Attention on Broncos’ Tim Tebow grows as Tom Brady, Patriots await - Another day, another mob crowding in on Tim Tebow as the swirl continues to grow around the Broncos quarterback with each passing victory.  Read more from The Denver Post >>>>

Woody Paige: Sunday’s Patriots-Broncos game will decide AFC - The winner of the Broncos-Patriots game on Sunday will play in the Super Bowl.  Read more from The Denver Post >>>>

John Fox says Broncos trying to start quicker vs. Patriots - Broncos coach John Fox said Wednesday following a 2-hour practice that he is not a stats guy. But it only takes a calculator to determine that Sunday’s opponent, the New England Patriots, have averaged 22 points for the first three quarters, while the Broncos’ average is 9.  Read more from The Denver Post >>>>

Belichick Respects Tebow, Broncos - Tim Tebow and the Broncos have surprised a lot of people with their six-game win streak and subsequent surge to the top of the AFC West standings.  Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick isn’t one of them.  Read more from DenverBroncos.com >>>>

Dawkins: ‘You Have the Pen’ - Your start doesn’t affect your finish.  That’s the message Brian Dawkins spent Tuesday night getting across to 60 children from The Denver Children’s Home.  Read more from DenverBroncos.com >>>>

NFL renews television deals with CBS, Fox and NBC - The NFL has renewed its television deals with CBS, Fox and NBC for nine years through the 2022 season, the league announced Wednesday.  Read more from si.com >>>>

Three-point stance: Denver Broncos - New England is 3-6 against Denver in the Bill Belichick era, including losses in their last three trips to Denver. The last time the Patriots beat the Broncos was a Week 9 Monday night win in 2003.  Read more from ESPN.com >>>>

QB’s signature pose has Jews and gentiles ‘Tebowing’ - The biggest story in the NFL this season is Tim Tebow, a devout Christian quarterback who doesn’t throw very well but has helped the Denver Broncos pull off a string of last-second victories.  Read more from JTA >>>>

‘It’s going to be a Broncos Christmas’ - Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos are picking up the ball from where Colorado State University-Pueblo left off.  Read more from Pueblo Chieftain >>>>

Former FSU coach Bobby Bowden on Tim Tebow: ‘Guy is a winner’ - During his keynote speech at Tuesday night’s Tallahassee Quarterback Club’s awards dinner, former Florida State coach Bobby Bowden gave attendees a glimpse into his still sharp 82-year-old football mind.  Read more from Orlando Sentinel >>>>

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Missed Saturday’s game preview on DHF?  CLICK here >>>>

Injury Report

 *Courtesy NFL.com

Parking Information

• Tailgate Lots open at 8:00 a.m.
• All Lots open at 9:00 a.m.
• Main Gates open at 12:00 p.m. (Premium Gates open at 11:00 a.m.)
• For more information, visit Sports Authority Field at Mile High’s Facebook page here.

Other News & Notes

• FOX broadcast team is Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston, and Tony Siragusa.
• Kickoff forecast is 45 degrees and sunny.
• Fans are encouraged to arrive at Sports Authority Field at Mile High earlier Sunday as a new security procedure is put in place.
• Touchdown for Tots: Please bring a new, unwrapped toy with you to the game and give it to the Marines collecting at the gates.

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Missed Saturday’s game preview on DHF?  CLICK here >>>>

Injury Report

*Per the team’s announcement this morning, Von Miller is INACTIVE for the Vikings game.

*Courtesy NFL.com

Other News & Notes

• FOX broadcast team is Thom Brennaman and Brian Billick
• Game is indoors, so no kickoff forecast this week.

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The NFL’s “Broadcast Boot Camp” enters its final day tomorrow.  This year the program is only available to former players due to the ongoing labor strife.  That means former Denver Broncos Nick Ferguson and Maurice Williams will be among the 16 participants at the fifth annual tutorial/seminar/crash course in talking football for a living.  The top performer at this year’s event will serve as a studio analyst for NFL Network’s U.K. presence on Sky News.

