DNP – Did Not Participate; LP – Limited Participation; FP – Full Participation; NL – Not Listed

Changes from Friday’s report in bold. Steelers report after the jump.

On Saturday, the Denver Broncos signed cornerback Ty Law and waived Jack Williams. Like any team, the Broncos needed the free agent to pass a physical before they would sign the dotted line.

Let’s hope Law passed that physical with flying colors.

During his Saturday morning press conference, Broncos Head Coach Josh McDaniels told reporters that he hopes the team’s free agent signing will play Monday night for the Broncos’ Week 9 game against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The last time Law was with an NFL football team was December 2008. That gives the 35-year-old two days to shake off ten months worth of rust.

In other words, expect Alphonso Smith to play as the team’s nickelback while the Broncos ease Law into the game plan.

The move comes a surprise — while Williams hadn’t set himself as a playmaker (tallying 27 tackles, three passes defensed and zero interceptions in 21 games and no starts), he had seemingly usurped rookie Alphonso Smith on the depth chart as the team’s primary nickelback.

Josh McDaniels is scheduled for a press conference at 10 a.m. this morning, so perhaps we’ll get some answers then. Press release after the jump.

BRONCOS SIGN FIVE-TIME PRO BOWL CB TY LAW;

WAIVE CB JACK WILLIAMS

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. — The Denver Broncos on Saturday signed five-time Pro Bowl cornerback Ty Law and waived cornerback Jack Williams, it was announced.

Law (5-foot-11, 200 pounds) is a 15th-year veteran who has played for the New York Jets (2008, ‘05), Kansas City (2006-07) and New England (1995-2004). He entered the NFL with the Patriots as the 23rd overall pick in the 1995 NFL Draft from the University of Michigan.

Named to the Pro Bowl four times with the Patriots (1998, 2001-03) and once with the Jets (2005), Law owns three Super Bowl rings from his time with New England (2001, ‘03-04). He has appeared in 196 career regular-season games (187 starts), totaling 835 tackles (699 solo), five sacks (33 yds.), 52 interceptions (791 yds., 7 TDs), 164 pass breakups, seven forced fumbles and five fumble recoveries.

In the playoffs, Law has started 13 career games, including three Super Bowls. He has posted 55 tackles (47 solo), six interceptions (116 yds., 1 TD) and 14 pass breakups in the postseason for his career.

Law’s 58 total interceptions (52 regular season, 6 postseason) for his career tie for 16th in NFL history and lead all active cornerbacks. His 52 career interceptions in regular-season play tie for 23rd in league annals and are the most by a current player at his position.

Law has started all 16 games in three of the last four seasons, including during the 2005 campaign with the Jets when he tied for the NFL lead with a career-high 10 interceptions to earn Pro Bowl accolades. Last year, he saw time in seven games (6 starts) with the Jets after joining the club midway through the season and had 19 tackles (14 solo), two pass breakups and one forced fumble.

A first-team All-American during his final year at Michigan, Law posted 154 tackles (120 solo) and six interceptions for his collegiate career. He earned Parade All-America honors at Aliquippa High School in Aliquippa, Pa., and was born on Feb. 10, 1974.

14-year vet Ty Law last played for the Jets in 2008. (Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)

With several members of their secondary limited due to injury, and nickelbacks Jack Williams and Alphonso Smith struggling of late, the Denver Broncos agreed to terms with veteran free agent cornerback Ty Law Friday. Pending a physical, the 35-year-old will become a Bronco in time for Monday’s game.

Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter’s twitter —

A blast from the past filed to ESPN: the Broncos have reached agreement with free-agent CB Ty Law. He has physical tonight, signs after.

Law spent 10 seasons in New England, including three under Josh McDaniels when the current Broncos Head Coach was coaching the Patriots’ secondary. Law also played for the Kansas City Chiefs from 2006 to 2007 in between one-year stints with the New York Jets.

In seven games in 2008, Law tallied 19 tackles, two passes defensed and zero interceptions.

The Broncos have yet to announce the move, but several outlets have confirmed the signing in the minutes since Schefter’s tweet. It’s not clear how the Broncos intend to adjust their roster to make room for Law. We’ll keep you posted.

