BRONCOS FANS CAN HELP DECIDE IF BRETT KERN OR MICHAEL PITTMAN MAKE IT TO SUPER BOWL XLIII IN THE NFL'S "SUPER AD: BELIEVE IN NOW" COMMERCIAL

"I went up to my wife now and I said, ‘Hey honey, there's this guy who wants to interview us out on the 50-yard line.' She looked at me kind of funny and I started to get butterflies." - Brett Kern

"I got up on the bench and waved my hat to the fans. ‘Tampa Bay: The Champions.' I waved that newspaper to the fans. It was the best moment in my career." - Michael Pittman

Five Denver Broncos told their stories. Now, fans can help turn one of them into the NFL's Super Bowl commercial at NFL.com/SuperAd.  

BRETT KERN and MICHAEL PITTMAN are featured in a head-to-head competition against their rivals from the AFC West in the NFL's "Super Ad: Believe In Now" promotion. 

NFL Films traveled to NFL training camps and team facilities to capture the players' stories.  Now fans will have the opportunity to hear these unique tales and get an exclusive look at some of their favorite NFL players, such as:

• Brett Kern, who admits to proposing to his girlfriend on the 50-yard line following a win in front of his family, friends, teammates and coaches.

• Michael Pittman, who talks about his greatest memories from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 48 - 21 win over the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII.

Fans can visit the Broncos section to also see: ANTHONY ALRIDGE, JOSH BARRETT and D.J. WILLIAMS.

Fans will vote on the 24 stories from AFC players on nfl.com/superad from December 4 - 17.  Four AFC stories, one from each division, will be selected to continue to the Championship Round where they will compete against four videos from the NFC as well as one wildcard video.  The Championship Round runs from December 18, 2008 - January 4, 2009.  Fans will have eighteen days to vote for their favorites with a Super Bowl appearance on the line.

Fans can visit the "All Videos" section to watch all 210 NFL players' stories posted on nfl.com/superad.  Fans will then watch the winning pitch, and the player who told it, during Super Bowl XLIII on Sunday, February 1 on NBC. 

DENVER POST

They have to be, bar none, the most inconsistent team in the league. The minute you think they're going to fall apart, they rip off back-to-back wins vs. Cleveland and Atlanta. And the moment you think they've finally got some momentum going, they lose at home to the gawdawful Raiders.

No, he said, he didn't want to imagine what the Broncos' defense would have looked like this past month without linebacker Jamie Winborn.

What's happening here is that the Broncos are getting everybody well just in time -- Champ Bailey, D.J. Williams, Nate Webster, Selvin Young -- and their backups have gotten experience, so they'll have depth on defense and can spell some of the regulars at linebacker and in the secondary. I think they have a great chance to win the first playoff game, but the second game would be at Pittsburgh or Tennessee, probably, and those are two great defenses.

Linebackers Nate Webster and D.J. Williams participated fully in practice Wednesday for the first time since suffering knee injuries early last month.

Kansas City coach Herm Edwards is likening his young quarterback to Jay Cutler.  Edwards said Tyler Thigpen's mobility reminds him of Cutler's ability to scramble. Thigpen leads all quarterbacks with 251 rushing yards. Cutler has rushed 37 times for 141 yards this season.

Running back Selvin Young (groin) practiced fully, but Shanahan said Peyton Hillis will remain the team's starting tailback. . . . Rookie receiver Eddie Royal, limited in practices all last week, was removed from the injury report.

CLICK HERE TO VOTE FOR RYAN CLADY -- PRO BOWL

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MHR Radio -- the official webcast of MileHighReport.com -- is heard live every Wednesday night, 9PM est / 7PM mst.  The show includes video and interactive chat.  I am inviting Chiefs fans to come talk about the game in the chat room.  We have done this with other fan bases and it has worked out great. 

If you want to check it out, head on over to MileHighReport.com at 9PM est / 7PM mst and you'll see the post on the front page.  I hope you can join us from to football talk about the Broncos/Chiefs!

via assets.sbnation.com

MHR Radio has gone "Back to the Future"!  Back on UStream as TPSRadio has gone back to its roots.

The rules still apply - click into the post and get ready to interact!  Try and warmly welcome our friends from Arrowhead Pride if they should stop by....

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The Denver Broncos on Wednesday signed free-agent safety Herana-Daze Jones (pronounced Hernandez) and placed defensive tackle Josh Shaw on their reserve/injured list, Head Coach Mike Shanahan announced.

 Shaw, a sixth-year player, suffered a left elbow injury during the Broncos' 34-17 win at the New York Jets on Sunday. He saw time in five games for the Broncos this year and posted three tackles (2 solo).

