Jock Itch Start your slobbering, it’s nearly Broncos season

It’s been a long time since we chatted about the Denver Broncos. With the way things ended last season—gruesomely—a break was needed. But with training camp firing up next Sunday, the slobbering can once again commence as we check in to see what’s new with the orange and blue.

The re-up of Elvis
Signing Elvis Dumervil has really been the only thing the Broncos have gotten right in a long while. Though the drawn-out negotiations were yet another downer for Broncos fans, the eventual signing signals that heads might not be totally up asses at Dove Valley. And Dumervil—the NFL sack leader from last season—was rewarded handsomely for his patience, his loyalty, and his bunker-busting pass rushing with a five-year, $58 million extension. But the real good news is now you can finally buy a Broncos jersey that is pretty sure to not be a gag gift in another year.

We’re No. 14!
Being named the world’s 14th most valuable sports team by Forbes is actually pretty impressive considering titans like Manchester United and the New York Yankees loom just ahead of the Broncos. If you take into account that the Broncos were the 14th-worst team in the NFL this past year, then there’s no shame in being number 14 on this list. We’ll take the little victories.

The least compelling QB controversies in the NFL
Kyle Orton or Brady Quinn? Certainly doesn’t have the cachet of a Brady/Bledsoe or Montana/Young decision, does it? We’re all pretty sure Orton will be the Denver Broncos starting QB when the team travels to Jacksonville to take on the Jaguars on Sept. 12. The real question is whether Orton will keep that job. Broncos fans are still a little miffed at the low-caliber choices at QB, so it will be interesting to see if Quinn can step in there and be effective if he needs to. Nothing so far in his career has hinted at that, but a new start on a team that isn’t a total embarrassment (sorry again, Cleveland) can mean rebirth for some players. The bigger controversy? How long until the pious young man lurking just behind these two gunslingers takes over for good. More on him below.

The world tour
I still haven’t received my press pass and plane tickets for the Broncos game being played in London against the San Francisco 49ers on Halloween. There’s still time, but just in case you didn’t get your invite either, you can enter a contest for an all expenses paid trip to “the Old Smoke” for the game. I can’t wait for the Broncos to be featured on the international stage, and since the team has a bit of a following in the UK, they may get the same mix of drunken spectators and noisy fans of the other team that they get in Mile High. In other words, it will feel just like home.

What to do with Champ Bailey?
His contract is up after this year and the perennial pro bowler is looking for another payday. Bailey is 32, somewhat grandfatherly in NFL terms, but he’s still one of the best in the game. Something tells me the Broncos will play this one a little closer to the leather-fringed Western vest than Dumervil’s situation. The team may want to see how the season goes before it shells out for a player who will command more money than he’s probably worth. And besides, if the season heads into the crapper right away, Champ might want out regardless. Josh McDaniels likes to deal, and in that regard, Dealin’ Doug has got nothing on McD. Bailey could be the latest high-profile, Shanahan-era Bronco packing his bags.

Tebow
Wouldn’t it be a bitch if Tim Tebow revealed that due to his churchy ways, he won’t play on Sundays? That would be hilarious. Even without that, the hype surrounding Tebow is just going to get wilder and more intense as we get closer to the beginning of the season. Tebow himself hasn’t done much to deflect that spotlight: His jersey is the No. 1 seller in the NFL, he’s launched a Nike shoe line, and there were rumblings that after all his virtuous posturing, he would hold out if he didn’t get paid. But that’s not going to happen because, once considered a third-string QB, Tebow is believed to be climbing the depth chart. A good training camp may put him over the top, which still means Kyle Orton is backup, but a whole lot of drama regardless. If only jersey sales and hype could manage to squeeze out an extra win or two. Now that would be worth going to church for.