Von Miller Tebowing

Von Miller finished off the marquee Sunday Night Football win over the Pittsburgh Steelers with a huge sack late in the 4th quarter. To celebrate, Miller tebowed, in honor of the team's quarterback Tim Tebow who was dumped in favor of Peyton Manning in the offseason.

Enjoy!

All Potential Super Bowl Matchups Look Good -- Adam Schefter's 10 Spot

All potential matchups look good -- Adam Schefter's 10 Spot - ESPN:
Crazy fact about this NFL Season: ESPN.com writer, Adam Schefter reports: "Few if any predicted that 49ers quarterback Alex Smith would lead his team further in this season's playoffs than Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Everyone waited for Smith to flop this season, and he has done just the opposite. Smith was less mistake-prone this season than any other quarterback in football. Smith's interception percentage this season of 1.1 -- five interceptions on 445 passing attempts -- was the lowest in the NFL. It was better than Rodgers' 1.2 (six interceptions in 502 attempts) and better than Sam Bradford's 1.7 (six in 357). Smith's interception percentage was so low that it set a 49ers season franchise record, bettering any interception mark that Joe Montana or Steve Young had in one season. If Smith can continue to avoid the mistakes, San Francisco will be tough to take down, even for a white-hot Giants team."

Wow!

Great season Alex Smith... no matter how it turns out.

Check out the rest of Adam Schefter's weekly 10 Spot here
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The One NFL Scout Who Believed In Tim Tebow | ThePostGame

The One NFL Scout Who Believed In Tim Tebow | ThePostGame:
Les Carpenter, writer for The Post Game, comments on the one scout, Ken Herock, who thought Tebow would be a special player: But what the Broncos staff saw in Tebow, Herock noticed first. He saw it in the way the quarterback took apart offenses as cleanly as any player he's ever watched. He saw it when he played the role of a team executive, asking the tough questions and suggesting that Tebow was another Alex Smith -- then considered a bust -- because both played for Urban Meyer in college.

"Now hold on there Mr. Herock," Tebow interrupted, going on to say the comparison was not valid considering his Heisman Trophy and the two national championships he was a part of at Florida.

Herock chuckles into the phone. There is a feistiness to Tebow that many don’t often see.

"I told him, 'Make sure you tell (the NFL teams) that,'" Herock says.

Mostly though, he loved Tebow as a quarterback, which, of course, is where most NFL personnel people did not find the same brilliance. Yet as with Favre, Young and Williams, Herock believes Tebow has a resourcefulness lacking in the other prospects.

"He’s just like a coach," Herock says. "He can see things. He’s not particularly fast. He’s not particularly quick. He has good vision when he runs. He sees the holes when he runs. He’s got a special gift for seeing things on the field. He has a sixth-sense vision."

This was an insightful retrospective on the only person who thought Tim Tebow could be an NFL quarterback, except for former Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels. Herock liked Tebow's vision on the field, seeing openings, and making plays. He also liked Tebow's ability to dissect offenses and game plans.

Also, despite the poor mechanics in college, Herock believes Tebow has come leaps and bounds in the pro game with his throwing mechanics. It remains a work in progress, but Tebow has definitely improved since his rookie season in August 2010.

My favorite quote from the article: "My God that kid is special" -Ken Herock.
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FINAL: Sloppy Broncos Lose Opener To Raiders 23-20 - Mile High Report

FINAL: Sloppy Broncos Lose Opener To Raiders 23-20 - Mile High Report:

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Sloppy. Painful. Ugly. This one really hurts. Broncos have a very long way to go if they want to see one more win than last season. ESPN's Power Rankings had the Broncos near the bottom. This loss will solidify their position at the bottom of the NFL. It was bad!

Denver Broncos Preseason: Backup Brady Quinn Takes a Huge Step Backwards

Brady Quinn was believed to be the undisputed backup quarterback to Kyle Orton for the Denver Broncos this season. That was before he stepped onto the field for his final preseason game.

