Mile High Report

MHR Chalk Talk - Chargers at Broncos ('09)

2009-11-20T18:30:11Z

Well, it turns out the Broncos are much better than many people thought, but not nearly as good as some had hoped for. After beating a group of pretty good teams (NE, SD, DAL, CIN) and two not-so-good teams (CLE, OAK), Denver lost to two pretty good teams (BAL, PIT) and lost to a not-so-good team (WAS).

All in all, the team is still 6-3, tops the AFC West, and has the tie break over SD. So far, so good. Now comes the bad news. SD is a team that is starting to surge, while Denver has dropped three straight. QB Kyle Orton is hurt and may not play. If Kyle can play, he may not be 100%. While Denver has home field, we have to bear in mind that SD has the "advantage of first loss", which is the concept in coaching that a team learns more from losing to an opponent than winning. In the NFL, it is hard to beat a team twice in one season.

Frankly, Denver has a tough battle in front of them this week, and I'm glad that the new format for the MHR staff picks won't force me to pick this game.

Still, I think the future overall looks bright. Really.

I was unable to watch the entire game against WAS because of my day job. I was able to catch a few things worth passing on:

First, I like that Denver challenged the Redskins deep. I saw both throws downfield that Orton made for long TDs. I've always said that Orton can throw long, he just isn't schemed that way. Did the WAS coverage break down and make mistakes? Absolutely. But that's not the point. The passes were long and on target. More so, the errors happened because the Redskins didn't respect the deep pass, and other teams may do the same.

Second, I've always been a fan of the officials, and always come to their defense. This week is no exception. I saw three terrible calls by the officials, but none changed the face of the game. I also believe that none of them were "purposeful", as some folks like to claim when they see a bad call. They were mistakes, and anyone could make them. So I continue to love the officials, and can't blame the game's outcome on them. However, the errors I saw were bad enough that I would imagine the League sent an acknowledgment to the Broncos earlier this week. Here's what I saw (on nearly three back-to-back plays).

First, Brandon Stokley catches a ball with both feet well over a foot in bounds. The catch is ruled out of bounds. Denver doesn't challenge, since it was third down and the catch was short of the marker. Any official could mess up this call, and I know I couldn't do a better job than these guys. No problem.

But then, Denver punts the ball and an opposing player knocks the punter to the ground. It seemed to me that the opposing player didn't even make an effort to slow down. Combining the 15-yard penalty with the inbounds catch that Stokley made previously, this would have given Denver a first down. Now I'm not going to begrudge the officials the first down for a couple of reasons. First, Denver could have challenged the reception, but didn't. Second, perhaps the official might have called it "running into the kicker" instead of "roughing the kicker", and the penalty wouldn't have made a difference. Still no problem. Except for one thing...

C'mon guys! How do you miss a guy flying into the punter and driving him into the ground? In Stokley's case, and in the case of Mitch Berger, neither player tried to be theatrical to get the call. A good referee ignores theatrics, and only pays attention to what his eyes tell him. Fine. But why wasn't the assigned official watching the punter (as he is supposed to do)? The only excuse I can think of is that the hit was so late after the punt that the official had shifted his focus downfield. While this is understandable, it just tends to show how inexcusable the offending player's action really was.

At this point, even the announcers were siding with Denver, having noted both calls. Had enough?

Soon after, the WAS QB fumbles the ball and Denver recovers. Nope. The official says something about forward progress and the whistle. The announcers look at the replay. The ball comes loose, the player hits the ground, Denver's player reaches for the ball, AND NOW the whistle blows. The play should have been reviewed, WAS reviewable after all, and Denver clearly got the ball back. Does it change the game? I don't believe so. Here again though, the announcers were stunned. So was I.

The officials have the toughest job on the field. Not only are they nitpicked by guys like me, but they have seconds to see the entire field and try to get a call right. They have to memorize a tricky rulebook, and they get second-guessed by every fan with replay and slow-motion abilities. So why am I bringing up these mistakes? I've written a million times that I respect these guys, and will never blame them for a lost game. Like the weather, illness, family tragedies, etc, the refs are a part of the game that players have to contend with. The difference is that the refs are trying to do the right thing. So here's a game with some pretty awful calls, and a game that we lost. Are you hearing me griping? I hope not. I don't fault the refs for this game, or any game. I'm thankful for the work that they put in, and the effort that they extend in trying to get as many calls right as possible. I tip my hat to them.

So what happened to Denver? For what it is worth, I think the loss of Orton in the second half was the critical factor. We still need to work on some issues, but Chris Simms wasn't able to carry the load on Sunday, and Orton was missed. Simms completed 3 out of 13 passes and had an INT.

The team IS working on those other issues, though. Orton was allowed to make a couple of deep throws, and they scored. I saw some more zone blocking than it seems we have been doing lately, and I hope this continues. Our team has beaten a lot of good teams this year, and really only lost to one team that I would have expected them to beat with confidence.

