The Denver Broncos on Monday signed free-agent tight end Chad Mustard, Head Coach Mike Shanahan announced. As per club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The Broncos also on Monday waived guard Dylan Gandy.

Mustard (6-foot-6, 277 pounds) is in his fifth NFL season and third year with the Broncos. He competed with Denver in its 2008 training camp before he was waived on Aug. 30.

In 41 career games (6 starts) with Denver (2006-07) and Cleveland (2002-04), Mustard has totaled 12 receptions for 123 yards (10.3 avg.). He entered the NFL with the Browns as a practice-squad signee in 2002 after a stint with the Omaha Beef of the National Indoor Football League, and he played both football and basketball at the University of North Dakota.

Last season with the Broncos, Mustard saw time in 12 games (2 starts) and had a personal-best five receptions for 62 yards (12.4 avg.). He started a career-high four games and appeared in a total of 12 contests for Denver in 2006.

Mustard played two seasons of football at North Dakota after his basketball eligibility expired. He finished his collegiate basketball career ranked eighth all-time in UND annals with 1,568 points scored.

Born on Oct. 8, 1977, Mustard attended Scotus Central Catholic High School in Columbus, Neb.

The Denver Broncos on Saturday made several transactions to reduce their roster to the 53-man limit, Head Coach Mike Shanahan announced.

The club waived 17 players while placing running back Anthony Alridge (left foot) and fullback Cecil Sapp (left quadriceps) on its reserve/injured list. Denver also moved tight end Brett Pierce (left ankle) to its waived/injured list.

Beginning Sunday, the Broncos can establish a practice squad of up to eight players.

The following 17 players were waived by the Broncos on Saturday:

Player                                     NFL Exp.               College                           

G P.J. Alexander                            6                      Syracuse

S Josh Barrett                               R                     Arizona State

LB Jordan Beck                             4                      Cal Poly/San Luis Obispo

DE Larry Birdine                            2                      Oklahoma

DE Paul Carrington                       3                      Central Florida

CB Wale Dada                              1                      Washington State

G Mitch Erickson                           R                     South Dakota State

G Dylan Gandy                              4                      Texas Tech

QB Darrell Hackney                      2                      Alabama-Birmingham

DT Steven Harris                           2                      Florida

WR Glenn Martinez                       3                      Saginaw Valley State

WR Marquay McDaniel                 1                      Hampton

TE Chad Mustard                          5                      North Dakota

P Sam Paulescu                           2                      Oregon State

CB Tyrone Poole                          13                     Fort Valley State

WR Clifford Russell                      6                      Utah

S Vickiel Vaughn                            2                      Arkansas

For the Official List, CLICK HERE!

Player                                     NFL Exp.               College                           

G P.J. Alexander                            6                      Syracuse

S Josh Barrett                               R                     Arizona State

LB Jordan Beck                             4                      Cal Poly/San Luis Obispo

DE Larry Birdine                            2                      Oklahoma

DE Paul Carrington                       3                      Central Florida

CB Wale Dada                              1                      Washington State

G Mitch Erickson                           R                     South Dakota State

G Dylan Gandy                              4                      Texas Tech

QB Darrell Hackney                      2                      Alabama-Birmingham

DT Steven Harris                           2                      Florida

WR Glenn Martinez                       3                      Saginaw Valley State

WR Marquay McDaniel                 1                      Hampton

TE Chad Mustard                          5                      North Dakota

P Sam Paulescu                           2                      Oregon State

CB Tyrone Poole                          13                     Fort Valley State

WR Clifford Russell                      6                      Utah

S Vickiel Vaughn                            2                      Arkansas

Happy hump day!  Remember, you can watch and listen to MHR Radio LIVE, tonight at 9PM est / 7PM mst.  The audio and video will be right here, on the front page of MileHighReport, no need to go anywhere or install anything(except the Flash player, perhaps)

Enough of that, here is your Wednesday morning Orange and Blue coffee --

   The Broncos are set to welcome the Cowboys to town, starting today.

   Rookie Mitch Erickson is proving to be a versatile addition to the Offensive Line.

   Brandon Marhshall will be keeping his eye on a certain Cowboys receiver this week.

   A personal tragedy inspired Nate Webster during the off-season.

   Chad Mustard returned to practice and caught a pass.

   One of Brandon Marshall's court dates has been moved.

   Time for the Cowboys to step up the intensity.

AROUND THE NATION

   BTB breaks down the Cowboys' defense during their loss to the Chargers(Blogging the Boys)

   Looks like Joey Galloway's struggles with injuries continue.(Buc 'Em)

   Steven Jackson is still holding out, with no end in sight.

The Broncs are still trying to replace Sharpe

The Broncos have always enjoyed strong Tight End play during the Mike Shanahan era.  Sure, having a Hall of Fame player at the position for let's say, a decade, substantially increases productivity, but even without Shannon Sharpe the Broncos have been able to utilize their Tight End's in their offensive sets.  A look, however, at the production coming from the position the past 5 seasons shows a disturbing trend downward -

2002 - 61 rec. / 686 yds / 3 TDs
2003 - 62 rec. / 770 yds / 8 TDs

2004 - 58 rec. / 770 yds / 3 TDs
2005 - 58 rec. / 651 yds / 1 TD
2006 - 43 rec. / 518 yds / 6 TDs

In the stats above, 2002 and 2003 were Sharpe's last two seasons as a Bronco.  After he retired, the Broncos went to more of a platoon scenario at tight end.  In 2004 it was Byron Chamberlain and Jeb Putzier.  2005 saw Putzier joined by Stephen Alexander.  In 2006, incredibly, the Broncos had 4 different tight ends make catches, rookie Tony Scheffler, Alexander, Nate Jackson and Chad Mustard.  Sure, the TD production went up, but the number of catches and yards dropped significantly.  Also suffering was the Broncos ground game.  2006 saw the Broncos finish 8th in the League in rushing, their lowest finish in the 5 years studied.  Their rush total, 2152 yards, was their lowest of the period and nearly 400 yards worse than 2005 when they finished 2nd in the League, behind only the Atlanta Falcons.  One could easily come to the conclusion that 400 yards over a 16 game season can be the difference between 13-3 and 9-7.

Things got better in 2007, with Broncos' Tight Ends combining for their best season since Sharpe retired, a subtle sign that the health of the Broncos short passing game might be starting to improve -

2007 - 71 rec. / 891 yards / 8 TDs

The running game, however, continued to decline - 1957 yards - but that number can be misleading. The Broncos averaged a healthy 4.6 yards per carry, easily enough to be successful on the ground. Being behind, forced to throw the football to stay in games, was a major factor.

For the Broncos to be successful in 2008, the Tight Ends must play well in both facets of the game. If 2007 was any indication, the Tight End position is one of strength for the Broncos heading into Training Camp. Let's take a look at each and talk about how they'll impact the roster in '08.

Continue reading this post »