It wasn't until his third drive of the day that Quinn moved the Broncos with a pass to Matthew Willis for 13 yards. The pass was Quinn's longest pass of the first half.

In the second quarter, Quinn went on a streak of seven straight incomplete passes. His only completion in the second quarter came right before the two-minute warning. He hit Dandre Goodwin for 10 yards. He followed up his only successful play of the second quarter by abruptly passing the ball to Stewart Bradley, which set up the Arizona Cardinals for an easy field goal.

After leaving the game at halftime, Quinn left the Broncos in a huge hole. The Broncos had no points and were down by 20 points.

Quinn's stat line for the night: 4-12, for 26 yards passing, and one interception. His quarterback rating was a minuscule 7.6 percent. The offense put together zero points.

Quinn did enough on his own to relinquish the backup quarterback position. His utter futility to move the ball, put together any semblance of an offense and fail to do anything positive should earn him the No.3 spot in the quarterback rotation.

Quinn's performance set him back to the days when he quarterbacked the Cleveland Browns. He last two starts in Cleveland he had passer ratings of 27.7 percent against the Kansas City Chiefs and 48.1 percent against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The majority of the work Quinn was called upon to do was hand the ball off to his running backs.

Those weak performances prompted the Browns to complete a trade with the Broncos for Peyton Hillis. One of the biggest blunders by the Broncos in a long time.

All of that talk about who will clinch the backup spot for the Broncos is over.

Quinn is not the guy.

The guy who should be the backup: Tim Tebow.

Tebow had a 43-yard touchdown pass to Eron Riley. The pass was a perfectly lofted deep ball into the end zone, right in Riley's arms. Tebow's stat line was 7-11 for 116 yards and a touchdown. He showed that he could stand in the pocket, take the pressure and make the passes. The only scoring drive for the Broncos started back at the Broncos six-yard line, where they went 94 yards in 1:36.

Tebow's performance silenced his critics, while Quinn's performance may have stirred up new ones.

Fantasy Football Sleepers: Breakout Stars Profiting Most from Change of Scenery

In Fantasy Football, the team around the player can drastically effect his output. With the flurry of free agency moves, trades, and offseason signings it can be hard to keep track of where key fantasy contributors have landed.

Even though their season last year may have been mediocre, a change of scenery with new teammates, coaches and schemes could dramatically boost their production.

Follow me as I walk you through a few key fantasy producers who are going to greatly improve their fantasy output with their new teams in 2011.

Lee Evans, Baltimore Ravens

Lee Evans was traded this season by the Buffalo Bills to the Baltimore Ravens for a fourth round pick in next years draft.

While in Buffalo, Evans showed brilliant flashes of greatness. However, the revolving door at quarterback for the Bills really stunted the complete potential he offered.

Buffalo dealt him to a team, and quarterback desperately needing the deep threat.

Evans is going to have a breakout year this season in Baltimore.

Joe Flacco finally has a home run hitter with better speed than Derrick Mason and better consistency than Malcolm Floyd, two other potential receivers the Ravens looked at.

Evans and the Ravens are the big winners here and if you are lucky enough to pick up Evans on your fantasy team, you too will not be disappointed.

Tim Hightower, Washington Redskins

Tim Hightower was acquired by the Washington Redskins from the Arizona Cardinals this offseason in a trade for Vonnie Holliday and a 2012 draft pick.

Hightower spent his three seasons in Arizona in a crowded backfield.

Hightower saw two top draft picks selected after his brilliant rookie season, the highly touted Beanie Wells in 2009 and Ryan Williams (2011). Williams selection was what prompted the Cardinals to finally deal Hightower.

Hightower though has gotten new life under the Redskins' head coach Mike Shanahan.

Shanahan has been known for his ability to create fantasy production out of running backs. In his prime, Shanahan would get late draft picks with the Denver Broncos and they would become the Broncos latest 1,000 yard rusher.

