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

Changes from Thursday’s report in bold. Chargers report after the jump.

While it’s hard to take Josh McDaniels‘ claims that, if he feels up to it, QB Kyle Orton will start on Sunday against San Diego despite missing a week of practice seriously, the coach continues to insist this is the case.

The New York Times’ Fifth Down Blog wonders aloud what type of message this sends Chris Simms.

The Josh McDaniels dossier is still being written, so it’s hard to tell how the Broncos will react after scoring only 34 points in the past three weeks and losing their edge on defense. McDaniels must show he can lead his team through its first rash of injuries. Kyle Orton has not been ruled out for Sunday despite his bad ankle, showing that the coach has little faith in the shell-shocked backup Chris Simms.

It’s an interesting point. We think Simms will certainly play better this week than he did under fire last week, but does McDaniels feel the same? Is McDaniels showing a lack of faith in his backup by dragging Orton’s name along, or is he reaffirming Orton as the starter, who was coming under fire before his first half heroics at Washington? Or, is McDaniels simple playing injury report Patriots games? What do you think?

Quarterback Kyle Orton has been held out of practice for a third straight day with a severely sprained left ankle, but that hasn’t kept him and head coach Josh McDaniels from hoping Orton can play Sunday.

“Absolutely,” McDaniels told reporters before practice Friday. “We’ll continue working with him and hopefully we’ll be ready to go on Sunday.”

McDaniels said Orton will be listed as questionable, and the plan is to test out Orton’s ankle before the game on Sunday. If he can’t go, Chris Simms will get the start.

In the Mike Shanahan days, missing a week of practice meant there was zero chance of playing Sunday. While we find it unlikely McDaniels would give the keys to his offense’s Camaro Camry without a test drive all week (hey — scoring 34 points in three weeks downgrades your offense’s vehicular metaphor), we’ll just have to wait and see.

Orton will miss practice again [Colorado Springs Gazette]

ESPN: 9th
Unraveling at the wrong time, facing a rematch with San Diego and with backup QB Chris Simms at the helm.

CBS: 8th
It’s amazing how quickly their season has turned around. Now they play the Chargers with a gimpy Kyle Orton and first place on the line.

FOX: 8th
Before all your catcalls to drop the Broncos big-time after their third straight loss, here’s the deal: Denver had basically dominated a first half against the Redskins that would have finished 17-7 or 17-10 if not for giving up a fluky field goal for touchdown. But really, backup QB Chris Simms (3-for-11 with an INT) was so uncomfortably bad that it’s fair to say he cost the Broncos a win. Denver put up 17 points and 269 yards vs. the Redskins in the first half with Kyle Orton, but 0 points and 36 yards with Simms.

NFL.com: 9th-18th
Eight panelists post their individual power rankings.

USA Today: 10th
Three-game slide could worsen if Kyle Orton must sit.

It’s looking less and less likely that Kyle Orton will suit up against the San Diego Chargers Sunday. While Josh McDaniels said he is “very hopeful” Orton will play, the signal-caller continues to be held out of practice with a severely sprained left ankle.

Orton missed Thursday’s practice, reports the Denver Post’s Mike Klis, the second consecutive session that saw backup Chris Simms receive the starting quarterback reps.

Running backs Correll Buckhalter and Lamont Jordan continue to miss time as well. Back at practice were Brandon Marshall and S Josh Barrett, who both served integral roles in the Broncos’ Week 6 win against San Diego.

It looks like Chris Simms might be getting his first career start since 2006, and the stakes couldn’t be higher.

Orton out again; Marshall returns [Denver Post]

You can’t blame a certain Denver columnist for sticking to his guns.

In his latest mailbag, the Post’s venerable wordsmith maintains that Chris Simms should have started instead of Kyle Orton, citing “thoughtful research” (read: Simms was better in one week of the preseason) and “observation” (read: Woody attended training camp twice) in concluding Simms “might provide” a lift. That’s fine, Woody, have your opinion, and stick with it.

But then, presumably after Paige read our piece pointing out the holes in his logic, he throws a pointed barb our way. Take a look [sic, emphasis added]:

I give my opinion, which is based on sound information, thoughtful research and observation, unlike some kid in Arizona who is a Broncos fan and writes a blog, without proper grammar or punctuation or understanding, from his mom’s laundry room and think he knows what he’s talking about, and people actually pay attention.

How did Woody know I write from my mom’s laundry room? Creepy…

(Also note that it certainly isn’t my “family’s laundry room,” or my “dad’s.” It’s my mom’s, because that’s where a woman belongs.)

Of course I don’t run BT from any laundry room. I am a kid, though (age 25); I own and live in a home in Arizona, and have every intent of moving back to Colorado some day, which is where I was born.

