Broncos Begin Roster Trimmings; Injury Updates

The Broncos, and the other thirty-one teams in the league, have until tomorrow to get their rosters down to eighty players. Denver got a jump start on Monday when the team released cornerback Nate Jones and waived seven others, bringing their roster total down to eighty players.

Running back C.J. Gable, linebacker Braxton Kelley, linebacker Deron Mayo, guard Shawn Murphy, offensive tackle Curt Porter and defensive end David Veikune where the first of many cuts to come for the Broncos. The team has until 6 p.m. (ET) on September 3rd to get the final roster down to fifty-three players.

On game days, forty-six players will be allowed to dress. So in essence, the Broncos will have to make decisions on over thirty-four players between now and their Monday night season opener against Oakland.

On the injury front, there are several notable developments. Linebacker D.J. Williams suffered a dislocated right elbow in the team's Week Three preseason match against the Seattle Seahawks and is expected to miss the season opener. Denver is hopeful however that he'll be ready to go for the team's Week Three match against the Tennessee Titans. Defensive tackle Brodrick Bunkley (knee sprain) could also miss the opener but is expected to be back by the team's Week Two match against Cincinnati Bengals.

As for defensive tackle Ty Warren (who had triceps surgery last week), the team is hopeful that his season has not ended. Coach John Fox noted that the Broncos hope to have Warren back by the final third of the season. Meanwhile, wide receiver Demaryius Thomas, who had an off-season Achilles tendon surgery, is recovering well and may return sooner than the team had originally anticipated.

Originally expected to be out through mid-November, Thomas said if all goes well, he could be back on the field in less than a month. The addition of Thomas would add more depth to an already solid Bronco's receiving squad that features Pro Bowler Brandon Lloyd, slot machine Eddie Royal and second year sleeper, Eric Decker.

Though it is only the preseason, the Broncos defense is looking vastly improved from last year. Through its first three preseason matches, Denver's first-team defense has only allowed only 213 yards on 70 plays (3.0 yards per play) and 9 points off three field goals. Per the team's Executive Director of Media Relations, Patrick Smyth, the Broncos defense is also ranked in the NFL's top 10 in 10-of-18 categories, including yards per play (6th) and sacks per pass (9th).

Rookie linebacker Von Miller is in a three-way tie for most sacks in the preseason (with 3.0) while the team ranks 9th in the NFL with 9.0 overall. Needless to say, sackmasters Miller and defensive end Elvis Dumervil will feast on opposing quarterbacks this fall.

Broncos brass throws Mike Silver under the bus

An article was published Tuesday by Michael Silver of Yahoo! Sports which quoted a "highly knowledgeable member of the organization" as saying quarterback Tim Tebow is the fourth-best quarterback on Denver's roster, even behind undrafted free agent rookie Adam Weber.

On Wednesday, ESPN's Adam Schefter came to the defense of Tebow, noting that the Broncos do have plans for the second year quarterback. Broncos Head Coach John Fox confirmed that following yesterday's practice.

"First of all I would like to say that [quote came from] nobody in this building that is in the decision making process, coach or official -- maybe they heard it from the cook," said Fox. "We hold Tim in a high regard, I think he has a bright future in this game."

Fox went on to note that Tebow did not get a lot of reps last week because of the way the game played out. Expect to see Tebow getting more snaps in the team's final two preseason games.

"He has been progressing fine and he'll get more opportunities in games as we go. Everybody in this building has high regard for Tim Tebow and we think he's doing just fine."

Fox was adamant that Silver's quote did not come from any high ranking member of the organization.

"If you read it correctly I don't think it said anybody in the organization it said 'knowledgeable football person' and that would be a wide range, like I said, it could have been the chef, he sees the players everyday."

Shortly after Fox spoke, Broncos Vice President of Public Relations Jim Saccomano took to twitter, tweeting:

"Hit and run journalists, which are plentiful, only speed development of team-only media. Sometimes the tabloid mentality overtakes objectivity, at expense of some great journalists."

That quote sounds like it may have been directly aimed at Silver, who is a respected journalist.

"A serious concern for teams is granting access to outlets that provide incentives to writers based on page clicks. That is a problem."

Shout out to the Broncos for finally addressing what was getting way out of control. Be careful what you read, folks. Don't believe everything you hear and always follow up on reports. Our goal is to bring you excellent Broncos coverage 24/7 without stirring the pot just to generate traffic. We encourage you to always hold us accountable for every report and article published on Broncos Zone and appreciate your readership.

Schefter Chimes in on the Tebow Situation

"Let's be very clear about this," ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter told 850KOA in a radio interview, "the Denver Broncos are keeping Tim Tebow." As many Bronco fans know, Schefter is the ultimate insider when it comes to the NFL, so you can take his word for it.

[Related: Quarterback Tim Tebow: Staying put in Denver]

"The Denver Broncos are into Tim Tebow this year for $8.3 million dollars, they're not going to be paying him that money and trading him... People can bash Tim Tebow all they want but really, let's see what happens over the course of the season before we start hammering the guy."

Schefter went on to note that the Broncos may not be advertising their plans for Tebow because they do not want other teams to know them.

"If John Fox is planning on using Tebow around the goal line area, would he debut that in the preseason and give opponents time to study that, or is he going to surprise the Oakland Raiders on the Monday Night season opener?"

Schefter backed Tebow throughout the interview with KOA saying what we have been for months: Tebow has not yet had enough experience in the NFL to declare him a starter or a bust.

"Let's just wait and see before we start ripping Tim Tebow and declaring him to be a failure -- the guy at least deserves the chance to prove himself over time. I'm not ready to declare a quarterback a success or failure after just two weeks of the preseason."

It's nice to finally hear some logical thoughts on the Tebow situation, shout out to Schefter.

[Video] Legion Of Doom: Broncos Defensive Promo

It's not unreasonable to believe the Broncos defense is headed towards a turnaround season. Defensive minded Head Coach John Fox and defensive coordinator Dennis Allen have brought in an attacking mindset to Denver, and it showed on Saturday in the team's preseason home opener.

Taking on the Buffalo Bills, the Broncos defense record a sack, interception, six tackles for a loss, eight quarterback hurries, and nine pass deflections at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Watch for more big plays from the defense this Saturday when the team returns home to face the Seattle Seahawks in Week Three of the 2011 preseason.

If that doesn't get you excited about the Broncos 2011 defense, nothing will!