Hightower is also the main beneficiary of Ryan Torain's broken left hand only days after arriving in Washington. Hightower should have his best season yet under Shanahan's tutelage. He will be a breakout player in 2011.

Mike Sims-Walker, St. Louis Rams

Mike Sims-Walker was acquired through free agency by the St. Louis Rams on a one-year $3.7 million contract.

Sims-Walker has been limited in demonstrating his full capabilities by the offensive he has been in the past three seasons in Jacksonville. Head coach Jack Del Rio is content having Maurice Jones-Drew dominant the game on the ground as quarterback David Garrard stood in there as a game-managing QB.

Sims-Walker's stats tell the story. Over three seasons and 38 games Sims-Walker has accrued 1,648 yards and 14 touchdowns.

Fast forward to 2011 where Sims-Walker finds himself in a more balanced offense with a strong-armed quarterback and an offensive coordinator looking to open the field and utilize Sims-Walker in deep routes and goal line situations.

Sims-Walker will get a chance to make a huge impact in 2011 across from fourth-year player Brandon Gibson.

Greg Olsen, Carolina Panthers

Greg Olsen was traded by the Chicago Bears to the Carolina Panthers this offseason for a third-round pick in next year's NFL draft.

Olsen was under-utilized in Chicago by offensive coordinator Mike Martz. He was a solid contributor in Chicago, but his move to Carolina will make him a breakout fantasy star in 2011.

Olsen will likely get lots of passes in a conservative offense that appears to be led by Cam Newton in 2011.

Newton, a rookie will heavily rely on Olsen a dependable receiver with great hands and athleticism. Olsen should surpass expectations in Carolina and should get lots of touchdowns and a ton of yards.

Plaxico Burress, New York Jets

Plaxico Burress was recently reinstated by the NFL after doing jail time and was picked up in free agency by the New York Jets on a one-year $3.017 million contract.

Plax might not be considered a "sleeper" pick because he has had a lot of success throughout his career. But after being out of football for over two-and-a-half seasons, his new home with the Jets sure beats his old residence, the Oneida Correctional Facility in Rome, New York.

The Jets got a steal in the acquisition and it appears like Burress will make an immediate impact for the Jets.

Burress should return to form in 2011 for the Jets and his fantasy production should soar.

Kyle Orton Named Denver Broncos Starting Quarterback, But For How Long?

Head coach John Fox has named training camp standout Kyle Orton the starting quarterback for the Denver Broncos for the 2011 season. However, the coach has had problems sticking with his quarterback, especially when under pressure from a vocal fanbase. His naming of Orton as the starting QB for the Broncos, begs the question, “Yes, but for how long?”

I am not here to take away from the body of work that Orton has done in preseason thus far. Throughout the preseason, Orton has shown that he has the best command of the offense, he knows the reads, he looks the most polished and for those reasons, Fox has gone ahead and ended the debate of who will start in 2011.

In the Broncos' two preseason games, Orton has successfully led several drives, most ending in field goals, and has one touchdown thus far. He continues to improve on the field.

Orton for sure has the leg up on backups Brady Quinn and Tim Tebow; he has been the starting quarterback in Denver for the past two seasons, barring a couple of missed games due to injury and because the season was already “lost.”

However, the NFL is all about winning. Unfortunately for Orton, he managed only three wins in his 13 starts last season. Some may say that Orton had a career year in yards (3,802 yards) and touchdowns (21 TDs). He also had 12 interceptions and 10 losses.

The year before he came to Denver, as the starting quarterback for the Chicago Bears, Orton had similar stats to 2010. He passed for 2,972 yards, 18 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. The Bears offense is similar to the type of offense Orton will run in 2011. It was run-heavy, and Orton was a “game manager” quarterback, a role that is best suited for him.

The Bears were 9-7 in 2008 under Orton. The year before, the Bears went to the Super Bowl and Orton watched from the bench.

