's been the Chargers, because the Chargers have been relevant in that time."

NFLN - Brandon Marshall interview - Video
Wow. Check out the (not very good) painting in the background of BMarsh and JC.

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More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

Who wouldn't listen to this guy?? (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

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Former NFL head coach TONY DUNGY will lead a new NFL Player Advisory Forum as Special Advisor to COMMISSIONER ROGER GOODELL, the NFL announced today. The program will involve a regular series of meetings in various cities with NFL players, including Pro Bowl veterans such as BRIAN DAWKINS of the Denver Broncos, RAY LEWIS of the Baltimore Ravens, and KURT WARNER of the Arizona Cardinals.

"Players continue to be an invaluable resource in providing direction and insight into a wide range of programs and policies," said Commissioner Goodell. "Tony's experience and expertise in working with players make him an ideal leader of the Player Advisory Forum and we appreciate his willingness to take on this important role."

The purpose of the Player Advisory Forum is to provide input to the commissioner's office on policies, programs, and issues that affect the lives of players on and off the field, including player health and safety, personal conduct, game rules and procedures, career transition, and player development.

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Sometimes the hot girl at the bar is only hot because she's wearing a lot of makeup and the lights are dimmed low.  And while she looks great now, you find out later it was all show, and perhaps you just had a little too much to drink.

Her friend, on the other hand, is only slightly above-average.  She falls into the "good personality" category.  But you know she's the kind of girl you could bring home to momma. 

Which one should you choose?  

Neither.  This isn't about you.  It's about the Denver Broncos.

And they did NOT choose the hot girl.

They chose Mitch Berger. 

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This topic recently came up and I thought I would ask it of the greatest Broncos fans in the world - so guys and gals of Broncos Country - which is the biggest rivalry the Broncos face??  We all know the Raiders are the historic rival, but their lack of success may have dampened that.  The Chiefs and Broncos battled for AFC West supremacy in the 90's and early in this decade but they too are now struggling.  The Broncos and Chargers are battling it out nowadays, and it appeared Philip Rivers and Jay Cutler were going to have their own personal rivalry going until the events of the off-season.

Please explain your answer in the comments.  Call it a little "market research"!

So, I ask all of you -

DB - Week 11 - Wed: McDaniels - Broncos TV

AP - Simms Gets The Reps, Orton Sits Out Practice - Arnie Stapleton
"The ligaments in Kyle Orton's left ankle are torn. He certainly isn't." WHAT?!?!?!?!

DPP - Broncos QB Orton hurting but hopes to play - Mike Klis
"His sore ankle — initially twisted two weeks earlier against the Baltimore Ravens — had not healed sufficiently to participate in practice."

DPP - Berger's net punting is Broncos' more important statistic - Lindsay Jones
"Elvis Dumervil has been credited with an additional half a sack in Denver's game at Washington, bringing his season total to 12...In addition to quarterback Kyle Orton, whose injured left ankle kept him sidelined, wide receiver Brandon Marshall (neck), running back LaMont Jordan (back), offensive tackle Ryan Harris (toe) and safety Josh Barrett (hamstring) did not participate...Rookie tight end Richard Quinn was yanked during a blocking drill against linebackers Wednesday and reprimanded for several minutes by position coach Clancy Barone."

DPP - Broncos in a rush to stop the run - Jeff Legwold

DPP - Q&A: Stokley no longer star receiver in Broncos' slot - Jeff Legwold

DPP - Analysis: Broncos looking to buck disturbing late-season trend - Jeff Legwold
"They lost five of their last seven in 2006, lost four of the last six in 2007 and lost four of the last six last year, including the last three games of the season."

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Josh McDaniels, Kyle Orton and Brian Dawkins took their usual turn at the podium in preparations for the Broncos-Chargers showdown this Sunday at Invesco Field @ Mile High.  While Orton hopes he can go on Sunday, he DID NOT participate in Wednesday's workout. 

Here is the transcript for the Presser, brought to us by our friends in the Denver Broncos P.R. Staff -

HEAD COACH JOSH McDANIELS

On QB Kyle Orton's status

"I don't know. We'll see. He's going to do everything he can to get better every day. We'll make that decision at the end of the week."

On adjusting an offensive line to a left-handed quarterback vs. a right-handed quarterback

"We're not going to really change our system, so it's not that the plays are going to be different. If we feel like we need to do something different on the backside of a player, whether he be left handed or right handed, than that is up to us as a staff to do that, but I don't think the preparation for the linemen, in general, is going to be much different. They've got to still block the same guys, and the protections that we use, we use protections where we slide left, where we slide right, where the left tackle is singled (and) where the right tackle is singled, and we do that when we have either quarterback in the game. That shouldn't make a difference in terms of what we're doing and how we're preparing. They've got to do their assignment the same no matter what hand the guy throws with."

On if Orton is questionable for Sunday's game against San Diego

"You're going to see it on the injury report today."

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