Jones (5-foot-11, 205 pounds) is a fourth-year safety who joins the Broncos after seeing time in three games this season with Cincinnati, which waived him on Nov. 4. He spent his first three professional seasons with the Bengals after they signed him as a college free agent in 2005 from the University of Indiana.

In 28 career games, Jones has registered 41 special-teams tackles along with seven defensive stops. He led Cincinnati in special-teams tackles during each of the last two seasons, posting 18 in 2007 and a 19 in 2006, and had four tackles on coverage units in his three games with the club this year.

During four seasons at Indiana, Jones recorded the fourth-most tackles (342) in school history. He was a second-team All-Big Ten Conference selection as a senior after placing third in the conference with a team-high 110 tackles.

Jones, who set a Kentucky state record as a senior at Iroquois High School (Louisville, Ky.) by averaging 220 rushing yards per game, was born on April 15, 1982.

HEAD COACH MIKE SHANAHAN

On Kansas City

"Our football team realizes that if you are not ready to play or if you don't play at your best then you are going to be beat in the National Football League. When you take a look at Kansas City and their game against the Jets, the Jets had to drive down the length of the field and score with a minute left. When you take a look at (their game against) Tampa Bay, not only do they (Buccaneers) score with 19 seconds left, (but) they were able to convert on a two-point conversion to take the game into overtime. I think we all saw what they did in San Diego. They (Chiefs) went for two and could have tied it up and gone into to overtime and could have won the football game. So, that's the nature of the National Football League. Any given Sunday if you are not playing at your best you are going to get beat; it doesn't matter if it's home or away."

More on Kansas City

"Kansas City is playing better. They are a much better football right now than they were when we played them. If we don't bring our ‘A' game, the same thing (loss) will happen."

On LBs D.J. Williams and Nate Webster possibly returning from injuries

"I think any time that you have a little winning streak going or you go 3-1 in what we call the third quarter (games 8-12), that guys want to get back. They have been practicing here for about the last 10 days, so it's not like they are just coming back today. We will get a chance to evaluate them over the next couple of practices and see how they are doing."

On RB Peyton Hillis saying he was tenth on the depth chart at tailback in training camp

"He always wanted to be a tailback, that's why he said he was 10th on the depth chart-He was never on the depth chart (laughter). No, I mean obviously he was No. 6. We had five guys there and we lost all five with (RB) Selvin (Young) being out for eight weeks. He's the man just by an elimination process, but he has done a good job. It took him a while to get comfortable with the position and he is doing better and better. Obviously he played well against the Jets and he will get a chance to see what he can do this weekend against Kansas City. He will be our starting tailback. We moved (FB/LB) Spencer Larsen over to fullback this week because we do have more depth at the ‘Mike' linebacker position. With (FB) Andrew (Pinnock) playing the fullback position and Spencer, at least we have a little bit more depth at our fullback and tailback positions. I think Selvin Young (groin) is getting close, and hopefully there is no setback with him."

On Chiefs RB Larry Johnson

"He's pretty good. He's not just doing it to use-He's doing it to a lot of teams. He did have a great day against us (Week 4) and I take my hat off to him because anytime you average around seven yards a carry and over 200 yards (28-198, 7.1 avg.) we have a lot of work to do. Hopefully we play better this weekend."

On the Broncos having a 3-3 home record

"The season is not over yet; Let's see where we end up. We very well could end up 5-3 (at home). That's not horrible. Obviously you would like to be undefeated at home, but we can't do anything now except concentrate on this game and try to take care of business."

On TE Tony Scheffler being healthy

"Obviously any time you get a guy like Tony, he has the skills to beat anybody 1-on-1. He's 6-5, 250 (pounds) and runs in the 4.5 range. He has great hands and obviously he is a weapon."

QUARTERBACK JAY CUTLER

On rookie WR Eddie Royal and T Ryan Clady

"They both have performed at a level you don't really expect a rookie to perform at, especially be thrown in there since game one. We have put a lot of pressure on both of them. The first game, Eddie was pretty much our game plan and if he couldn't get open then we probably was not going to win. Ryan has gone up against some pretty good pass rushers all year, and he has been up to every challenge. They are both playing amazingly well right now."

On if he is surprised at RB Peyton Hillis' play

"I think this running scheme is kind of designed for him. It is one cut, get downhill, get your five or six yards and every once in a while you can break a 30 or 40 yarder if you get up on the safeties. He has done a good job. He is a smart kid, and I think we have used him effectively. We have tried to play off his strengths. We haven't put him in the position where we have had to ask him to do things he can't do. He has stepped up to the challenge and has been fun to watch."

