Denver Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler will be named AFC Offensive Player of the Month for September, the National Football League informed the Broncos on Wednesday.

Cutler's selection as AFC Offensive Player of the Month is the first such award of his three-year career. It marks the first time in seven seasons that a Bronco has received AFC Offensive Player of the Month with quarterback Brian Griese earning that honor for his performance in September of 2001.

Cutler helped the Broncos to a 3-1 record and a first-place standing in the AFC West in September, completing 102-of-157 (65.0%) passes for 1,275 yards with nine touchdowns and four interceptions for a 98.6 passer rating. He led the AFC and ranked second in the NFL in both passing yards (1,275) and completions (102) while placing third in the league in touchdown passes (9).

Selected by Denver in the first round (11th overall) of the 2006 NFL Draft from Vanderbilt University, Cutler registered an AFC-best three 300-yard passing games in September that tied for the most in the NFL. He finished the month with two of the top three single-game yardage totals by an AFC passer.

In addition, his four touchdown passes in a win against San Diego (9/14) marked the second-highest single-game total in the NFL for September. His 36 completions against the Chargers tied a Broncos single-game franchise record and were an AFC high for the month.

Cutler's selection as AFC Offensive Player of the Month marks the 10th time a Bronco has earned that award since it was initiated by the NFL in 1986. He is the third Denver quarterback to receive the award, joining Griese (September 2001) and John Elway (November 1997 and October 1996)

DENVER BRONCOS WR EDDIE ROYAL VOTED WEEK 1 DIET PEPSI NFL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

Winner Selected By Fan Vote on NFL.com and Via Sprint Wireless Service

Voters on NFL.com and via Sprint wireless service have made their choice. Wide receiver EDDIE ROYAL of the Denver Broncos is the DIET PEPSI NFL ROOKIE OF THE WEEK for games played on September 4-8, the NFL announced today.

Royal had nine catches for 146 yards and one touchdown in the Broncos' 41-14 win over the Oakland Raiders on Monday Night Football. He also rushed for nine yards and returned three kicks for 30 yards to help secure the Broncos' win.

Royal's 146 receiving yards marked the sixth-highest total by a player making his NFL debut since 1960 and led the NFL for Kickoff Weekend. His receiving yardage was the third-highest single-game total by a rookie in Broncos history.

Royal's 185 combined yards and 155 yards from scrimmage were the most in the AFC for Week 1. With nine receptions, the Virginia Tech University product set Broncos franchise single-game rookie records for most catches in a game as well as most catches in an NFL debut.

Royal was selected from among five finalists through fan votes on NFL.com/rookies and via Sprint wireless service.  The other finalists were quarterback JOE FLACCO of the Baltimore Ravens, running back MATT FORTÉ of the Chicago Bears, running back CHRIS JOHNSON of the Tennessee Titans and quarterback MATT RYAN of the Atlanta Falcons.

After the regular season, five players will be nominated for Diet Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year honors. Fans can vote for the winner on NFL.com/rookies and via Sprint wireless service throughout the month of January. The winner will be announced at a press conference at Super Bowl XLIII in Tampa Bay.

This is Pepsi's seventh year as the official soft drink sponsor of the NFL and the fourth year that Diet Pepsi will present the NFL Rookie of the Week and NFL Rookie of the Year awards.

It has come out that Broncos RB Andre Hall played last night's game againt the Raiders with a heavy heart, finding out hours before game time that his mother had passed away.

Hall knew his mother was ill and in a Florida hospital, but her passing came as a shock. After talking it over with several members of the Broncos' coaching staff, front office and teammates in his hotel room Monday, Hall decided to play.

He led Denver rushers with 61 yards on 10 carries. Although Selvin Young started, Hall played most of the second and third quarters before Young returned in the fourth.

"I think that was huge for him to come out and play with the type of focus and intensity he did, given his situation," Young said of Hall. "I think that brings you closer together as teammates and closer to understanding what life is about. I know what that meant for me personally, and I'm pretty sure it meant a lot to a lot of other guys in there that he went out and played the way he did."

The thoughts and prayers of everyone here at MileHighReport go out to Hall and his family, and a huge MHR Salute to Hall for not only lacing them up last night, but playing at an extremely high level. Thanks Andre, now take care of your business....

OPENING THOUGHTS

* - With the win, the Broncos improve to 31-17-1 in season openers for a .633 winning percentage, third-best in NFL history.

* - Broncos Head Coach Mike Shanahan improves to 12-4 in season openers in his career, second-best all-time among coaches who began their careers in the Super Bowl era (min. 14 games).

Highest Winning Percentage in Opening Day Games
Mike Ditka 11-3 (.786)
Mike Shanahan 12-4 (.750)
Bud Grant 12-6 (.667)

A ROYAL INTRODUCTION

* - Broncos rookie WR Eddie Royal finished with the most receiving yards (146) and the fourth-most receptions (9) of any NFL player in Week 1. Royal added two rushes for 9 yards, two punt returns for 19 yards and a kickoff return for 11 yards, bringing his all-purpose yards total to 185.

