In a somewhat shocking development, Knowshon Moreno out for this Sunday’s game against the Colts, per Max Broncos on Twitter:

Knowshon Moreno “sustained a little something he will not be able to play through this week,” McDaniels said.

McDaniels is a Bill Belichick disciple, so it’s no surprise that he’s playing things close to the vest. There’s no upside in giving anyone any extraneous information, so why not keep it a secret? Sure, he’s screwing over fantasy owners, but he doesn’t give two schnitz about us.

Anyway, this is seemingly a big boost for someone in the Denver backfield, but I’m not sure who. In his comments, Josh McDaniels seemed to go out of his way NOT to mention Correll Buckhalter, but instead mentioned Laurence Maroney and Andre Brown as guys who will pick up the slack. If you’re desperate at RB, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to pick up Maroney and/or Brown.

If this past week offers any indication of how the Broncos will fair in 2010, then Josh McDaniels and company are in for a long season.

Just days after the Broncos lost starting running back Knowshown Moreno for 2-3 weeks because of a torn right hamstring, Elvis Dumervil suffered a torn pectoral muscle and will be out for up to five months.

Fans have the right to remain hopeful that Dumervil will return at some point this season, but the math suggests otherwise. If he’s out for five months, that makes his return December and at that point, Denver might as well keep him out the rest of the year.

The real kick to the stones for the Broncos is that they just signed Dumervil to a six-year, $61.5 million contract three weeks ago. And this was after they deliberated about whether or not to just let the linebacker play on the one-year tender they signed him to in June.

But you can’t blame the Broncos for shelling out big bucks to their best pass-rusher. Dumervil led the league in sacks last year and had become a vital component to the team’s defense. Injuries obviously can’t be predicted and there was no way of knowing that Dumervil was going to rip a chest muscle less than a month after the Broncos broke out their checkbook. Despite their incredibly bad timing and luck, it was still the right decision for Denver at the time.

So what now? The Broncos have a couple of options available on the free agent market, including the recently released Aaron Schobel and former Patriot Adiliuas Thomas. But who knows whether or not Schobel would want to play in Denver’s 3-4 and given the lack of interest in Thomas this offseason (and his poor production in ’09 for Bill Belichick), maybe the Broncos will pass on signing a veteran. Of course, the team also has some internal options, as Robert Ayers could switch sides or Jarvis Moss could actually cash in on some of his first round potential. (That later idea is far-fetched, I know.)

Either way, the Broncos couldn’t be off to a worse start in 2010. Moreno should be back in a couple of weeks, but no team wants to see their best pass-rusher go down a month before the season. That’s not to say that other players can’t and/or won’t step up, but this isn’t the most talented team in the league as it is.

Per the Denver Post…

Broncos starting running back Knowshon Moreno is expected to be out three weeks after an MRI exam revealed no significant tear to his hamstring, according to an NFL source. Moreno suffered the injury Sunday morning during the Broncos’ first training-camp session.

This is great news, but I’d still move Moreno down a few slots on your cheatsheet until he’s back on the field. He has struggled with injuries in the past, and this doesn’t bode well for his ability to carry the load as a full-time back.

Per NBC Sports…

A league source tells the Denver Post that Knowshon Moreno’s left leg injury “appears to be serious.” ESPN’s Adam Schefter seconds the report.

Some are calling it a torn hamstring while others say it’s a torn ligament. Let’s wait for confirmation before making any snap judgments. From a fantasy point of view, this is obviously a huge blow to Moreno’s stock and it looks like Correll Buckhalter is next in line, though he has a long injury history in his own right. Kolby Smith is currently listed next on the depth chart.

HC McDaniels says that Brandon Marshall’s attitude has been “great” since returning from suspension. He went on to say that Marshall could “absolutely” contribute in Week 1. Marshall’s stock is still a little shaky, but this is exactly what his owners were looking for coming out of last week’s suspension. He’s a solid start against a traditionally bad Cincy defense.

Pierre Thomas misses Wednesday practice, likely out for Week 1. I wrote about this yesterday and suggested that owners pick up Mike Bell to start against the Lions on Sunday. It’s a great matchup and Bell proved in Denver that he is more than capable of posting good numbers.

HC Phillips sees a “split” in workload between Marion Barber and Felix Jones. Clearly, this eats into Barber’s stock somewhat. I’m sure owners weren’t expecting a 50/50 split when they drafted Barber in the 2nd or 3rd round. He can still be a solid RB2 or even a RB1 if he’s able to find the endzone like he did in 2006 and 2007. If this split actually happens, Jones will be a nice value for those owners who pulled the trigger in the middle rounds.

Kevin Walter looks iffy for Sunday. Walter was quietly productive last season and is a solid start in most PPR formats. If he’s out, Andre Davis would become a sneaky good start in his stead.

