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

Dumervil will continue to crush opposing QB's in '08

A few days ago we took a look at the interior of the defensive line. We all know the problem the Broncos had stopping the run, and there has been plenty of talk about why. The Broncos have gone to great lengths to improve the interior, both on the line and at linebacker. Equally important to me is the ability to create a pass rush from the front four. As the New York Giants reminded us in Super Bowl XLII, it doesn't matter who the quarterback is, or how talented the offense is, if you can create constant pressure with your front 4 you are going to have a chance to win the game.

Let's look at the stats, shall we? Again, sack totals are not tied directly to the defensive end position, but I do believe an effective pass rush, generated by the front four, is directly related to a team's success. The D-End is a big part of that. When the Broncos were winning more games in a 3-year period than anyone ever('96-'98), they were consistently in the top-10 in sacks -

1996 - 40 sacks - #8
1997 - 44 sacks - #10
1998 - 47 sacks - #6

Fast forward to the past 5 years, and the Broncos haven't had the same success. Ironically, when the Broncos advanced to the AFC Championship in 2005 they had their worst season in terms of sacks -

2003 - 36 sacks - #13
2004 - 38 sacks - #14
2005 - 28 sacks - #28
2006 - 35 sacks - #15
2007 - 33 sacks - #16

Does that mean that getting to the quarterback isn't that important?  Of course not. In 2005, the Broncos knew they didn't have a great pass rush up front so they sent the house, alot.  Think back to the playoff game against the Patriots, the Broncos blitzed 8 or 9 guys almost every play.  Finally we came up against a team, the Steelers, that handled that pressure.  The result was....well...we don't need to talk about it.

The rebuilding of the d-line began, and it went into overdrive in the 2007 draft.  The Broncos focused heavily on the defensive ends in last year's draft, taking Jarvis Moss in Round 1 and Tim Crowder in Round 2. The goal was to let the rookies come along slowly with veterans John Engelberger and Ebenezer Ekuban getting a majority of the reps, along with Elvis Dumervil. Those plans ended when Ekuban blew out his Achilles in the pre-season.  The result was a struggling defense. 

Heading into 2008, the Broncos look to be healthy and hungry up front and are primed to break out.  If we are talking about a successful season in 6 months, the following group would have had a huge hand in it.  Let's meet them.

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