If you’re in the midst of class, work, or just plain bored inside this article is a checklist of things for you to do to pass the time.

Yes, I know, it’s not mid-week anymore. However, it’s Friday and you’re waiting to leave whatever you’re doing, I hope you enjoy.

The Checklist Begins

1. It’s Not All That Bad

One loss and the Broncos are yet again the foot stool of the MSM. Some “analysts” go as far to say the end is nigh for the Orange and Blue. I’ve heard that Brian Dawkins is out of gas, the defense is losing the point of attack, and Kyle Orton’s neckbeard is silly. Well at least one of those things is true.

Is it really true that after one loss the wheels are falling off the bus? Denver fans I say nay, the wheels are the bus go round and round.

Six and one still is the second best record in the AFC. Denver is perfect in the division and still has the advantage is common opponents. The Mile High Cameleons have only been favorites against the Raiders and Browns this season. I enjoy it when the Broncos are the underdogs with no respect, Dawkins needs to play with a Tostitos bag on his shoulder.

2. Reflecting on Baltimore

Today during my beloved coffee run I bumped into a rare Bronco fan in my area. As we were both wearing an article of Denver Broncos memorabilia we both set out to high five in jubilation that our team is reigning supreme in the AFC West. This jubilant high five turned into a bro hug. I think I have a new friend and several people creeped by me.

Offense: Speaking of coffee, Kyle Orton could have used a ‘Dunkaccino’ (which are fabulous by the way) after a Jeremy Johnson flattening. The protection the whole game was atrocious, and it was obvious that Orton couldn’t adapt to it. This game better be a wake up call for Mr. Boilermaker, the protection isn’t always going to be consistent or solid, just ask Ben Roethlisberger.

My father always told me, “When life gives you lemons, you need to scramble and create a few seconds to hit the open receiver instead of dumping the ball to your checkdown against an elite 3-4 linebacking corp.” Life is full of old adages like that.

Defense: The 30 points Denver gave up is highly deceiving. I wouldn’t call the Ravens game a “blow-out” persay, but more of a “meltdown.” When the offense is consistently going three-and-out the defense will eventually become gassed and the morale will plummet every time the take field in three minute increments. It was clearly evident that during the fourth quarter defense just didn’t have it in them. Thankfully the team gets an extra day to gear up for Monday Night Football, and hey Josh McDaniels has more Monday win(s) than San Diego has Super Bowl championships.

3. Gearing up for Pittsburgh

If there is one team the MSM believes in it’s the Steelers. Go read CBS Sports game preview it’s full of quotes and stats and predictions represented by images.

Harmon	Prisco	Judge	Urbano	Madden	Richard

Denver fans do you feel the love!? This isn’t really different from any other week though. I remember people taking the Browns in week two.

The responsibility for this game solely falls on Josh McDaniels.

If Denver has any sliver of a chance against Pittsburgh it dwells within his game plan. Mike Tomlin is a phenomenal coach who has the luxury of relying on some of the best talent the league has to offer.

McDaniels is a great coach who patrols the sidelines with a roll of duct tape, patching up the problems he sees. Last week Stevie Wonder could have showed more awareness than McDaniels did all day. Simple screens will not work against an elite 3-4 linebacking corp (I hear an echo).

This stout Steelers defense will be brutally similar to what the Ravens presented.

If the offensive line can’t protect (you will be missed Ryan Harris), and if the ground game can’t get going (the Steelers are 1st against the run) it will be a long day for the Broncos… not a good smell is it?

4. The Solution For Pittsburgh

Offense: Where does this remedy lie? Well if you were watching Sports Soup the other day you’d find the answer… Brandon Marshall.

If there was any game for the beast to prove he needs a fatter paycheck it would be this one. McDaniels needs to extend the field and if he doesn’t trust Kyle Orton to throw it deep, it will be Marshall’s responsibility to make lemonade out short passes.

The stressed coverage on Brandon Marshall will allow players such as Brandon Stokley to do his third down magic, or for Tony Scheffler to be mismatched by a corner.

Special Teams: Eddie Royal needs to have another Monday Night return frenzy. A major chink in Pittsburgh armor lies in their special teams. The Steelers have given up three touchdowns on special teams in the last four weeks.

