DENVER -- Hes watched draft picks flounder and free agents falter, seen some of his best players sidelined by injuries and witnessed Peyton Mannings successor struggle to stay safe behind a spongy offensive line.Yet, John Elways Denver Broncos are 7-3 at their bye.He can thank a great defense led by Super Bowl MVP Von Miller and some lucky breaks such as Carolinas missed last-second field goal in the season opener and Justin Simmons block of an extra point last week that led to the first defensive 2-point game-winner in NFL history.I think we would take it if you said at Week 10 wed be 7-3 with whats happened, Elway said. We havent played our best football yet, which I think is the encouraging thing.Another reason Elway is grinning and not grimacing is that his team is about to be astonishingly healthy when they host Kansas City (7-2) in a Sunday night showdown that begins a brutal six-week homestretch.DeMarcus Wares fractured forearm is history, and hes about to double his snap count after averaging just under 29 snaps in the three weeks hes been back in the lineup.Aqib Talibs bad lower back has quieted down and Derek Wolfes cracked right elbow is on the mend.The only sidelined star that wont be coming back anytime soon is running back C.J. Anderson , who had knee surgery but hopes to be available for the playoffs.Andersons absence looms large because the Broncos sport the youngest backfield in the NFL.Second-year quarterback Trevor Siemian threw his first NFL pass this season. Rookie tailback Devontae Booker has two TD runs, rookie fullback Andy Janovich has been hampered by a broken hand and third-year backup running back Kapri Bibbs scored his first career touchdown this month.Additionally, the tight end group has been largely invisible in the passing game with veteran Virgil Green averaging 1.8 catches per game without a single touchdown grab and second-year pro Jeff Heuerman managing just two catches.Similar to last season when he acquired Vernon Davis for the stretch run, Elway made a deadline-eve deal to toughen up his tight end group, this time getting A.J. Derby from the Patriots.Derby has two catches and tons of promise as the Broncos try to clear out defenders in the middle of the field. That would open up more chances for star wide receivers Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders plus clear some running room for the Broncos sputtering ground game.Denvers dazzling defense is just as star-studded as last years version that brought home the Lombardi Trophy. But the Broncos run defense has proven leaky without free agent departures Malik Jackson and Danny Trevathan and Vance Walker, who blew out a knee in training camp.Elway exudes confidence even with Denvers offense sputtering as it did last season.We feel like we can get better on the offensive side. We have room for improvement there, Elway said. Weve figured out ways to win. Thats what you have to do. Were excited about the last six.Two of those are against Kansas City, one with Oakland and another versus rival New England in addition to trips to Tennessee and Jacksonville.I know that the schedule is a tough schedule from here on out, Elway said, but thats what happens when you win the division.Thats something Denver has done five years in a row.The AFC West is much more competitive this season, sporting three of the conferences four seven-win teams.Thats why Kubiak says its time for Siemian, 7-2 as Denvers starter, to step things up a notch.I want Trevor to play big, Kubiak said.To do that, hes going to have to stay upright.The reason he does make a lot of plays is because he will sit in there and get hit right in the mouth and make a play, Kubiak said. That is a great characteristic of a quarterback because you have to do that sometimes.But it can also send a quarterback to the sideline as it did Siemian for six quarters in October after he bruised his left shoulder.Its been a target for pass rushers ever since, and its not only his scuffling O-line thats to blame. Kubiak said hes dropping back too far in the shotgun at times.Were not going to protect you if youre doing that, Kubiak said.That was Kubiak defending his beleaguered O-line, something hes willing to do because hes as much assured in Siemians mental toughness handling criticism as he is in his physical toughness.Siemian received another cortisone injection in his bruised left shoulder this week and watched rookie Paxton Lynch run the one full practice before they all bolted on a five-day furlough.Siemian wasnt planning anything special.A lot of rest. Wont be doing much bench press this week, said Siemian, well aware hell be doing the heavy lifting soon enough.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL---Follow Arnie Melendrez Stapleton on Twitter: http://twitter.com/arniestapletonCustom Hockey Jerseys Outlet . Francis told several hundred members of the European Olympic Committees that when sport "is considered only in economic terms and consequently for victory at every cost . Custom Hockey Jerseys China . Badenhop was 2-3 with a 3.47 ERA in 63 relief appearances for Milwaukee this season. He is 18-20 in his career with three saves and a 3. http://www.customjerseyshockey.com/ . Jeff Green scored 13 points and Kris Humphries 12 for the Celtics, who nearly blew an 18-point, second-half lead. Sullingers 20-20 was the first by a Celtics player since Kevin Garnetts first game in Boston in 2007. Garnett was dealt -- along with Paul Pierce -- to Brooklyn during the off-season. Clearance Custom Hockey Jerseys . The 29-year-old Baines has established himself as one of the top attacking full backs in the country and was the subject of two bids from United during the last off-season. Everton manager Roberto Martinez says that keeping Baines at the club is a "massive boost and exciting for the future" because he brings "maturity and football knowledge in a very specialized position on the pitch" and an "infectious and positive influence to the rest of the squad. Custom Anaheim Ducks Jerseys . LOUIS -- Attorneys for the St. LAUSANNE, Switzerland -- Yarelys Barrios of Cuba was stripped of the silver medal in the womens discus from the 2008 Beijing Olympics on Thursday after testing positive in a reanalysis of her doping samples.Barrios tested positive for acetazolamide, a banned diuretic and masking agent, the International Olympic Committee said.The 33-year-old Barrios has been retroactively disqualified and loses the silver medal, which she won with a throw of 63.64 meters. The silver now stands to go to Olena Antonova of the Ukraine, with Chinas Song Aimin in line to move from fourth to bronze. Stephanie Brown Trafton of the United States won the gold with a throw of 64.74 meters.Barrios also competed at the 2012 London Olympics, where she was upgraded from fourth place to the bronze medal after Russias Darya Pishchalnikova was retroactively stripped of the silver for doping.The IOC asked track and fields governing body, the IAAF, to modify the 2008 discus results and consider any further action against Barrios, who was also a two-time silver medalist at the world championships and two-time gold medalist in the Pan American Games.dddddddddddd.Also Thursday, Qatari sprinter Samuel Adelebari Francis was disqualified from the Beijing Games after testing positive for the steroid stanozolol. The Nigerian-born Francis was eliminated in the 100-meter heats and did not start in the 200.Francis was the 100-meter champion at the 2007 Asian Games in Amman, winning in a personal best time of 9.99 seconds.Barrios and Francis are the latest athletes sanctioned after retests of more than 1,000 samples from the Beijing and London Olympics produced 98 positive cases. On Wednesday, six athletes -- including four medalists -- were disqualified for doping in Beijing.The IOC stores samples for 10 years to allow them to be reanalyzed when improved testing methods become available. The latest tests can detect the use of steroids going back weeks and months, rather than days. ' ' '