Three days and no posts. It rarely happens, and when it does it is usually for a good reason. My daughter turned three and her birthday party was thins weekend. Having 10 kids in the house, all under the age of 4, and providing them with the Princess party of their dreams led to me being a bit preoccupied. Alas, imagine my excitement when I did log in and see all you guys keeping the conversation going. I have always said that the community is whar makes the MHR the best Broncos site out there and you guys and gals prove it every day.
I'll admit, I am not a college scout when it comes to the NFL Draft. I have my opinions on some guys, then rely on our college bloggers to get some of the rest. Later today I'll be posting an excellent scouting report of Florida DE Jarvis Moss, a player several Mock Drafts have linked to the Broncos, written by our Gators Blogger at Swamp Ball. That said, we have several reader who seem to be on top of the draft and draft prospects and wanted to take a moment to thank them. Ohnokoolaid, ejruiz777, MattR and Bushwah, just to name a few. Thanks guys for being the "goto guys" when it comes to draft talk on the MHR.
As we move forward it always good to pause and take a look back where we came from. Since kicking off in late August the site has continued to grow each month, and is currently one of the busiest football blogs on the SB Nation network of football blogs. That is all thanks to you. I have alot of exciting things planned as we move forward, including a MHR Gift Shop, where you can get T-Shirts, hats, etc, emblazoned with the MHR logo.
I am also planning on attending the Fan Fest at Invesco, usually held in early June and hope to meet some of you there.
Enough blubbering, there was some Broncos News over the weekend, let's take a look --
Jake Plummer finally did what I expected him to do, and officially retired form the NFL. I won't dive into that murky water again except to say that I respect Jake as a player and as a man and wish nothing but the best for him. Thanks to my friends at CBS4 in Denver for the VIDEO from the press conference.
Hats off to Rod Smith, who recently underwent hip surgery, for accepting what turns out be a huge PAYCUT, in order to help the Broncos make all the moves last week. Sure, Champ Bailey and Gerrard Warren also restructured their contracts, but both will not lose a dime of salary. They simply moved money around, changing how it affects the salary cap. Smith, on the other hand, will lose money, and while it was obvious the Rod isn't an elite receiver any more, he is an elite human being and has always put the team first. Rod does have a guaranteed contract for the next two seasons, worth a total of $3.5 million, but was due a total of $9 million over the next two years prior to the cut. Whether or not Smith, the teams all-time leader in most receiving categories, ends up in Canton may be debateable(he should get in, without a doubt), but there should be no question about Smith inclusion in the Ring of Honor, and the retirement of the #80.
The Broncos have entered Phase 2 of the off-season, making moves for second tier free agents. The team is negotiating with two Chicago Bears defensive linemen, DL Ian Scott and Alfonso Boone. Talks with Boone seem to be further along than with Scott, who has plans to visit the Chiefs and Vikings, among others. Questions continue to remain about the future of Dan Wilkinson, whom the team acquired from the Dolphins for a 6th round draft pick. Wilkinson has hinted at retirement for the better part of 6 months and the 34-year old has yet to commit to playing in 2007.