Broncos Notebook Sept. 9: Team Names Captains

Manning: looking forward to Sunday. Excited to see how we do. Key is to improve throughout game and season.

Manning: feel good about O-line. Challenging game against Ravens defensive front.

Manning: on having Emmanuel back ... He loves to compete. Brings energy that contagious to teammates.

Manning: Opener is a lot like playoff game. Lots of energy. Hoping to use home crowd to their advantage. Manning figures fans are fresh and ready to go too.

Manning: honored to be voted captain again.

Manning: feeling good right now. To keep feeling good you have to win.

Manning: CJ Anderson is really a bright player. Has used his playing time to his advantage. Can see how much confidence CJ has gained with the experience.

Manning: whatever coaches want me to do with reps and rest is okay.

- Update from Steve Cox

Kubiak said Manning will practice each day this week. Feels with the schedule the last week or so that Peyton is fresh.

Also said coaching Ravens last year won't have much bearing on coaching against them this week.
Said if you coach long enough in NFL you'll cross paths with many former players.

Comfortable with David Bruton taking TJ Ward's safety spot this week due to Ward's suspension. Fact that he was voted Special Teams captain again shows the respect of his teammates.

Confident that Evan Mathis will slide into starting left guard spot without issue. Mathis joined team in the preseason but did not play in any of the games. Kubiak said he's a veteran so shouldn't be a problem.

- Update from Steve Cox

Captains:
Offense - Peyton Manning
Defense - DeMarcus Ware
Special Teams - David Bruton

- Update from Steve Cox

4 day countdown to Week 1 vs. the Ravens.
- Peyton Manning scheduled to speak to media today.

3 storylines this week:

-Peyton Manning - he's looked good in practices, but offense didn't do much in pre-season games. Is this a cause for concern or did the Broncos just decide to not show their hand to opposing teams?

-Gary Kubiak - chess match with his old team the Ravens, can either side exploit an advantage with knowledge they have on each other?

-Broncos defense - are they as good as advertised? Just like we probably shouldn't over-react to the offense's lack of points in the pre-season, are we over-hyping the defense based on what they did in the pre-season?

2 guys to watch injury-wise:

-Lerentee McCray (LB) - missed the preseason but practicing this week, Kubiak has said he's day to day heading into week 1.
-Kenny Anunike (DL) - Kubiak has said he's behind McCray (he didn't appear to be practicing today). If he isn't back, Broncos will only have 3 defensive ends (Antonio Smith, Malik Jackson, Vance Walker) listed on the depth chart.

- Update from Mark Haas