Certainly, it’s worth wishing Ferguson and Williams the best of luck in a potentially new career surrounding football.  A number of former Denver Broncos have done extremely well for themselves as commentators.  Tom Jackson, Mark Schlereth, Shannon Sharpe, John Lynch, and Dave Logan are among those that made the transition, and with the exception of Lynch, who now has one season under his belt, have thrived for multiple years.

Frankly, the train from the field to the booth is a lot more crowded than it used to be.  Twenty years ago, it was pretty easy to find game analysts who didn’t play the game at the professional level.  That’s not the case today as basically every color commentator used to be a star on the field.  While that may seem like a welcome sign for former players looking to join broadcast teams, it is really an indicator that the odds aren’t in their favor unless they don’t mind starting small.  Figure it this way: in non-bye weeks there are only 14 games played on CBS and FOX.  Take five of those games off the board as Nantz/Simms, Buck/Aikman, Gumbel/Dierdorf,  Stockton/Davis/Mora, and Albert/Johnston/Siragusa are all pretty locked down teams.  So now you have nine game analyst spots left.

Up next for Nick Ferguson, the broadcast booth? (Courtesy Jeffrey Beall)

Some of the names filling those seats last season: Brian Billick, Steve Tasker, Kurt Warner, Dan Fouts, Rich Gannon, Solomon Wilcots, and the aforementioned Lynch.  No offense to Ferguson or Williams, but all those guys carry a lot more name recognition.  Let’s also not forget the star-power occupying the various sets of pre and post-game studio shows.  In the end it adds up to a whole bunch of former players vying for what in reality is a handful of seats in front of the camera.

However, should Ferguson, Williams, or some of the other participants at this year’s Broadcast Boot Camp (Antonio Freeman and Amani Toomer are notable names) find themselves in a TV gig, there are a few key things to remember.  As someone who has personally spent  the better part of a decade in television broadcasting, here are a few tips on style.

Stick with what you know

The most recent edition of Real Sports on HBO codifies this point with Tiki Barber who is now banking on an NFL comeback after a failed television foray.  Tiki’s problem is he tried to go “all in” as a newsman.  There’s a reason it takes journalism degrees and several decades in small markets for people like Matt Lauer to make it onto Today.  Actual journalism is difficult work believe it or not.  Just because you have the “look” or the “voice” doesn’t mean you are a journalist capable of functioning on national television.  Stick to the X’s and O’s of football.  A perfect example of this is Michael Strahan.  The guy was getting buzz as a great TV personality years before he left the league.  He didn’t try to exceed those expectations by pursuing a full-on reporting gig…he just met them by talking about football in a fun, articulate, and natural way.  That’s allowed him the opportunity to avoid a somewhat odd retun-to-the-glory-days quest.  If you were known as having a magnetic personality in the locker room, it’s okay to keep that magnet focused on football once you enter television.

Good Mentors: Michael Strahan, Deion Sanders, Shannon Sharpe, Lynn Swann

» Continue reading “Broncos in the Booth”

Dear Friday:
Please make rain go away.

- Brenda

While I can’t promise that will happen, I can offer some football news to get your day started off right.

Giants President and CEO John Mara, who’s taking part in the labor negotiations, has a progress update.  Read the report, in his own words, on the Denver Broncos official website.

Also on the Broncos site, coaches from youth leagues all the way to junior colleges ranks were at Dove Valley this week getting some coaching pointers from the Broncos staff.  The event brought in 150 coaches from around the country.

Roger Goodell was booed at the NFL Draft, and now NFLPA head honcho DeMaurice Smith got his own public outcry. Details are on The Denver Post.

Staying on the subject, The Denver Post’s Dave Krieger, a former political reporter, finds many striking similarities between football and politics.

In a very expected move by the front office, USA Today reports the Broncos will pass on ‘Hard Knocks.’

My Fox Memphis chronicles the offseason schedule of Tim Tebow, including his upcoming celebrity golf outing.

More headlines tomorrow…

Rain or shine.

Follow Denver Horse Force on Twitter at @Aerys_Broncos and Facebook at www.facebook.com/denverhorseforce.

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