SD has won every game since the last Denver game, including wins against the Eagles and the Giants. When Denver played SD a few weeks ago, the star players of SD (including Antonio Gates, Darren Sproles and LaDainian Tomlinson) were inconsistent. They seem to have shaken off the fog, and are now playing in good form.

Without Orton, I have to give the edge to SD for this game. With Orton playing, but not at 100%, I have to give the edge to SD as well. If Orton is 100%, we have the home field. Now the concern goes to other injuries.

Ryan Harris at RT is still out. Brandon Marshall (WR) didn't practice on Wednesday, and Correll Buckhalter was limited. That is a lot to contend with. Is there a light at the end of the tunnel?

Here is a list of the notable (starter) SD injuries:

Jeromey Clary - RT
Ogemdi Nwagbuo - NT
Nick Hardwick - OC
Shaun Phillips - OLB - limited in practice.

Both teams have key injuries all over the field, but no injury is as difficult to adjust for as the QB. The edge goes to SD. If Orton can play, and can play at or very near 100%, Denver has a decent chance. Much of the playcalling for both teams may be focused on sizing up and taking advantage of the opposing injury replacements.

Denver's keys to the game -

If Orton is out, go full tilt with the run game. Even against a 3-4, the wide runs may be possible if Phillips is out.
Stop Sproles in the screen game. Consider assigning a LB to him.
If Simms struggles as badly as last week, consider giving Tom Brandstater a try.

San Diego's keys to the game -

Take away the run. If Orton is in, pressure him into running on that ankle. If not, take away the run and dare Simms to beat you.
If Marshall is out, DON'T double Royal. Denver has excellent depth at WR, as well as several TE receiver options. Instead, take away the deep game. Denver's throws are likely to be short passes, and the biggest danger is yards after the catch.
Watch out for Royal on returns. SD has an excellent chance to win this game on both sides of the ball, but can't afford to give up points or field position on STs.

If Denver loses this game, Denver is tied with SD in head-to-head games, and needs to win more games than SD from here on out. If Denver wins this game, they get to keep a lead on SD, AND win the head-to-head tie break. DEN has some tough games left, so there is little room for error.

This is the most important game of the season so far for the Broncos, so we'll see how well prepared they are.

Go Broncos!

Poll

Let's say: You're the coach. Denver has a critical game this week against the Chargers. Orton is healing from a tear in his ankle. Orton claims he can play on the ankle, but the ankle isn't fully healed. Do you...

Going to the Game?? Check out Gary Zimmerman!

2009-11-20T15:04:57Z

WHAT: The Pro Football Hall of Fame has teamed up with Van Heusen in search of the Fan's Choice for the Class of 2010. As part of the campaign, The Van Heusen Pro Football Hall of Fame Fan's Choice is hitting the road and visiting INVESCO Field at Mile High on Sunday, November 22, 2009 when the Broncos take on the Chargers.

The Fan's Choice program is the first-ever dedicated forum for pro football fans to "voice their choice" at www.fanschoice.com and cast their ballot by voting for the players, coaches and contributors they believe deserve to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame's Class of 2010. Onsite fans will have the opportunity to:

Interact with Hall of Fame greats
Vote for their choice for the Class of 2010
Check out memorabilia from the Pro Football Hall of Fame

WHO: Broncos Hall of Famer Gary Zimmerman (Class of 2008) and San Diego Chargers Hall of Famer Kellen Winslow (1995) will participate in a panel discussion about prospects for the Class of 2010 and interact with fans. (Of note: Hall of Famers will not sign autographs.)

WHEN: Sunday, November 22, 2009

THE HALL OF FAMERS WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR MEDIA INTERVIEWS ON SITE AT 11:30 AM

The event runs from Noon - kick-off.

WHERE: INVESCO Field at Mile High

Lot C (South End of the Stadium)

Horse Tracks 11/20/09 - Orton, Buckhalter, Jordan miss practice; Marshall, Barrett (limited) return

2009-11-20T13:03:54Z

NFL Films - Week 11: Chargers vs. Broncos Preview - Video

DB - Week 11 - Thu: McDaniels - Broncos TV

DB - Taking Notice - Zach Eisendrath
"There were four changes to the Broncos’ Injury Report on Thursday. After neither player participated in Wednesday’s practice session, Josh Barrett (hamstring) was a limited participant on Thursday and Brandon Marshall (neck) was listed as a full participant. Correll Buckhalter (knee) and Brandon Lloyd (foot) were both limited participants on Wednesday, however, neither took part in Thursday’s practice session."

DPP - Broncos' Kyle Orton misses practice again - Jeff Legwold
"The injury has been described as a torn ligament by some, but it is a case of semantics, given that any sprain is, by definition, a tearing of soft tissue."

DPP - New team brings unrivaled disdain in Broncoland - The Denver Post
"Broncos fan website Mile High Report conducted a similar survey Thursday, and found a similar response. With more than 1,200 online votes recorded by late Thursday afternoon, 62 percent picked the Chargers, compared to about 20 percent for the Raiders and 17 percent for the Chiefs."