On if he is surprised being three games ahead in the division with only four games remaining in the regular season

"I talked after the Jets game about how funny the NFL is. This season you can't really tell what is going on from week to week. Each week, you look at a game and you know almost certainly what team is going to win and the other team does. It is a crazy league, and I am sure there will be more twists and turns before this thing is over with."

On the team's inconsistencies throughout the year

"We had a good day today. We will see what happens. I think we have learned our lesson on taking teams lightly, and I don't think that it will happen this week. If we go out and turn the ball over giving them some momentum, anything can happen. Some days we go out and have good practices, some days we go out and have bad practices. There is no real rhyme or reason to what happens. This is the time of year that you want to play your best football. I think we are getting there. We are going to get some guys back this week hopefully which will help. As much as we have put different guys in from week to week, it makes it difficult, especially defensively... It is interesting. It is a great business."

On if having a young team is a factor in the Broncos' inconsistencies

"Absolutely. A lot of guys haven't been through an NFL season or a playoff race. We have traveled a lot more to the East Coast more this year than in the past two years that I have been here. It definitely plays a factor. "

On how much better he feels this year as compared to last year at this time when he was showing symptoms of diabetes

"I feel great. You have to credit the offensive line because I haven't taken a lot of hits at all. They have kept me upright for most of the year. I am in pretty good health right now."

On being compared to Chiefs QB Tyler Thigpen

"I haven't really watched the kid, but he is playing well. I haven't talked to (Chiefs injured QB) Brodie (Croyle) to see how things are going, but I know the last six games he has been putting up good numbers and not really turned over the ball. They have been throwing it more and more with him."

On the importance of getting Denver's tight ends involved in the offense

"I think whenever we were struggling, Tony (Scheffler) wasn't in the lineup and they were doubling outside a lot. Whenever we have Tony in, we get him and DG (TE Daniel Graham) involved more and it takes them out of that two-deep. It gives us more single coverage and opens up more stuff outside."

On what it takes to be elite at the quarterback position

"I think in any position, to be successful, to be the top in your field it is about consistency. It is about people going out there each and every game and doing what you are supposed to do and doing it effectively. There have been times this year where I haven't played my best games and coincidently it has been against some opponents that we feel like we should have handled pretty easily."

With all the just plain garbage out there in the MSM, it is sometimes hard to find the bright light of intelligence.  Every once in awhile, however, someone proves to me that there is still hope that those writing are still paying attention to what is happening on the field and not to what ESPN or NFLN are saying.

Case in point is Matt Sohn from ProFootballWeekly.  I am a loyal subscriber to the mag and would recommend it to anyone.  I'm not saying that because Sohn wrote a brilliant piece about who his top Rookies in 2008 are either, though it is total genius!

Sohn has what he calls the "Rookie Meter", which he describes as "a gauge who has been the best, plain and simple."  He isn't focusing on who should win post-season awards - he knows like all of us that awards are more opularity contest than anything.  No, he simply looks at who is getting it done between the white lines on Sunday's and ranks them.

His top-2, in which he describes the difference as being "razor-thin"??

1. Falcons QB Matt Ryan (first round, third overall)
Week 13 stats: 17-of-23 for 207 yards, two touchdowns
Season stats: 203-of-333 for 2,625 yards, 13 touchdowns, six interceptions
Last week’s ranking: 1
Pile on the Chargers’ woes, Matt. On the road facing a defense that's playing without any semblance of continuity, Ryan proved that smart, precision passing holds the upper hand against elite but undisciplined athleticism.

2. Broncos OT Ryan Clady (1-12)
Last week’s ranking: 2
Because name recognition is as important as actual performance in Pro Bowl voting, Clady may very well be left off the AFC’s roster. That would be a shame.

Yes, Matt, it would be a shame, which is why we here at MileHighReport are trying to do something about it, to at least bring attention to Clady so that the players and coaches notice.  Something tells me they have, however, since Clady has gone against many of the best pass-rushers in the game and has come out on top in every battle.

The Broncos have another deserving rookie in the Top-10 as well --

6. Broncos WR Eddie Royal (2-42)
Week 13 stats: five receptions for 84 yards and one touchdown
Season stats: 63 receptions for 757 yards and five touchdowns
Last week’s ranking: 7
How Royal managed to keep his balance in staying inbounds on his 59-yard TD catch-and-run is quite amazing.

While it will take more attention like this for these two Broncos to get the respect they deserve, it shouldn't go without notice when someone actually gets it right, no matter how infrequent it seems.