Despite the geographical disadvantage, I did attend training camp (every session for the first 10 or so days). I came into the process with a completely open mind about which quarterback should start. I let my eyes do the scouting, and concluded absolutely — purely after watching practice — that Kyle Orton is right where he belongs.

Paige was nowhere to be found while I was scouting Denver’s quarterbacks. I saw Paige at practice once for certain, possibly twice. In fact, I’ve heard Woody is hardly seen at Dove Valley at all these days.

I’m 788 miles away. What’s his excuse?

Finally, regarding my lack of “proper grammar or punctuation,” I would invite Mr. Paige to look in the mirror. If he’s going to accuse someone of such, he should try running his own columns through the spellcheck first.

I do know what I am talking about, Broncos fans, even if Woody Paige think I don’t.

Woody’s Mailbag: Broncos broken down [Denver Post]
The Simmsational Woody Paige [BroncoTalk]

Former Denver Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan (Getty Images)

Former Denver Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan continues to be the hottest name in the midseason coaching carousel. A month after being pursued by the Washington Redskins, who still employ a “permanent” head coach, Shanahan has been contacted by a team that doesn’t. The Buffalo Bills, who fired Dick Jauron Tuesday, have contacted Shanahan, reports ESPN’s Adam Schefter –

Buffalo has contacted and is in the process of arranging a meeting with former Denver Broncos coach Mike Shanahan, according to two NFL sources.

Shanahan, a two-time Super Bowl winner with the Broncos, is said to be willing to listen to the Bills. He has said in the past that he is determined to return to the NFL next season.

For now, Buffalo has appointed defensive coordinator Perry Fewell as interim head coach, but Shanahan appears to be atop their list of permanent coaching solutions.

Sources: Bills contact Shanahan [ESPN]
Shanahan to ‘Skins: Thanks, but no thanks [BroncoTalk]

Who’s hot: RB Ladainian Tomlinson. We could easily go with Philip Rivers, since he’s been a large reason for the Chargers’ 4-game upswing, but he got the vote last time, and something about designating that AFC West rival “hot” twice in the same season doesn’t sit well with us. So, Tomlinson gets the nod, for having a two-touchdown performance and getting blessed baby news on the same day.

Who’s not: Chargers secondary. Antonio Cromartie tallied an interception on the last play of the game against the Eagles (when Donovan McNabb was hailing desperate throws), but the corners and safeties have been getting burned. You couldn’t get more open than Eagles WR Jeremy Maclin did in the back corner of the end zone as the Eagles lined up in the red zone. Mental mistakes are hurting the Chargers D on the back end.

Matchup to watch: TE Antonio Gates vs. Broncos secondary. In the previous matchup, Gates went a bit wild in the first half, but then the Broncos lined S Josh Barrett to cover him for much of the second half. Barrett did a damn good job, but the Broncos have been without the second-year player for two straight weeks with a hamstring injury. His status for Sunday is uncertain at this point. Gates has burned the Broncos many times in the past; will the Broncos have their answer to him available Sunday?

More weekly goodness from the gracious Broncos PR guys. View the full release here.

The Denver Broncos (6-3) and San Diego Chargers (6-3) will meet for the 100th time on Sunday with the winner moving into sole possession of first place in the AFC West. Kickoff at INVESCO Field at Mile High is set for 2:15 p.m. MST.

QUICKLY:

• The Broncos, who are looking to snap a three-game losing streak, defeated San Diego 34-23 on Monday Night Football on Oct. 19. Facing a Chargers team that has won its last four games, Denver aims for its first season sweep of its series with San Diego since 2005.
• Sunday’s game vs. San Diego marks the first time Denver has played a team 100 times in the regular season. The only team the Broncos have faced 100 times including playoffs is Oakland (98 reg. / 2 post.).

OFFENSE:

• WR Brandon Marshall has posted at least 100 receiving yards in each of his previous two games. He scored on TD catches of 75 and 40 yards in the first quarter last week at Washington, becoming only the 11th player in the NFL since 1940 to post two TD grabs of 40 yards in the opening quarter.
• RB Knowshon Moreno leads all NFL rookies with 591 yards from scrimmage and 520 rushing yards, which represent the eighth-highest total by an NFL rookie through his team’s first nine games since 2005.
• QB Kyle Orton registered a 134.7 passer rating (11-18, 193 yds., 2-0) in the first half at Washington last week before missing the second half due to an injury. QB Chris Simms replaced him and saw his most extensive action since his last pro start (9/24/06 vs. Carolina) with Tampa Bay.