Defense: Pittsburgh doesn’t have the greatest offensive line but they’re holding strong this year. Elvis Dumervil should be able to get around a tackle or two but taking down Big Ben is where the challenge lies.

This will be a big day for the secondary. Hines Ward is having a career year, Heath Miller is always a threat, and rookie Mike Wallace is already having a huge impact. Fire up Brian Dawkins, get those hands ready Champ Bailey, and I hope Andre Goodman is able to be the guy opposite of Champ come Monday.

It will be vital for Andra Davis to bring consistent pressure up the middle. This should stop Rashard Mendenhall and disrupt Big Ben’s rhythm.

5. Things I Find Funny

1. Will Ferrell Health Insurance PSA – I’m not imposing politics, this video is just funny.

2. Ronald Fields – What other 300 pound professional nose tackle do you know tweets about Manbearpig? Fields also responds quite requently to his followers, he replies to me all the time, so get on Twitter and follow BroncoTalk and Broncos players and me… and Josh Temple… and Chad Ochocinco… you get the point.

PRESSURE91 Hmmmm…I think I just saw manbearpig!!!!!……

@Mr_East_BT lmao….dats ignorant….I’m super serial!

3. Duke Players Should Not Make YouTube Videos – Wait for the Titanic clip.

4. Just be thankful you don’t have this job

5. The Half-Donut Bandit

Well I hope you’re quenched. Feel free to leave any funny links you find in the comments or just to comment as well. Happy Friday Broncos Fans!

We know some of you are fans of Football Outsiders, as are we, so we’ll be taking a look at the smarter stats behind the Broncos‘ opponent each week to gain some perspective on what to expect — an Outsider’s Perspective.

Insanely quick DVOA 101: Recall that on offense and special teams, the higher the percentage the better. On defense, the lower (more negative) the percentage the better.

Steelers Rush Offense: -0.3% (15th)
Broncos Rush Defense: -25.1% (1st)
Despite having their worst performance of the season, the Broncos improved from 2nd to 1st in the league rush defense DVOA. The turnaround of this rush defense has truly been remarkable, and even after an “off week,” the Broncos are tops in the league. They’ll need to continue that pace as they face the Steelers’ Rashard Mendenhall, who is averaging over 5 yards per carry and has won the starting role over RB Willie Parker.

Steelers Pass Offense: 50.5% (4th)
Broncos Pass Defense: -11.1% (6th)
Against Baltimore, the Broncos’ pass rush got to Joe Flacco but didn’t get him down. Against Pittsburgh they’ll need to finish the deed, and Ben Roethlisberger is even harder to take down. For the first time all season, injuries to the Broncos defense might play a role. Starting DE Ryan McBean was held out of practice Wednesday and Thursday, while DBs Josh Barrett, Jack Williams and David Bruton were also listed on the Thursday’s injury report.

Broncos Rush Offense: -2.3% (18th)
Steelers Rush Defense: -14.0% (10th)
Little known fact: RB Knowshon Moreno leads the league in productive carries, i.e. fewest percentage of rushes for negative yardage (5.5% on 6 of 109 carries). He hasn’t been breaking long runs, though, which partially explains the Broncos’ relatively low rushing ranking this season.

Broncos Pass Offense: 42.9% (7th)
Steelers Pass Defense: 9.4% (16th)
Sunday was a humbling experience for the Broncos’ passing attack, and we’re sure Dick LeBeau will try to mirror the success Baltimore had with aggressive blitzing schemes. Every facet of Denver’s passing game could have played better last week — QB Kyle Orton needs to improve his pocket presence, the O-Line needs to bounce back and show last week was just a fluke for one of the league’s best units, and the WR’s need to do Orton more favors (particularly Brandon Marshall, who was targeted early and often, had a big inexcusable drop on third down, and had far too happy feet for our tastes. Get upfield Brandon!).

Steelers Special Teams: -6.8% (31st)
Broncos Special Teams: -5.8% (28th)
Both the Broncos and Steelers have allowed two kickoff returns for touchdowns in the past two games. The fact that the Broncos still rank this low despite Eddie Royal’s phenomenal Monday Night three weeks ago tells you all you need to know about Denver’s special teams.

