Tag: Week 1

Broncos ranked No. 15 in NFL power rankings entering Week 1

The Broncos are considered playoff contenders in NFL power rankings.

The Denver Broncos are ranked No. 15 in Nate Davis’ NFL power rankings for USA TODAY Sports entering Week 1.

“The buzz is palpable,” Davis wrote alongside Denver’s ranking. “But will reconfigured line coalesce in front of QB Drew Lock and Co.? And will OLB Bradley Chubb really be near 100%?”

The Broncos are the seventh-highest ranked AFC team. With an extra Wild Card seed in each conference this season, a seventh-place finish would be good enough for Denver to reach the playoffs.

Since winning the Super Bowl in 2015, the Broncos have failed to return to the playoffs in each of the last four seasons.

Denver is ranked as the second-best team in the AFC West, behind the Kansas City Chiefs (No. 1). The Broncos are ranked above the Los Angeles Chargers (No. 22) and Las Vegas Raiders (No. 24).

The Jacksonville Jaguars are ranked No. 32, dead last. To view the complete NFL power rankings from Davis, visit USATODAY.com.

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Detroit Lions Breakdown podcast, Episode 162: 53-man roster established

Detroit Lions Breakdown podcast, episode 162: 53-man roster established”, is now available to download and listen.

This week on the Detroit Lions Breakdown Podcast, the guys discuss every player on the team’s 53-man roster, 16-man practice squad, as well as those unable to play right now, but will be available in the near future. They also take a look ahead at the Lions Week 1 matchup with the Chicago Bears.

The DLB podcast is a weekly conversation with Lions Wire’s own Erik Schlitt and his co-host Joe Kania. This week, the guys discuss:

Be sure to follow the Detroit Lions Breakdown Podcast (@LionsBreakdown) and its hosts Schlitt (@Erikschlitt) and Kania (@JoeKania_DLB) on Twitter, with a Facebook page on the way.

The podcast is available to listen at the DetroitLionsBreakdown.com website and is also available to download and subscribe to on multiple podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, and others.

Broncos release depth chart for Week 1 of 2020 NFL season

The Broncos have released their depth chart for Week 1 of the 2020 NFL season!

The Denver Broncos released their depth chart for Week 1 of the 2020 NFL season on Monday. Here’s a look at the offense:

Position Player Player Player
WR 14 Courtland Sutton 17 DaeSean Hamilton 16 Tyrie Cleveland
LT 72 Garett Bolles 76 Calvin Anderson
LG 66 Dalton Risner 71 Austin Schlottmann
C 79 Lloyd Cushenberry III 71 Austin Schlottmann
RG 61 Graham Glasgow 52 Netane Muti
RT 68 Elijah Wilkinson 78 Demar Dotson
TE 87 Noah Fant 88 Nick Vannett 80 Jake Butt
85 Albert Okwuegbunam
WR 10 Jerry Jeudy / 81 Tim Patrick 13 KJ Hamler
11 Diontae Spencer
RB 25 Melvin Gordon III / 30 Phillip Lindsay 28 Royce Freeman
QB 3 Drew Lock 9 Jeff Driskel
FB 83 Andrew Beck

As expected, third-round draft pick Lloyd Cushenberry won the starting center job. First-round draft pick Jerry Jeudy will begin the season listed as a co-starter with veteran Tim Patrick as the No. 2 receivers. Melvin Gordon and Phillip Lindsay are also listed as co-starters at running back.

Here’s the defensive depth chart:

Position Player Player Player
DE 96 Shelby Harris 93 Dre’Mont Jones
NT 98 Mike Purcell 95 McTelvin Agim
DE 99 Jurrell Casey 57 DeMarcus Walker
SLB 58 Von Miller 97 Jeremiah Attaochu
WLB 55 Bradley Chubb 59 Malik Reed
ILB 45 Alexander Johnson 53 Austin Calitro
ILB 47 Josey Jewell 42 Mark Barron 43 Joe Jones
LCB 21 A.J. Bouye 27 Davontae Harris 20 Duke Dawson Jr.
RCB 29 Bryce Callahan 23 Michael Ojemudia 34 Essang Bassey
SS 22 Kareem Jackson 20 Duke Dawson Jr.
FS 31 Justin Simmons 36 Trey Marshall

There aren’t really any surprises on defense. Because the team only carried three true safeties, cornerback Duke Dawson is listed as Kareem Jackson’s backup. Dawson can also play as a nickelback.