Again, the NFL is all about winning.

Quarterbacks in this league are one of the most important factors in winning. Look at all the quarterbacks in the past seven years who’ve won rings: Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Ben Roethlisberger, Eli Manning, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. Besides Eli, who claims to be elite, few would dispute that these quarterbacks are the best of the best. Also, few would argue that the play of these quarterbacks is the reason why their teams won the Super Bowl.

Many fans forget how wretched the Broncos were last season. The Broncos did so poorly that they “earned” the No. 2 draft pick in all the league, ahead of only the Carolina Panthers, John Fox’s old team.

Fox has the task of transforming the worst defensive team in the NFL into a dominant defensive force. But, Fox also must show that he has some acumen on offense to lead the team to more than the measly four wins it mustered in 2010.

The lowly Panthers won only two games last season as Fox and the coaching staff vacillated between quarterbacks, starting three different quarterbacks: Matt Moore, Jimmy Clausen and Brian St. Pierre. St. Pierre came in as a starter having only thrown five passes in his NFL career.

Now the pride of average Broncos fan would protest, “We aren’t as bad as the Panthers!” But in the win category, we aren’t much better—especially coming out of an era with a reckless head coach who was given full control of all personnel decisions, and did everything he could to completely dismantle the Broncos franchise.

I think that the bar is set low for Fox though, at least in terms of wins. The Broncos need to be competitive enough in the AFC West and maybe come away with six or seven wins overall before the front office hits the panic button on Fox.

Last season in Carolina, Fox was set on Matt Moore as his starting quarterback—so much so that the team cut Jake Delhomme, their starter for seven seasons. But when things went south quickly, Fox heard the cries of the fanbase for the “Golden Boy,” Jimmy Clausen. Clausen started for a few weeks and then Moore was again named the starter.

With the rise of the former fan favorite, Brady Quinn, in recent weeks in Denver, it’s very interesting how things seem to recycle around amongst the league’s bottom feeders. Quinn was acquired from the Browns for Peyton Hillis (one of McDaniels’ most infamous trades), when the Browns decided to go a different direction, signing Delhomme to a two-year deal.

Quinn’s ascent to the No. 2 slot on the depth chart was not particularly surprising with Tim Tebow’s struggles in training camp and then the second preseason game, where Tebow as the third-stringer had no chance to showcase any of his talents as he handed the ball off and was asked to run and slide to run down the clock in the one-sided preseason game against the Buffalo Bills.

It is curious that a coach would run down the clock in a preseason game, basically a training exercise to see the talents your team possesses before the start of the regular season.

If the Broncos get off to a rough start similar to last season, look for Orton to receive the blame, as is the case for most starting quarterbacks in the league. In favor of Orton, Quinn would be Fox’s first choice, and if playing for more draft picks next season, Fox would turn to Tebow.

In my estimation, this will be Orton’s last stand in Denver as the starting quarterback. His contract ends this season and he will be looking for big-time money that the Broncos won’t want to pay him unless he is the reason that they put together a stellar season, which would be a shocker to the rest of the league.

I expect next offseason will be another quarterback controversy with Orton out of the picture and fans continually irritated by another below-average, playoff-missing season by the Broncos, calling to start Tebow.

Ultimately, the Broncos need to draft a quarterback or trade for a quarterback whom they believe can get the franchise behind them and really take the team to the next level.

Look at the Arizona Cardinals—they believe in Kevin Kolb. Do I think they will succeed with Kolb? No. But they do—they have given up a great deal to acquire Kolb, and they are going to get behind him to push him to succeed. Their franchise’s future in the short term depends on his development and achievements. If the project fails, like most NFL teams, they go back to the drawing board to find the next great quarterback.

Denver needs to go through this process and upper management needs to stick with it and see it through to the end, not give up on it after they fire the head coach—for example, see Tebow. Until they do that, they will be rotating through quarterbacks for the next 10-plus years or so.

