Adam Weber throws the ball during the second half against the San Francisco 49ers. (Chris Humphreys-US PRESSWIRE)

The Denver Broncos made their mandatory cuts Friday to bring the roster down to it’s standard 53-men. Among those cut were nine year veteran cornerback Drayton Florence and fourth-string quarterback Adam Weber.

Florence was the big surprise of cut day. Broncos fans are rather familiar with him as he played with the San Diego Chargers for five seasons before going to Jacksonville for a season, and then on to Buffalo. Florence had three interceptions in each of his last two seasons with Buffalo including two interceptions run back for a touchdown.

Florence signed a two-year, $4.5 million contract with the Broncos as a free agent this off season and was expected to add some depth to the Broncos’ secondary, however, second-year man Chris Harris beat Florence to the job.

Florence had 5 tackles in four preseason games.

A fan favorite, Weber hit Greg Orton for a 45-yard pass Thursday night against the Arizona Cardinals to set up a Matt Prater winning field goal, but it didn’t matter. Weber was left off the 53-man roster again this year after serving on the practice squad in 2011.

Weber didn’t see much action in preseason with Brock Osweiler, Caleb Hanie, and of course, Peyton Manning ahead of him on the depth chart. He didn’t play in the Broncos second preseason game against the Seattle Seahawks and he played in just the final minutes of the Broncos two previous games. He went 8-for-17 for 137 yards and a touchdown in the 2012 preseason. Weber still has eligibility left on the practice squad so look for him to return to that role this season.

Among others who have been waived are Jamie Blatnick, Rafael Bush, Jerry Franklin, Ben Garland, Adam Grant, Ryan Harris, Tony Hills, Duke Ihenacho, Cornelius Ingram, Jeremiah Johnson, Mike Mohamed, Greg Orton, Gerell Robinson, Sealver Silliga, Syd’Quan Thompson, and Wayne Tribue. 

Defensive end Jeremy Beal was placed on the IR list with an injury.

All seven draft picks from the 2012 draft made the roster.

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Aug 9, 2012; Chicago, IL, USA; Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning (18) under center against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. (Credit: Matthew Emmons-US PRESSWIRE)

If you found yourself researching a running back named Xavier Omon after the Denver Broncos preseason game against the Bears last week, you were not alone. There was no shortage of stars during the Broncos 31-3 demolition of Chicago, but several players stood out and made names for themselves. Omon carried the ball 7 times for 36 yards and a touchdown. He finished with an average of 5.1 yards-per-carry and caught one ball out of the backfield. He ran with the authority and toughness that NFL fans love to see and it will be interesting to find out if he can keep it up when he plays against some better competition.

The running back battle was one of the deepest and most competitive camp battles going in Denver, and that was before we were forced to take notice of Omon. The Broncos will most likely carry 4 or 5 running backs depending on how things shake out. With Willis McGahee and Ronnie Hillman locks to make the final roster, and Chris Gronkowski the likely starting fullback, there are possibly 2 roster spots available for other running backs. Lance Ball, Knowshon Moreno, Jeremiah Johnson, and Omon have all shown that they have their sights set on one of those spots, and it’s going to be the camp battle to watch the rest of the way.

Here are some other observations from the Broncos first preseason game of 2012:

• Denver’s electrifying performance did nothing to temper the excitement of fans in Broncos Country. It’s easy to overstate things after a single preseason game, but Denver came to play across the board and looks like a team with the talent to make some serious noise in 2012.
• A lot of draft day doubters feel much better today after watching Derek Wolfe completely destroy the Bears’ offensive front. He finished with 3 solo tackles, 2 sacks, and 1 tackle for loss in his Denver debut. If he can play with that kind of presence consistently the defense will be in great shape going forward.
• Peyton Manning’s only series of the game had some mixed results, but that should have been expected considering it was his first real game action in a year and a half. He ended up going 4/7 for 44-yards passing and an interception on the goal line after a deflection. Despite the ending, the first drive of the game was beautiful. 5:39 came off the clock in 11 plays and it went for 50 yards. The highlight of the drive was a 19-yard completion to Eric Decker for a first down conversion on 3rd-and-17. Manning still has some rust to shake off, but it looks like the Denver offense is going to be a lot of fun to watch with Manning at the helm.
• All four quarterbacks showed some flashes against Chicago. Brock Osweiler and Adam Weber both threw for a score and Caleb Hanie made some nice throws after a rough couple of series. Hanie is getting the reps with the second team for now, but it would surprise me if Osweiler doesn’t move into that position soon.
• The defense as a whole played with tenacity and tackled very well, and it looks like Jack Del Rio has already made an impact. Some youngsters like Mike Mohamed and Nate Irving made some nice plays in space and will get some praise in the film room.
• Tight end Cornelius Ingram is another lesser known player who turned some heads last week. He caught two passes for 45 yards including a 25-yard touchdown reception from Weber. The tight end position is another one with a logjam of players, but Ingram could sneak in there and take a roster spot. Keep an eye on him.
• One of the most underrated things coming out of the Bears game was that the Broncos escaped relatively injury free. The preseason is always a nerve-racking time in regards to injuries, and the injury bug has already seriously bitten some other teams around the league. Hopefully this will be a trend for Denver during the preseason.
• The first preseason game at home will be against the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday, August 18th. I’m sure the atmosphere at Mile High will be electric and Broncos Country will be soaking up every moment. Hit me up on Twitter so we can break it down in real time. Go Broncos!

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Caleb Hanie prepares to throw during training camp drills at Sports Authority Field. (Ron Chenoy-US PRESSWIRE)

If you squint a little bit, Caleb Hanie’s No. 16 jersey can look a bit like a No. 18. As it turns out, Hanie will be the Denver Broncos No. 2 option at quarterback behind Peyton Manning as announced Monday when the team depth chart was released.

It was either three year veteran Hanie who has taken a snap in 11 regular season games, second year undrafted quarterback Adam Weber who has never taken a snap in the NFL, or Brock Osweiler, the rookie.

“We’ve got to start somewhere,” head coach John Fox said after practice Monday. “The people can make a lot out of this chart we hand out there. Really, we only put it out there because we have to for other teams. As I said many times, it’s not where you start the race, it’s where you finish. We’ve got a lot of game ahead of his, a lot of practices.”

It doesn’t matter who Manning’s backup is so much right now. As soon as a different number is called under center,  however, all heads will turn towards No. 2.

As for Hanie who came to Denver after three years in Chicago puts it, “It is what it is. Nothing is ever set in stone in this league. It’s like you have to constantly perform. It’s a performance-based league and that’s why you can’t ever let down. We’ll play it week-to-week.”

This week the Broncos take on Hanie’s former team, the Chicago Bears in week one of preseason. It was in Chicago that Hanie went 59-for-116 for 613 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 10 interceptions in his 11 career games.

Hanie is looking forward to making a return to play his former team.

“I’m real excited about it,” Hanie said. “I’m a little weary about playing against some of my buddies, but it’s all in good fun. It’ll be fun and hopefully we can make some strides and improve, and just go out there and make plays.”

Hanie took significantly more reps in Monday’s practice than both Weber and Osweiler. He even threw a nifty pass to Julius Thomas in the back of the end zone from the 5-yard line.

Hanie hasn’t had the perfect practice yet, but according to Manning, he hasn’t either. In that way, they’re on the same level.

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