Here’s the special teams depth chart:

Position Player Player
PK 8 Brandon McManus
KO 8 Brandon McManus
P 6 Sam Martin
H 6 Sam Martin
LS 46 Jacob Bobenmoyer
KR 11 Diontae Spencer 16 Tyrie Cleveland
PR 11 Diontae Spencer 29 Bryce Callahan

KJ Hamler’s not even listed as a backup returner. Once he recovers from a hamstring injury, Hamler might be an option to provide a spark on special teams but Denver likely wants to keep him fresh so he can make an impact on offense this season.

The Broncos will host the Titans on Monday Night Football on Sept. 14.

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Gators News: September 7, 2020

With the first week of college football nearly in the books, it is time to take a look at what fall football looks like despite COVID-19.

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Welcome to a Labor Day edition of Gators News! With the first week of college football nearly in the books — the BYU Cougars play the Navy Midshipmen tonight to finish off Week 1 — it is time to take a look at what fall football looks like here in 2020 despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

In the top story today, Paul Myerberg at USA TODAY Sports takes a look at five things he learned from Week 1 of gridiron action. As a gauge of how the season will play out, Saturday’s slate provided the first real glimpse at football amid a pandemic but won’t help settle arguments over which teams will reach the College Football Playoff.

In other news, Oklahoma State football parents in the medical field are trusting the school to care for their sons. “I had faith that OSU was taking all the necessary safety precautions,” one mother said.

Finally, “College GameDay” commentator Kirk Herbstreit breaks down in tears during an emotional message on racial injustice on Saturday. Herbstreit, a former Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback and father of two Clemson Tigers football players, broke down in tears during the show’s segment on the intersection of the country’s racial justice movement and college football.

Around the Swamp

It’s great to be a Florida Gator!

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Jadeveon Clowney will face Broncos in Week 1 after signing with Titans

Jadeveon Clowney will face the Broncos in Week 1 after signing a one-year deal with the Titans.

Jadeveon Clowney is set to face the Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football in Week 1 after signing a one-year deal with the Tennessee Titans.

In Tennessee, Clowney will be reunited with coach Mike Vrabel. Clowney posted a career-high 9.5 sacks with the Houston Texans in 2017 when Vrabel was serving as his defensive coordinator.

Clowney missed the Titans’ training camp conditioning program so he’ll need to get up to speed quickly. Clowney has a good chance to play against Denver in the season opener but his snaps will probably be limited.

In two career games against the Broncos, Clowney has totaled five tackles, one sack, one tackle for a loss and three quarterback hits.

Clowney, 27, spent the first five years of his career in Houston before a one-year stint with the Seattle Seahawks in 2019. He has totaled 219 tackles, 32 sacks and 14 pass breakups in his career. Last season, Clowney recorded the first interception of his career and returned it 27 yards for a touchdown.

Depending on which side of the defense he lines up on, Clowney will either face Garett Bolles or Elijah Wilkinson in the Broncos’ season opener.

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Gators News: September 4, 2020

It is Friday and that means we have nearly completed another week of this tumultuous summer of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

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It is Friday and that means we have nearly completed another week of this tumultuous summer of the novel coronavirus pandemic. Stepping deeper into September, we inch closer and closer to the beginning of the Southeastern Conference’s 10-game schedule, with the Gators facing off with the Ole Miss Rebels on Sept. 26.

While the SEC waits until the end of the month to start its gridiron action, college football’s official opening weekend is tomorrow. Postponements have left the Week 1 slate fairly sparse, with no teams ranked in the preseason Amway Coaches Poll in action.

However, things got started a little early last night, as Southern Miss lost the first Football Bowl Subdivision game of the 2020 season, falling to South Alabama 32-21. The eyes of the college football world were on Southern Miss on Thursday night, and Southern Miss didn’t live up to the situation.

Finally, Iowa athletic director Gary Barta said Thursday he’s gaining optimism that the Big Ten Conference can safely resume athletic competition before the new year, but said there would need to be a “miracle” in order to start a football season next month.

Around the Swamp

It’s great to be a Florida Gator!

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Check out the new Broncos Wire Podcast!

Broncos Wire has launched a new podcast about the Denver Broncos.

The NFL Wire Network is rolling out new podcast shows this week, including the brand new Broncos Wire podcast!

The pod will be hosted by Ryan O’Leary (@RyanOLearySMG on Twitter) and I’ll join him each week to break down the latest Broncos news.