John Fox's Denver Broncos Struggle to Run the Ball, Stop the Run

The Denver Broncos' point of emphasis on offense this offseason has been the running game. Saturday night against the Buffalo Bills, Head Coach John Fox and Co. saw the Broncos' top two rushers, expected to carry the load in 2011, pick up 34 yards on 11 carries. Stopping the run has been Fox’s point of emphasis on defense. However, right now, the defensive line has been struggling to bottle up opposing offenses’ running backs.

The Broncos backfield is going the wrong direction (on both sides of the ball).

Not only did the Broncos top two rushers, Knowshon Moreno and Willis McGahee, average only 3.1 yards rushing, but they faced the Buffalo Bills, the only team in the NFL last season, behind the Broncos’ beleaguered defense in opposing rushing yards allowed per game.

The backups, Brandon Minor, 6 rushes for 24 yards, Lance Ball, 7 rushes for 20 yards, Jeremiah Johnson, 5 rushes for 16 yards, didn’t fare too much better.

Fox wants to return the Broncos to balance in the run and pass games in 2011, however, he has his work cut out for him as although the Broncos did rush the ball 32 times compared to 31 pass attempts, the offense only rushed as a whole for 101 yards.

The Broncos' struggles stopping the run continued as they surrendered 126 yards on 24 attempts for an average of 5.3 yards/attempt by the Buffalo Bills.

The key to the running game is the point of attack: the offensive line.

There is only one offensive lineman among the bunch for Broncos with more than five years experience. Right tackle Orlando Franklin is a rookie. Center J.D. Walton is in his second season with the Broncos. Left guard Zane Beadles is also in his second season. Pro-Bowl left tackle Ryan Clady is a pass blocking specialist for the Broncos and is in his third season. Right guard is in his seventh season in the NFL.

The offensive line needs to work on opening holes and pushing the defenders off the line. That opens up running lanes for the speedy Moreno to burst through to the second level.

The second key element in the running game is once through the first level, make a defender miss at the next level. The two longest runs of the night were an 11-yard run by Minor and a 9-yard run by Moreno. The rushers are not making the linebackers and the cornerbacks miss. They aren’t shaking tackles and opening up huge gains.

Moreno has yet to break the 1,000-yard mark in his two seasons in Denver. McGahee is pushing 30-years old and has spent the majority of his career as a red zone and short yardage specialist. He has not been known for breaking off large gains throughout his NFL career.

The Broncos hope that history will not repeat itself again in 2011, but with the baffling additions by Fox, it doesn't appear like a huge run game will materialize for the Broncos at this rate.

In contrast, all of the top Bills’ backs had huge gains over 14 yards apiece. C.J. Spiller had a long of 14 yards in one rush and Fred Jackson had a rush for more than 20 yards. This is worrisome for a defense that ranked 31st against the rush last season with a new head coach preaching that he will improve the run defense in 2011.

On the other side of the ball, the Broncos believed that bringing in the behemoth nose tackle, Ty Warren would close the gaping holes that filled the defensive line last season, but a partial tear of his triceps dashed those hopes, until at the earliest week 15 or 16 of the season. Marcus Thomas also went down with a pectoral muscle injury, another key piece to the Broncos defensive line re-build, and he is out for the remainder of the preseason.

With those key absences in the defense, the Broncos’ holes have returned; Fox will need to work his magic he has demonstrated with his defenses of yesteryear to bring the backups up to speed as soon as possible.

Although the main focus for the fans and media has been the quarterback controversy, the success of the Broncos in 2011 and beyond depends on running the football, and limiting the opposing offenses' rushing yards. If you can do both of those, you can control the clock, the ball, and the game. As evidenced by last season, when you cannot run the ball or stop the run, the game turns in to a shootout on offense, and none of the Broncos' quarterbacks will win that matchup this season.