Nate Webster has won the starting job in the Middle - Check it out HERE

Lee Rasizer of the RMN has the latest on the roster cuts, depth chart and the injured Broncos HERE

Elvis Dumervil and Boss Bailey aren't optimistic they'll be ready for the Raiders -- HERE

Josh Mallard just cannot catch a break -- HERE

Some believe lack of depth could do in the 2008 Broncos -- HERE

Shawne Merriman is traveling cross-country looking for someone that will tell him he can play -- HERE

The Giants have reached out to Michael Strahan about a possible return -- HERE

The Denver Broncos on Monday released wide receiver Samie Parker and waived defensive tackle Josh Mallard along with wide receiver Lorne Sam, Head Coach Mike Shanahan announced.

Parker, a fifth-year player, joined the Broncos as an unrestricted free agent on April 15 after spending his first four seasons with Kansas City.

Mallard, who is in his fifth NFL season, played eight games with the Broncos last year after joining the team as a free agent on Nov. 6.

Sam, a rookie, entered the NFL with Denver on April 28 as a college free agent from the University of Texas-El Paso.

The team still needs to make two more moves before tomorrow's deadline to be at 75.

Many around here think I am the eternal optimist, but that really isn't the case.  If you go back, way back, to last season you'll find my posts were not all cheery and rosy.  However, during the off season I must, as a fan, take on a different persona.  I must cheer on and rah rah my favorite team in the anticipation of the upcoming season.  The off season in my mind ends in two days with our first preseason game, therefore, it is time to get serious.

I have some major concerns about this team that I have really only hinted at over the past few months.  You could call some of them "IFs" or just simple deficiencies.  Whatever you might call them, these are the things that I beleive will be the difference between another 8-8 season and a 13-3 season. 

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Notes and Highlights

From DenverBroncos.com

-Injuries-

It looks like hydration will continue to be an issue as players are battling tight muscles. Pittman was the latest addition to the inactives as he sat out with a hamstring injury with Hillis and Mustard.

-Nickel Packages-

The team is looking at different nickel packages, including a Moss/Mallard/Ekuban/DOOM line, DJ and Boss doing the 'backing, and Bly, Champ, Foxy, Hamza and McCree doing the covering. The front six in particular with this group looks fast. It has been mentioned in several places that guys are knocking down passes on the defensive line, something we haven't talked about much when we consider the virtues of guys like Moss, Mallard, and Ekuban. And for a "short" guy, DOOM has a knack for getting his hands up too, swatting 7 last year...

-Eddie Royal-

Speaking of Royal, Wednesday seemed to be his coming-out party. He has made great plays before, but this morning he made several grabs including one where he layed out to catch a laser from Cutler in between Jack Williams and Roderick Rogers. During 7 on 7 drills, he also got away from Bly and made a long over-the-shoulder catch for a nice gain, and later caught another bomb for a touchdown.

You really have to love a guy who is laying out in practice to get his chances. I haven't heard anything negative about Royal in a week's worth of practices, and better still, he seems to be catching everything that comes his way. Nothing gives a coach or a quarterback more confidence in what you might be able to do on gameday. Royal is getting it done.

-Josh Barrett-

Rookie Josh Barrett made a big play during 7-on-7 drills. Tony Scheffler made a great grab in traffic and starting running up the sidelines, but Barrett ran at him and stripped away the ball. Not only did he cause the fumble but he recovered it as well and ran to the opposite sideline before the entire offense chased him out of bounds.

A look at the safety position will go up later tonight, so any news on the position seems particularly relevant. This is one of the ultimate roles of a safety, to turn the tide of a game just when it seems the opponent has the upper hand. A knock against Barrett was always that he never put the whole package together like a Laron Landry type of player. Plays like this show us that he is on the right track.

-MLB Battle-

During 11-on-11 drills, Niko Koutouvides had a big stop lined up when a run came up the middle of the line. Then he realized it was Cutler on a keeper, and he quickly slowed up and let his quarterback go with a light tap.

Not a huge piece of news, but a heads up call by Niko not to lay into Cutler. A huge component of the MLB's game is keeping his head on straight amongst the fury, and we know from the past that Webster can't even keep his helmet on straight. This competition looks stiff, with Webster perhaps having an edge in regards to comfort level with the team, and Niko with more focus, and they both have showed up prepared. Stay tuned.

-Aggressiveness-

Speaking of tackles, Abdullah got a light rebuke from Head Coach Mike Shanahan when he wrapped up Selvin Young and actually tackled him on a run play. Abdullah fell back into good graces later in practice when he lept to snag the second interception of the day.

I like what I'm reading, when I'm reading that our defense is being aggressive. Admittedly what he did wasn't allowed, but I like to think that these guys are really starting to get into the heat of battle, and that they might be turning the intensity up a bit. That is just what this team needs, and small moments like this have the potential to build into the fiery competition it is going to take to forge a competitor out of these guys.

Speaking of Hamza, here is a nice interview and article that talks a little bit about how he is faring in the battle for the starting Strong Safety spot. It makes a great prep for tonight's edition of "Breaking down the Roster" where we will be talking about Safeties. I volunteered to give my thoughts on the position while Guru was en route to Mecca, so I hope everyone will check back in to see how I think these guys stack up.

D-Rob will still have a chance to get to Brady

Last season the Broncos entered Training Camp with the beef necessary to make an impact in the AFC West.  Or so we thought.  Sam Adams, Jimmy Kennedy, Gerard Warren and others were going to stop the run, create havoc in the back field and make life miserable for opposing quarterbacks.  Too bad Defensive Coordinator Jim Bates never got the message.  Before the season started, Warren was so expendable the Broncos traded him to the Raiders and Kennedy was simply thrown on the trash heap for the like of Antwon Burton.  It didn't take long to show those moves, and the entire defensive interior, were a complete train wreck. 

Even now the stats are hard to look at.  Only two teams  - Oakland and Miami - gave up more yards on the ground than the Broncos in 2007.  The 2282 yards allowed on the ground were nearly twice the amount given up by the Minnesota Vikings, who led the NFL in Rush defense(1185).  While the defensive tackles can't take all the blame, there was certainly enough to go around, it is safe to say the group was a major disappointment.

If the Broncos are going to improve in 2008 it has to start at DT.  It is a young group, with only two players with more than 2 years experience, but it is a group filled with talent as well.  In my mind this group comes into Training Camp with the biggest question mark attached to their back.  No one really knows what we are going to get.  Every team has those question marks somewhere, that's were a little luck comes in.  The Broncos need a few breaks to fall in their favor.  A group of defensive tackles that exceed expectations is one of them.  Let's break 'em down --

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