Knowshon Moreno #27 of the Denver Broncos runs the ball against the Washington Redskins at FedExField on November 15, 2009 in Landover, Maryland. The Redskins defeated the Broncos 27-17. (Larry French/Getty Images)

DEFENSE:

• Coached by long-time NFL defensive coordinator Mike Nolan, the Broncos are tied for second in the league in sacks (29) while ranking fourth in points per game allowed (16.8) and fifth in yards per play allowed (4.8).
• OLB/DE Elvis Dumervil has an AFC-best 11 games with two sacks since entering the NFL in 2006. That total ties for the ninth most in league history through a player’s first four NFL seasons.

SPECIAL TEAMS:

• WR Eddie Royal handles return duties for the Broncos in addition to his work at wide receiver. He is the only player in the NFL to post at least 1,300 yards from scrimmage and 1,300 return yards since his rookie year in 2008.
• ILB/FB Spencer Larsen’s five solo special-teams tackles in November (3 games) tie for the third-highest total in the NFL.

Thanks to BT’s own Josh Temple for the sweet graphic!

Chris Simms #2 of the Denver Broncos looks for a receiver against the Washington Redskins at FedExField on November 15, 2009 in Landover, Maryland. The Redskins defeated the Broncos 27-17. (Larry French/Getty Images)

Broncos 17 – Redskins 27.  Who ya got, gentlemen?

Dud: Chris Simms. The Broncos could very well be 7-2 had Kyle Orton not been absent from the second half with an ankle injury. Simms looked like a rookie out on the field, completing only several passes for miniscule yardage. Broncos fans better pray that Orton is able to compete at home against San Diego next week if they want to have a shot at making the post-season. Clearly, the Broncos under the guidance of Simms won’t have a shot at those aspirations. – Christopher D. Hart

Stud: Kyle Orton. Strange as this might sound, Kyle’s injury (and the rough outing Chris Simms had yesterday) made KO look like a franchise QB. I mean, we all know he probably blew a blood vessel throwing those deep balls to #15, but he made the right reads and put the ball where it was catchable. Most of the whining this week will be about Simms, which I think is unfair — he didn’t call the plays that put his rusty arm on display and Simms was also playing from behind as our defense wasn’t able to shut down the second half like we did during our first six games. But regardless of the belly-aching over Simms preformance, the clear winner in Sunday’s loss is Kyle Orton’s reputation as a starting QB. – Jonathan Douglas

Stud: Brandon Marshall. Marshall, because he’s the obvious choice. Because I have to pick one. It’s really hard for me to pull a positive out of this. We played like a team that knows it’s destiny, and that destiny isn’t all too great. 8-8 is becoming more of a possibility with every passing week. Who’s happy? – JKK (in a Broncos rut)

Dud: O-Line. It’s actually hard for me to pick a dud. I have to point to someone and say yeah, you lost he game for us, loser, and that’s hard. We lost not because of Simms but with a lack of dominant running game, because a good running game in the second half would not have unbalanced the time of possession so badly, and the defense might not have broken down so badly. But why was the running game poor? Probably a lack up front. Wiegmann, Kuper and Hochstein, as a unit need to get the back out to the second level and then the back can work. Unless they fix that, we are going to lose a lot more games that we should have been winning. Broncos O line: this dud’s for you. – E. Halsey Miles

Stud: Knowshon Moreno I had a big debate about who to give my “stud” to. Brian Dawkins and D.J. Williams both played excellent for most of the game (I think they tallied around 25 tackles between them), but the run defense fell apart. RB Knowshon Moreno had his best day as a Bronco yet, but he was up-and-down, and I was very frustrated with at least two dropped Simms passes in the second half. I’ll still give it to Moreno because he played a bit better in pass protection this week. This is a hesitant “stud” award, KM — don’t go resting on your laurels now. – Kyle

Dud: Darrell Reid. Due to the Broncotalk staff being fair, we have to play by the rules and cannot all pick Chris Simms as our unanimous DUD. With that said, I’m going to give my dud to Darrell Reid for an unbelievably bone headed play. That fake field goal, pooch punt turned 35 yard touchdown pass?  Darrell  should’ve made the read to pick up the fullback Mike Sellers running a circle route out of the backfield. What does he do instead? Blitz into the backfield when the play is already halfway rolled out to the right sideline. When he blows by his man, he points back to whoever is still left, as if to say “Oh yeah, you take my assignment” Poor Marcus Thomas does his best effort to turn a zone drop into man coverage but can’t keep up with a runningback for the distance of the route. An embarassing touchdown allowed. For that Jarvis, you get the dud. – Josh Temple

*As noted by a reader it was not #94 Jarvis Moss in question on the fake fg play, it was #95 Darrell Reid.  I had to go back and watch the grainy flash video footage again to confirm.  I read the jersey number incorrectly initially as it was hard to pick up at full speed.  My apologies to the readers and Jarvis Moss.  -Josh Temple