The show will be Denver-focused but will also feature league-wide tips on NFL picks and fantasy football news.

O’Leary’s the pro — I’m new to this so please bear with me. I’m aiming to get better as the season goes on, much like the Broncos’ offense.

In Episode 1 of the podcast, we talk Denver’s outlook, second-year quarterback Drew Lock, first-round draft pick Jerry Jeudy and more.

You can listen to the first episode below:

Starting next week, you can catch a new episode each Thursday on Apple Podcasts or your podcast service of choice.

The Broncos will face the Titans on Monday Night Football in Week 1. Next week’s show will get into more detail on that matchup.

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Broncos ranked No. 26 in preseason NFL power rankings

Broncos are considered the eighth-worst team in these NFL power rankings.

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Touchdown Wire’s Doug Farrar recently published preseason NFL power rankings based on DVOA projections from Football Outsiders. (If you’re not familiar with DVOA, here’s an explainer.)

The Denver Broncos are ranked No. 26, or eighth-worst in the NFL.

Here is Farrar’s commentary with the Broncos’ ranking:

Even with the draft additions of receivers Jerry Jeudy and KJ Hamler, FO isn’t convinced that quarterback Drew Lock is ready to take the proverbial Next Step, and doesn’t put much predictive value in the team’s 4-1 finish to the 2019 season. That’s why they have the Broncos projected with a team DVOA of -5.9%, 26th in the league, and 7.0 Average Wins. It doesn’t help that per Estimated DVOA, Denver has the third-toughest strength of opponent in the league.

Denver is the lowest-ranked team in the AFC West, behind the Kansas City Chiefs (No. 2), Las Vegas Raiders (No. 19) and Los Angeles Chargers (No. 22).

The New Orleans Saints are ranked No. 1 and the Washington Redskins are ranked No. 32. View the complete rankings here.

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Packers’ season opener vs. Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium won’t have fans

U.S. Bank Stadium will be empty when the Packers arrive for their Week 1 matchup with the Vikings.

The Green Bay Packers will open the 2020 season at one of the loudest venues in the NFL, but the noisemaking fans will be noticeably absent.

The Minnesota Vikings, who are scheduled to host the Packers at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sept. 13, announced Tuesday that the team won’t have fans in attendance at either of the team’s first two home games, including the Week 1 visit from the Packers.

The Vikings also won’t have fans at a Sept. 27 game against the Tennessee Titans.

From the Vikings: “Based on our conversations and the current Minnesota Department of Health guidelines that specify an indoor venue capacity of 250, we have determined it is not the right time to welcome fans back to U.S. Bank Stadium. As a result, the first two Vikings home games on Sunday, Sept. 13, and Sunday, Sept. 27, will be closed to the public. We will continue to work with the appropriate officials on our plans with the hope of bringing fans back in a safe manner later this season.”

The NFL is planning to allow teams to have ambient noise at all stadiums, so U.S. Bank Stadium won’t be completely silent when the Packers arrive in Week 1.

The Packers won their first-ever game at U.S. Bank Stadium last December, clinching the NFC North with a primetime win over the Vikings in Minneapolis. The venue, which holds 73,000 fans and cost over a billion dollars to build, opened in 2016.

The Packers have already announced that fans won’t be allowed at the team’s first two home games.

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Broncos injuries: 11 players held out of practice Monday

The Broncos have been hit hard by injuries in the second week of training camp.

The Broncos have been hit hard by injuries in the second week of training camp.

Linebacker Justin Strnad had wrist surgery and will miss the entire season. In addition to Strnad, 10 other Denver players were held out of Monday’s practice.

WR KJ Hamler (hamstring), ILB Todd Davis (calf), WR Juwann Winfree (groin), CB Michael Ojemudia (quad), TE Austin Fort (knee), DB Alijah Holder (soft tissue), CB De’Vante Bausby (soft tissue), OLB Malik Carney (illness), WR Tim Patrick (soft tissue) and DL Mike Purcell (calf) were also sidelined.

Broncos coach Vic Fangio said he didn’t anticipate having this many soft tissue injuries during camp.

“I was not expecting that,” Fangio said. “I think there were some flaws in the way we set up the acclimation period along with the other stuff. It doesn’t do anybody any good to whine about it now. We just have to adjust and improvise and react to it, which we did.”

Denver adjusted Monday’s schedule and made it a lighter practice session. The Broncos’ season opener against the Titans is three weeks away so the team still has some time for players to get healthy.

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