Around the web: Two weeks!

The good news: We are just two weeks away from when the Broncos' Rookies will report to Training Camp on July 26.

The bad news: Those will be the longest two weeks of our lives.

To help speed things up, here are a few links for your reading enjoyment.

• DenverBroncos.com Revamped!

The Broncos' official site has been redesigned to make following your favorite team even easier.

• Top 10 Players Who Need to Step Up

If the Broncos are to succeed this upcoming season many of their players are going to have to turn it up to eleven.

• Knowshon Moreno might set the league on fire this season

The Broncos must make deep plays in their passing game to vertically threaten the field. That will open things up for RB Knowshon Moreno.

• Eddie Royal Contest

Using Broncos Zone for my own personal gain, is unprofessional - but who said I was professional? Help me win Eddie Royal's facebook contest, details here.

• Speaking of Eddie Royal,
  

Check out this Eddie Royal 2010 Video Promo!

• Broncos offer second chances for trio

Lloyd, Quinn, Gaffney are in Denver's plans for the 2010 season after being rejected elsewhere.

• A.J. Trapasso can't catch a break

After being cut by the Broncos, Trapasso singed with the UFL, only to be cut for a second time in the same month.

• Vincent Jackson suspended for three games

The San Diego Chargers have confirmed the previously reported three-game suspension for wide receiver Vincent Jackson.

• Broncos Predicted Regular Season Record

Every off season, Kim Constantinesco tries to predict the Broncos regular season record based on the team’s schedule, new acquisitions, and releases. Here’s a breakdown of his prediction.

• A pair of sweet shoes

Tim Tebow has officially unveiled his Florida Gators themed Nike Trainer 1.2, a collaboration shoe with EA Sports to celebrate the cover of the upcoming NCAA Football 11 videogame.

• Broncos Zone passes 800 Facebook fans

Thanks for helping us reach 800 fans on Facebook! Please suggest us to your friends so we can reach 1,000 before kickoff against the Jaguars on September 12th!

Early notes on Madden NFL 11

Madden NFL 11 is scheduled to be released in just about a month, so here's a little preview:

The rookies are tough

• The Broncos four offensive rookies all have toughness ratings over 90. Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker both come in at 93, with Zane Beadles at 94 just behind J.D. Walton's 95. Tim Tebow tops them all (and every other quarterback in the NFL), with a 98 toughness rating. Hopefully their Madden toughness ratings show on the field this season.

No love for the wide receivers

• Of the 9 Wide Outs and Tight Ends on the Broncos Madden 11 roster, Daniel Graham has the best overall rating - 81. Eddie Royal's 76 is followed by Gaffney (75), Stokley (74), Thomas (74), Lloyd (73), and Decker (69). Richard Quinn and Kenny McKinley are 67 and 57 respectively. Given that two of them are rookies and the others haven't proved too much, those ratings seem pretty fare. Then you look at Dez Bryant and Dwayne Bowes' overall ratings. Receiver Dez Bryant is rated as one of the highest rookies with an overall rating of 80,- the same rating givin to No. 1 overall pick Sam Bradford. Bryant was taken 2 picks after Thomas yet is rated 6 points ahead of him. EA Sports and Josh McDaniels probably differ on that rating. Meanwhile, Royal and Jabar Gaffney got a slap in the face when Kansas City receiver Dwayne Bowe received a 94 overall rating - just two points less than Miami Dolphins' Brandon Marshall's 96 overall rating.

Moreno's rating improved from last year

• Not by much, but Moreno's overall has jumped from an 81 rookie rating to a 82 entering his second season. Knowshon isn't a power back, and Madden 11 made note of that, giving him a 76 Trucking rating, and 72 carry rating. His acceleration is higher than it was last year, earning a 96 rating. Moreno's ratings have risen and fallen in different areas, but he'll be better overall.

No Branson, Paxton

• Electronic Arts has a tough job, not only do they have to assign ratings to every player, but also predict teams final rosters months before the real ones are known. Because of that, you'll find a player here and there who aren't any longer on the team, while noticing players that aren't on the Madden roster, even though they are on the Broncos roster. Two key players they missed this time around are Long Snapper Lonie Paxton and Tight End Marquez Branson. Madden has never had Long Snappers on team rosters before, and it's about time they did (I hate seeing Ryan Clady snap for punts and field goals). They don't even have to make a new position, just add another Tight End to every team that is good at long snapping. They really blew it at TE, the Broncos will be carrying three this year, and Branson could be a sleeper. The Broncos are expecting a lot out of Branson - both as a receiving Tight End, and possible fullback in some situations. Unless you create him, you won't be able to utilize him at either position as Madden 11 doesn't have him on the roster.

Four players that did get some love

• The Broncos have four players in Madden 11 with overall ratings 90 or higher. Champ Bailey, Brian Dawkins, Ryan Clady and Elvis Dumervil got some love EA was unwilling to give the receivers. Clady leads them all, ranked as the best Left Tackle in the game, his overall rating is 98. Champ Bailey isn't far behind with a 95 rating, while Dumervil's 93 is the third best rating for all ROLB's in the game. Rounding off the 90-club is Brian Dawkins, who comes in right at 90. All four players made the Pro Bowl last season, and if they live up to their ratings Bronco fans can expect a repeat.