TB to utilize three-headed monster at RB. Cadillac Williams moved up the depth chart to become the Bucs’ RB1, but most are expecting a fairly even split between Williams, Derrick Ward and Earnest Graham. HC Raheem Morris previously discussed a 2-2-1 split. Ward is by far the best pass catcher of the three, so I’d expect him to be in on most third downs. Graham and Williams are similar players, so one will likely get the short end of the stick.

Knowshon Moreno declares himself ready for Week 1. This doesn’t exactly jive with what HC McDaniels has been saying, so keep an eye on this story as the week continues to progress. If he can go, Moreno would be a solid RB2/flex start against a suspect Bengals defense.

Tim Hightower is still the starter for the Cardinals. Chris Wells has impressed of late, so expect a split, though Hightower’s value is enhanced in PPR leagues since he’s a pretty good receiver out of the backfield. With the 49ers coming to town, Hightower isn’t a bad flex start this week.

Here are six quick-hit thoughts on some of Week 1’s preseason NFL action.

1. Stafford was impressive.
While it was only the first preseason game of his young career, Matthew Stafford was awfully impressive Saturday against the Falcons. In his debut, Stafford completed 7 of 14 passes for 110 yards and a touchdown. And if Keary Colbert didn’t have hands made of concrete, Stafford’s numbers would have been more impressive. Granted, he was playing against Atlanta’s backups, Detroit kept their starting offensive line largely intact and he did throw an interception that was returned 41 yards for a touchdown. But the key was that Stafford looked comfortable in the pocket, showed confidence in his throws and for a rookie, displayed great footwork and overall mechanics. He still has much to prove, but if he continues to play this well throughout the preseason, it might be hard for the Lions to keep the rookie off the field in his first year.

2. The Bears secondary looked shaky.
If Saturday’s preseason loss to the Bills was any indication of how Chicago’s secondary will play in the regular season, then the Bears are in trouble. Lee Evans abused cornerback Nathan Vasher repeatedly, while Trent Edwards and Ryan Fitzpatrick completed over 88 percent of their passes. Granted, it was only one preseason game and rookie sixth round pick Al Afalava was impressive against the run. But the Bears look awfully thin in the secondary and if the starters perform as poorly as they did last night for the remainder of the preseason, then trouble could be on the horizon.

3. Bowe is answering Haley’s call.
Since training camp opened for the Chiefs, new head coach Todd Haley has been trying to make an example of receiver Dwayne Bowe by running him with the 2’s and 3’s in practice. On Saturday night, Bowe came off the bench and hauled in five catches for 70 yards in the Chiefs’ 16-10 loss to the Texans. While Bowe still isn’t running with the first time offense in practice, it’ll only be a matter of time before he climbs back up the depth chart. Haley can make an example of Bowe all he wants in preseason, but the third year wideout is too good to ride the bench during the regular season.

4. The Raiders have a new No. 1 receiver…
…and it isn’t first round pick Darrius Heyward-Bey either. Chaz Schilens caught five passes for 52 yards in the Raiders’ 31-10 beating of the Cowboys on Thursday night and more importantly, is emerging as JaMarcus Russell’s go-to receiver. The second-year wideout has reportedly been excellent in camp and assuming he continues to play well in preseason, should become Oakland’s No. 1 wideout in no time. At 6-4, 225 pounds, Schilens has excellent size, speed and pass-catching abilities.

5. Horrible start in Denver.
By all accounts, preseason means nothing – especially in terms of wins and losses. (After all, the Lions finished 4-0 in preseason last year and look how they turned out.) But considering their starting quarterback threw three interceptions in one half and their first round rookie running back sprained his knee, the Broncos were definitely hoping for a better outcome last Friday night in San Fran, where the 49ers beat Denver 17-16. Kyle Orton (whom the team acquired via the Jay Cutler trade this offseason) threw three picks in the first half, including one on the goal line after marching Denver up the field and into scoring range. While Orton probably just needs more time to learn Josh McDaniels’ offense, it was a rough start for a player who was also booed in a recent practice for throwing multiple interceptions as well. Knowshon Moreno should be ready for the Broncos’ regular season opener after spraining his knee against San Fran, he’ll lose out on valuable preseason time over the next couple weeks. All and all, the Broncos have to hate the way ’09 has gone so far.

6. The Falcons defense might be in trouble.
With Matt Ryan, Michael Turner, Roddy White and Tony Gonzalez set for big seasons, the Falcons should have no trouble putting points on the board in 2009. But their young, experienced defense might be a huge area of concern for a team that many people believe is sleeper candidate to make a Super Bowl appearance this season. In their preseason opener against Detroit on Saturday, the Falcons gave up 454 yards of offense, barely got any pressure on the quarterback and couldn’t get off the field on third downs. Considering the Falcons are so young on that side of the ball, it might take awhile before things to start clicking. But Mike Smith couldn’t have liked what he saw out of either the starters or the backups, outside of the play of rookie corner Christopher Owens (who looked good in coverage) and linebacker Tony Gilbert (who returned a Matthew Stafford pass 41 yards for a touchdown).