* - Royal’s 146 receiving yards marked the sixth most by a player in his NFL debut in league history with those records dating back to 1960. He posted the first 100-yard receiving game by a player in his debut since Anquan Boldin had an NFL-record 217 receiving yards in his first game with the Cardinals (9/7/03). His 146 receiving yards also were the second most by a Broncos rookie in his first game with that record held by WR Rick Upchurch (153 on three receptions with 1 TD) vs. K.C. (9/21/75).

* - Royal’s nine receptions were the most by a Broncos rookie in his NFL debut.

Continue reading this post »

FINAL STATS

It's only one game, against a team that we should beat, that we had to beat. There is a long way to go, and the Broncos still have a lot of questions. That's all well and good, and I'll think about it tomorrow, tonight I am going to take some time to enjoy the re-birth of the Denver Broncos offense.

Not the offense that Jake Plummer used to win a lot of regular season games from 2003-2006. No, the REAL Broncos offense. The one that is relentless. The one that keeps coming and keeps coming for 60 minutes. The offense that frustrates defenses into stupid penalties. That offense, behind Jay Cutler and a cast of young, talented linemen and skill position players, is back and with it the sky's the limit.

The Broncos started fast, taking the opening kickoff and going the distance, scoring a TD on a beautiful touchdown pass from Jay Cutler to Eddie Royal. Yes, Eddie Royal. Let's take a moment to talk about the Offensive Rookie of the Year. My concern the entire pre-season was where Jay Cutler was going to go with the football with Brandon Marshall out. The answer came early and went all night long - 9 Catches, 146 yards, TD - the best performance for a receiver this weekend.

On defense, the Broncos were alot more active, swarming the football and keeping the Raiders off the scoreboard fro 3 1/2 quarters.  Playing defense with a big lead is hard to do, and to be sure the final game stats are going to be a bit skewed because of it.  I'll get deeper into the defense tomorrow, but in short I like how the front four played, especially Elvis Dumervil, and I thought the linebackers, after some early over-aggressiveness, played very well.  Jamie Winborn started and went the distance for Boss Bailey, and was flying around the football.  Nate Webster was very solid, and remember I am a Niko guy, and the helmet count stands at one.

Not much more to say than what we witnessed tonight was a dominating performace by the Broncos, on both sides of the ball.  The bigger game is coming up, but for a few minutes savor what we watched and enjoy what looks like will be an exciting 2008.

 For a look at the game from the Raiders view, check out SilverandBlackPride 

All Broncos, all the time.  The goal now is to get through the 4th quarter healthy, get back on the plane and get ready for the Chargers!

There will be open threads for each quarter tonight, so be sure to head on over to the next thread when applicable.  It is going to be a wild and crazy night!!!

Start of 4th Quarter

 For a look at the game from the Raiders view, check out SilverandBlackPride 

Eddie Royal is a beast!!  Oh, wiat, a mini-beast, because Brandon Marshall is "The Beast".  Broncos doing well in all phases, but there is alot of football to play.  Can they close the deal?!?

There will be open threads for each quarter tonight, so be sure to head on over to the next thread when applicable.  It is going to be a wild and crazy night!!!

p>Start of 3rd Quarter

 For a look at the game from the Raiders view, check out SilverandBlackPride 

The time is finally here!  The Broncos and Raiders are ready to get it on and Broncos fans are ready!  You can check out all the coverage for the game HERE.

There will be open threads for each quarter tonight, so be sure to head on over to the next thread when applicable.  It is going to be a wild and crazy night!!!

Start of 2nd Quarter

 For a look at the game from the Raiders view, check out SilverandBlackPride 

The time is finally here!  The Broncos and Raiders are ready to get it on and Broncos fans are ready!  You can check out all the coverage for the game HERE.

There will be open threads for each quarter tonight, so be sure to head on over to the next thread when applicable.  It is going to be a wild and crazy night!!!

I'll post the inactives when they become available.  Want to join me in the RMN chat as well?  Click HERE at 7:00PM Mountain.

GAMEDAY INACTIVES

BRONCOS

#37 S Calvin Lowry

#42 RB Ryan Torain

#52 LB Louis Green

#64 T Erik Pears

#66 C Tom Nalen

#77 G Dylan Gandy

#94 DE Jarvis Moss

#95 DT Josh Shaw

RAIDERS

#19 WR Todd Watkins

#27 S Rashad Baker

#58 DE Kalimba Edwards

#71 C John Wade

#75 T Mario Henderson

#84 WR Javon Walker

#8 QB Marques Tuiasosopo (Third QB)

OTHER NOTES

BRONCOS

#62 C Casey Wiegmann will start at C in place of #66 Tom Nalen

RAIDERS

#15 WR Johnnie Lee Higgins will start at WR in place of #84 Javon Walker

#72 T Seth Wand has been released

 For a look at the game from the Raiders view, check out SilverandBlackPride 

2007 OFFENSE

2007 DEFENSE

Welcome to a Week 1 edition of The Edge, MileHighReport's in-depth look at this week's Broncos game. Each week I'll take a look at the rosters and give my thoughts on which team had the advantage in each area. I'll then give my official prediction. As always, I look forward to your feedback.

Enough talk, it's Broncos/Raiders. Who has "The Edge"?

Continue reading this post »

For a look at the game from the Raiders view, check out SilverandBlackPride

Denver Broncos

Oakland Raiders

CHANGES IN BOLD