All about Tim Tebow

• Tebow's overall rating is 70, and that's fair considering he hasn't proven anything in the Pro's yet. He is a "Scrambling" quarterback in the game, with a 90 acceleration, 96 stamina, 98 toughness, 97 injury (the higher the rating the less chance of injury), 88 jumping, and 86 carry ratings. He also has the highest trucking rating among all other QB's in the game. His throw power (88) isn't bad, but he lacks accuracy (74). He is far from a bad quarterback, and would probably be great for Wild Cat packages in the game.

View more screenshots of Broncos in Madden 11 by clicking here.

That's all we have for now, being a big Madden gamer myself, I'm anxious to play with the Broncos when the game comes out this August.

Broncos begin series of cuts

On Tuesday the Broncos began a long road of cuts to come. The Broncos waived wide receivers Dicky Lyons and Landis Williams today, leaving 11 receivers on Denver's unofficial roster.

The Broncos still have over 80 players on their roster, and must get that number trimmed down during and after training camp and the preseason to just 53 players. On top of that, only 45 players will dress for games. Almost half of the Broncos on the roster will be out of a job come the start of the regular season.

I could never be a coach, I always feel so bad for these guys, best of luck to 'em.

What's in a number? (Vol. 2)

I will wear whatever number they want me to wear, if that's 15, I'll wear 15. If that's 95, I'll wear 95. I don't really care just as long as I can wear a Denver Broncos jersey." -- Tim Tebow shortly after the 2010 NFL Draft

The arrival of rookies and free agents every offseason in Denver causes a jersey number shake-up. Many stories have been noted (as well as missed) over the years concerning the Broncos' jersey numbers, from Boss Bailey paying Kenny Peterson for #97 to Knowshon Moreno wearing #27 in honor of Darrent Williams. This offseason was no exception for jersey number transactions.

Since 2006, the Broncos have drafted six Wide Receivers: Brandon Marshall, Domenik Hixon, Eddie Royal, Kenny McKinley, Demaryius Thomas, and Eric Decker. Many skill players in college sports wear single digit or low numbers. For many receivers, that often carries over into the Pro's. While at Virginia Tech, Eddie Royal wore number 4, after being drafted by the Broncos he picked #3, as #4 was already taken. The No Fun League (NFL) then came along and pointed out Rule 5, Section 1, Article 4: ". . . numerals must be by playing position as follows: . . . 10-19 for wide receivers if 80-89 are all otherwise assigned." Royal was then forced to switch his number, he chose #19. The last Bronco WR to wear #19 for the Broncos was Brian Clark in 2006. A year before Clark, in 2005, Jerry Rice joined the Broncos, and wore #19 in the preseason before retiring. The Broncos would love if Royal had half the kind of career Rice had.

Similarly to Royal, Decker wore a low number in college that was not available in Denver, and was in accordance to Rule 5, Section 1, Article 4. His number - 7. Obviously that number is retired, as it belongs to the greatest Bronco of them all, John Elway. Fortunately for Decker though, number 87 was available, the number of his childhood hero - Ed McCaffrey. Remarkably, Decker wore number 7 in college, and was the 7th WR drafted in the 2010 NFL Draft, he also was the 87th overall player selected. Decker seemed excited about the number, writing on his facebook page:

“Ed McCaffrey wore the number loud and proud and I feel the obligation to do the same! Also being the 87th pick this year, it was meant to be!! Hope to see some of you all get that Broncos 87 jersey! :) ”

McCaffrey sent Decker a signed #87 McCffrey jersey shortly after selecting his number.

Unlike Decker, Demaryius Thomas' new number doesn't have as much significance to him.

"As for 88, I really don't have a connection with that number."

That's not to say there's no significance to the number,

"But they told me the last time a wide receiver wore 88 was when the Broncos won a championship, so that's good."

Thomas wore number 8 while at Georgia Tech, so he has probably adjusted to his new number easily. The last Bronco Wide Receiver to wear #88 in Denver was Sir Mawn Wilson in 1997, the year the Broncos won their first ever Super Bowl. The Broncos drafted Thomas in hopes of winning a few more with him contributing as the eventual #1 WR.

Former Broncos Domenik Hixon and Brandon Marshall wore numbers 12 and 15 respectively. Number 12 is currently worn by Matthew Willis, a young wide reciever who will be fighting for a roster spot in training camp, much like Hixon did towards the end of his stint with the Broncos. Brandon Marshall's #15 was vacated just weeks before the 2010 NFL Draft, in which the Broncos drafted Tim Tebow, who wore the same number during his Heisman winning college career at Florida. Denver is looking for Tebow to put up Pro Bowl numbers in the near future, much like his number's predecessor did, only this time, #15 will have a team-first attitude. We can't overlook Kenny McKinley, whose college jersey number was 11. Unlike Royal, Marshall, Thomas, and Dekcer, McKinley's number was avaiable when arriving in Denver, and permitted by the NFL to wear.

Jersey numbers aren't as important to some players as they are to others, but that's not to say every player doesn't have a favorite number. In Volume 1 of What's in a number, we looked at the numbers 22 and 9, worn currently by Alphonso Smith and Brady Quinn respectively.