truebluefan

Cutler playing good soldier

When you're 4-1, despite an offense that has been as flat as Paris Hilton's rump, with a margin for error that's just as narrow, you don't take chances.

So when Mike Shanahan was asked Wednesday whether he's had any recent conversations with Jay Cutler, he did the NFL coach's version of pleading the fifth.

"Oh, I have a lot of conversations with different players," Shanahan said. "It's your job as a head coach to let players know how much you want them, about short-term and long-term plans. But specifically who, that's not something that I'd share with you."

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truebluefan

The Broncos' offense is highly charged most seasons. The annual production from the tight ends in the passing game is well documented.

Through the first five games of Denver's defensive-dominated 4-1 start, the offense hasn't been that way. The production of the tight ends in the passing game is documented as a disappointment.

Although the contribution of the tight end is not the primary cause of the Broncos' lackluster offensive start - they have 62 points in five games, tied for the second-fewest in the NFL - there has been a lack of production at the position.

"It's just a piece of it," said Broncos assistant head coach Mike Heimerdinger, who is in charge of the passing game. "We want to fix it all. We're working on getting more production from the tight ends, like every area."

Starting tight end Stephen Alexander, who has been outstanding in blocking protection, has five catches for 56 yards. Rookie Tony Scheffler, expected to be a big part of the passing plans, has two catches for 16 yards. The tight ends are on pace to catch 22 passes after catching 60 last season. In 2004, the group had 66 catches, and in 2003, Shannon Sharpe's final season, the tight ends combined for 75 catches, with Sharpe accounting for 62.

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truebluefan

Mike Shanahan has said it.

Javon Walker has said it.

And Wednesday, Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer said it, too. Yes, there is plenty of frustration to go around at the moment with the way the Broncos offense has performed in the team's 4-1 start.

"There's a little bit," Plummer said. "It's not frustration in any single-minded or egotistical way. It's frustration because we all want to play better. When you play better and you score more, everyone's getting the ball. . . . We're a little frustrated as a group, but like I said, we're not mad and yelling at each other and cussing the coaches out. We've all got to be in this thing together. The coaches will put us in the right spot. We've got to prepare and get ready to go."

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truebluefan

Parting ways was for the best, a needed change of scenery.

No, this isn't about the former Cleveland Browns defensive linemen who have relocated in Denver. It's about the flip side of that equation.

Reuben Droughns ran for 1,240 yards for the Broncos in 2004, then was part of the front-office maneuvering that has linked the franchises closely in terms of on-field personnel.

Droughns was traded by the Broncos, so switching locales wasn't totally his choice. But it also was well- known at the time he preferred a fresh start and wasn't heartbroken about the prospect of starting over.

[url=http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/nfl/article/0,2777,DRMN_23918_5077517,00.htmlcomplete article[/url]

truebluefan

Apparently, it's not the size of the defensive end in the fight, but the size of the fight in the defensive end.

Or something like that.

"It's just got to be in you," Broncos defensive coordinator Larry Coyer said. "Pass rushing is in your heart. You've got to want to get there. And then you've got to work like there's no tomorrow to get it done.

"It's speed, it's the coaching they get from our guys handling the defensive line, it's everything. But you don't always have to be the biggest guy if you fight like crazy to get back there."

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truebluefan

The Browncos — the former Browns defensive linemen playing for 4-1 Denver — have done plenty of Cleveland-bashing this week in Denver.

The four Broncos starting defensive linemen, Gerard Warren, Kenard Lang, Mike Myers and Ebenezer Ekuban, have all criticized the 1-4 Browns in Denver newspapers. Courtney Brown, who’s on injured reserve with a knee injury, has been silent.

Warren was the top choice of the Cleveland media for the weekly conference call with reporters, but he declined. Lang participated, but played it safe. Ekuban, who was traded to Denver along with Myers in exchange for Reuben Droughns, made the strongest remarks.

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truebluefan

The truest measure of the way the new Browns regime felt about Gerard Warren is what they took in return when they traded him.

The Browns traded Warren, the third overall choice in the 2001 draft, for a fourth-round draft pick.

That's close to a giveaway.

But the Denver Broncos are happy they were the recipients. Warren and three other former Browns start on the defensive line for the 4-1 team that will play the Browns on Sunday at Cleveland Browns Stadium.

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truebluefan

Denver coach Mike Shanahan churns out 1,000-yard rushers like Smucker's churns out jam. Different flavors, same jar.

The first year he took over the Broncos in 1995, Shanahan suited up a sixth-round rookie draft choice from Georgia and watched him rush for 1,117 yards. He was Terrell Davis.

Davis expanded his rushing total in each of the next three seasons, peaking at 2,008 only the third 2,000-yard rushing season in the NFL at the time.

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truebluefan

Competitive juices aren't all that flow at Broncos headquarters. Coffee and Diet Coke are all the rage, too. So is anything else that might help the coaches survive their latest 100-hour work week.

Mike Shanahan has lived an NFL coach's life since the mid-1980s. To hear him tell it, there are two requirements for success in the Sunday coaching ranks: Pour yourself into the job and pour yourself plenty of java.

"I don't know how many I drink, but it's quite a bit," Shanahan said. "I might only have four or five cups, but I probably go in there 15 times a day."

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truebluefan

By the time Larry Coyer is done with them, Broncos defensive players might not feel like they're the greatest NFL unit of the past 72 years.

"We've got a lot of things to work on," said Coyer, the Broncos' defensive coordinator.

Yes, but the Broncos just became the first team since the 1934 Detroit Lions to give up no more than one touchdown in their first five games. How can the Broncos improve a defense that, in terms of touchdowns allowed, is the best of the past 72 years?

"We've got to be more consistent in our zone drops," Coyer said.

Indeed, in the Broncos' most recent game on Monday night, the Oakland Raiders top three receivers - Randy Moss, Courtney Anderson and Alvis Whitted - combined for 10 receptions and 168 yards. It's that 16.8 yards per catch that's a concern.

The Broncos have found opponents love to pass to the space between their linebackers and safeties. For their next game Sunday against the Cleveland Browns (1-4), the Broncos (4-1) must defend against talented receiver Braylon Edwards, who is among the league leaders with 17.6 yards per catch.

"And more consistent pressure," Coyer said. "We're constantly trying to improve our rush."

The Broncos pass rush has improved slightly from last year, when the team ranked 28th in the NFL with 28 sacks. The Broncos are ranked 25th with 10 sacks, putting them on pace for 32.

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