Broncos sign C - Dan Koppen

[pr_capone]

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/broncos...1397--nfl.html

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) -- Former Pro Bowl center Dan Koppen, who spent nine season snapping the ball to Tom Brady in New England, will now have the chance to work with Peyton Manning.

Koppen signed with the Denver Broncos on Tuesday, two weeks after his release from the New England Patriots, where he played from 2003-11.

Koppen, who turns 33 on Wednesday, adds experience and depth to the interior line and might push starting center J.D. Walton for playing time.

Manning was sacked twice in his Denver debut, once when it appeared the wrong line call shifted everyone to the right and led to left tackle Ryan Clady having no one to block. Running back Knowshon Moreno was left to block two men, and Pittsburgh linebacker Jason Worilds dropped Manning for an 8-yard loss.

The offensive linemen weren't in the locker room during the media access period Tuesday.

The Broncos also waived backup center C.J. Davis and re-signed backup quarterback Caleb Hanie, who was released in a procedural move Saturday to provide the Broncos with some financial flexibility. His $1 million base salary is no longer guaranteed.

As expected, the Broncos also placed defensive tackle Ty Warren on injured reserve after he re-tore his right triceps in the opener, his first game since 2009.

''It affects us a lot, actually,'' said second-year defensive tackle Mitch Unrein, who played a career-high 40 snaps after Warren got hurt. ''He's a great leader. but as Coach (John) Fox always says, next guy up, so that kind of opens the door for guys like me.''

Warren, 31, re-injured himself early in the Broncos' 31-19 win over the Steelers. He missed all last season after tearing the same muscle during training camp, and he missed the 2010 season, his last in New England, with a hip injury.

Warren's return lasted two plays into the second quarter when he came up injured after shaking off a blocker and trying to tackle running back Jonathan Dwyer.

''That's a pretty sad reminder of how brutal this game can be and how quickly it can all be over,'' Unrein said. ''This injury thing is tough, especially for how great he's played in the NFL for so many years and to go out that way, that's kind of a bummer.''

Warren was the 13th overall pick by the Patriots in 2003 and he helped New England win two Super Bowls before signing a two-year deal in Denver in 2011. Although he restructured his contract over the summer, Warren will end up collecting more than $5 million for his five snaps with the Broncos.

[crazycoffey]

To the ship!!!!

[JD10367]

The Patsification of Denver continues. But, wait, we gave them McDaniels, who gave him back... And Lloyd was a Bronco... so maybe it's the Broncification of New England, I dunno...

Anyway... The Pats' O-line looked like crap all preseason, and Waters apparently isn't coming back. So, on the one hand, I don't understand why they let Koppen go. On the other hand, it leads me to think that if he had anything left in the tank they wouldn't have.

[pimpchief]

Um, did we even bring him in for a look? Seems like he'd be a great fit. Good depth behind an inexperienced guy.

[pr_capone]

Originally Posted by pimpchief

Um, did we even bring him in for a look? Seems like he'd be a great fit. Good depth behind an inexperienced guy.

can't afford him. vet minimum is damn near 1m these days. you know what Clark can do with 1m dollars?!?! he can fill a room with a bunch of gold doubloons and dive into that shit like Scrooge McDuck.

[pimpchief]

Originally Posted by pr_capone

can't afford him. vet minimum is damn near 1m these days. you know what Clark can do with 1m dollars?!?! he can fill a room with a bunch of gold doubloons and dive into that shit like Scrooge McDuck.

That would make for a badass Photoshop.

[A Salt Weapon]

It would, with a "Thanks to all the loyal Chiefs fans." underneath the picture.
Posted via Mobile Device

[Cornstock]

Originally Posted by pr_capone

can't afford him. vet minimum is damn near 1m these days. you know what Clark can do with 1m dollars?!?! he can fill a room with a bunch of gold doubloons and dive into that shit like Scrooge McDuck.

Dude, when I was little the DuckTales movies were amazing. I hadn't even thought about it for years...

[CoMoChief]

Originally Posted by Cornstock

Dude, when I was little the DuckTales movies were amazing. I hadn't even thought about it for years...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMyk7MXsseg

[Quesadilla Joe]

Nobody knows NE's protections better than Koppen. Very smart signing by Elway.

[Pasta Little Brioni]

Originally Posted by Cassel>Manning

Nobody knows NE's protections better than Koppen. Very smart signing by Elway.

Then the midgets...

[Black Bob]

The Donk's interior line is terrible. In truth, it's why Orton didn't make it and Tebow started over Quinn imo. It's because he could scramble. Their tackles are alright but, they're interior gets owned when pass blocking. KC should be very good at blitzing up the middle against Denver this year without Tebow.

The signing of Koppen is a desperate move imo. They couldn't get Saturday last spring and they had to target DTs in the draft because they were the priority.

Elway NEEDED Manning to make this work. I'm sure he wanted Manning but, without him they would have had to stick with Tebow with the guards and center they had. Manning's timing offense and quick release will help make up their interior line weakness. They would suck if they didn't have manning.

Check out how these losers graded out in the top #32 at their position at the end of last year.

Zane Beadles ranked #31 LG http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1...-guards/page/3

Chris Cooper ranked #26 RG http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1...-guards/page/8


J.D. Walton ranked #29 C http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1...centers/page/5

(I know it's Bleacher Report but, it is a reasonable gauge in this instance. They are alright in these rankings imo.)

[Sorter]

Are you seriously quoting Bleacher Report as a credible source?

[Black Bob]

Originally Posted by Sorter

Are you seriously quoting Bleacher Report as a credible source?

No, it's pretty easy to see they suck. I also explained about the source. Someone who has a pff subscription let us know where they rank. It will be similar.

That's a pretty stupid comment there mouth fingerer.

[listopencil]

Originally Posted by Sorter

Are you seriously quoting Bleacher Report as a credible source?

Bleacher Report is a piece of shit website, but they are correct that the interior of our O-Line is weak. When the Broncos brought Harris in I thought maybe they'd put him in at RT and move Franklin inside to help out. That didn't happen, and I don't care for a "work in progress" Offensive Line, but it is what it is. Peyton Manning absolutely does help with this. The thing is, if Manning can read the blitz he's going to burn D's for trying to take advantage of it.