When it comes to Denver Broncos-exclusive reports, new NFL Network insider Jason La Canfora is 0 for 1.

We’ll give him another shot.

Citing league sources, La Canfora reports that Pittsburgh Steelers safety Ryan Clark, who nearly died the last time he played in Denver’s high altitude, will almost certainly not play this Monday when the Steelers travel to face the Broncos for Monday Night Football.

A final decision hasn’t been made, and Steelers coach Mike Tomlin has said he wouldn’t make any further statements on the matter until Thursday at the earliest, but internally, there is a strong feeling that protecting Clark is paramount. If this was the AFC Championship Game, the Steelers might be more inclined to let Clark make the call, but that is highly doubtful in this circumstance.

Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review states that Clark is still waiting to decide, and based on the quotes there, we’re leaning the other way.

Clark said his wife is at peace with the situation, and no matter what is decided, she knows her husband will return home safe.

“It would be hard for me to play if she would tell me that she didn’t want me to play,” Clark said. “The decision would’ve been done if she would’ve told me that two weeks ago or before the season that she didn’t want me playing. We wouldn’t even be having this conversation.”

Other players that suffer from the same sickle-cell trait have played in Denver (including fellow Steeler Santonio Holmes) and didn’t share Clark’s reaction… whatever Clark ultimately decides really wouldn’t surprise us either way.

Steelers likely will protect Clark, sit him vs Broncos [NFL.com]
Clark’s status still unknown [Pittsburgh Tribune-Review]
Altitude could keep Pittsburgh’s Clark out of Monday Night Football [BroncoTalk]

ESPN: 4th
The bounce-back game after the first loss is another tough one: home against Pittsburgh.

BroncoTalk: 4th
Glaring Stat: Despite allowing 30 points against the Ravens, Denver’s defense is ranked second in the NFL for points allowed.

CBS: 4th
After their first loss, here come the champions. The Pittsburgh Steelers will provide another stiff test for the Broncos. They need to throw it better. Period.

FOX: 4th
It was bound to happen. The skeptics were waiting patiently the past few weeks for the Broncos to come back to reality. But don’t kick too much dirt on ‘em, it’s never a good idea to overreact to one game — win or loss. They faced a Ravens team sporting “mad dog” syndrome, coming off three straight tough losses and a bye week to think about it. Now the SB champs come to town Monday, so get ready to either jump on or off the bandwagon next week.

NFL.com: 4th-7th
Eight panelists post their individual power rankings.

USA Today: 6th
Still have top-rated defense to match vs. Steelers on Monday.

Podcast downloadable here: On the Corner, podcast #30: Deep inside the Denver Broncos [Shutdown Corner]

Who’s hot: QB Ben Roethlisberger. Big Ben is having a career year. Months after overcoming pass protection issues to win a Super Bowl, Roethlisberger continues to overcome his offensive line, completing 70.4 percent of his passes for a whopping 102.6 passer rating. In his last three games, Ben has thrown six touchdowns to two interceptions despite getting sacked ten times. Ben was never a quarterback who had to win pretty — he just won, but there’s nothing ugly about the way he’s winning in 2009.

Who’s not: The Steelers have really come on of late, so it’s hard to pick anything here. While the ground game isn’t as dominating as it used to be, new starting RB Rashard Mendenhall is averaging 5.4 yards per carry. We’ll give this to K Jeff Reed. Reed missed three field goals in Pittsburgh’s Week 2 and 3 losses — losses of three points each. He was also cited for driving intoxicated just a few weeks ago. In what could be another close Steelers-Broncos battle, blistery Denver weather could be a factor in the Steelers’ unsure kicking game.

Matchup to watch: Ben Roethlisberger vs. Elvis Dumervil. I’m dead serious. “Big Ben” is just that — big — while Dumervil is one of the smaller pass rushers in the league. Dumervil has always had success against Roethlisberger, though, tallying three sacks in two career games against the Steelers (two in 2007, one as a rookie in 2006). But there was something deflating (and potentially foreshadowing) about Joe Flacco’s ability to continually escape pressure and make plays downfield against the Broncos defense. The Pittsburgh O-Line is a sieve, and Dumervil will get his chances. Will he be able to take the big, quick QB down?