"What I've seen in the comments on the poll, it is almost divided by age group," said John Bena, a longtime Broncos fan who founded Mile High Report three years ago. "The really old-school fans, they picked Kansas City, because that's the oldest rival. Then the older fans that grew up in the '70s-'80s-'90s, it's the Raiders. But for newer fans, from the Super Bowl years on, it's been the Chargers, because the Chargers have been relevant in that time."

NFLN - Brandon Marshall interview - Video
Wow. Check out the (not very good) painting in the background of BMarsh and JC.

NFL - With Bolts on deck, Broncos bumbling, but will they bust? - Vic Carucci
"The biggest problem with the Broncos' defense in recent games, according to Andra Davis, is that it has gotten away from the highly disciplined approach it showed through the first six weeks. Too many players have become interested in being recognized for individually making plays rather than sticking to their responsibilities within the scheme."

NYT - Ouster of N.F.L.’s Voice on Concussions, Dr. Ira Casson, Is Sought - Alan Schwarz
"The NFLPA is calling for the removal of Dr. Ira Casson as co-chairman of the league’s committee on concussions, saying that he is too biased to lead the research and policy group...Casson has dismissed every outside study finding links to dementia and other cognitive decline, including three papers published by the University of North Carolina’s Center for the Study of Retired Athletes." It is ridiculous for a doctor being paid by and representing the NFL to be performing exams on players for an NFL concussion study.

NYT - Weighing the Toll of Contact in Practice - Judy Battista
I've got to wonder - is all the practicing in pads this summer starting to tire out the Broncos defense? I know the company line this week has been that the unit's players have been going too often for the "big play" or "individual glory" but doesn't that strike you as a little hard to believe? I don't see a lot of egos on the Broncos' D, and with BDawk leading the way I can't see guys losing their discipline. Obviously, this is only speculation and it could never be more than that, but what do you think?

DB - Soy-Based Success - Gray Caldwell
Who would ever have guessed? Kenny Peterson is a pescatarian (vegetarian who eats fish). He made the switch a year ago due to his blood type.

DB - Providing Perspective - Broncos TV
The Broncos talk about this week as a chance to rebuild a division lead.

DP - Dawkins tabbed for player forum - Jeff Legwold
Leaders lead...

DPP - Broncos linebacker Davis thankful he's out of Cleveland - Jeff Legwold

DPP - Spotlight: Broncos rookie safety David Bruton - Lindsay Jones

DPP - Analysis: Jackson's improvement great for Gates, Chargers - Jeff Legwold

DPP - Q&A: Will the Shanahan staff reassemble somewhere? - Jeff Legwold
"Running backs coach Bobby Turner, offensive line coach Rick Dennison, special-teams assistant Keith Burns and strength and conditioning coach Rich Tuten were retained by Josh McDaniels, but the remainder of the Shanahan assistants were let go. All have worked with Shanahan for a long time and all could be possibilities to go to Shanahan's new team at some point, if for some reason they wanted to leave Denver or contract situations could be worked out."

LTC - Ayers still adjusting - Brian Howell

LTC - Broncos QB Orton improving - Brian Howell
Note: this was written before Orton missed yesterday's practice.

CSG - Simms ready, if needed - Frank Schwab

CSG - Broncos thin at running back - Frank Schwab
"Knowshon Moreno and Peyton Hillis were the only tailbacks from the 53-man roster healthy enough to practice Thursday because Correll Buckhalter (knee) and LaMont Jordan (back) missed practice."

CSG - Orton missed second straight practice - Frank Schwab

AP - Chris Simms gearing up for 1st start since '06 injury - Arnie Stapleton

ESPN Insider - Chargers-Broncos: 10 observations - Doug Kretz
San Diego 21 Denver 20

PFW - Return of defensive players should improve Giants - Eric Edholm

Chargers News

SDUT - Chargers see wildcat as more than gimmick - Chris Jenkins

SDUT - Depth at linebacker paying off

SDUT - Binn belongs in - Mike Fleiss

SDUT - Clary doesn't work - Kevin Acee
"Everyone else (except center Nick Hardwick, who is not going to play again Sunday) worked today. "

PFW - Injuries allow Chargers ILB Siler to carve out role - Michael Blunda

NCT - Cromartie believes he has improved - Scott Bair

NCT - Defense prepares for system, not the quarterback - Scott Bair

NCT - Trouble at right tackle; injury update - Scott Bair

NFL Results

NFL - Miami Dolphins 24 at Carolina Panthers 17

SN - Williams' running helps Henne have a pro day - Vinnie Iyer

AFC West News

NFP - Diner morning news: Russell move long overdue - Mike Lombardi

KCS - Long has his big chance with the Chiefs - Kent Babb

KCS - Chiefs notes | Steelers are what Haley hopes his team can be - Adam Teicher

SFC - Hard-working Gradkowski gives foes new look - David White

OT - Benching JaMarcus Russell a call for Raiders' quarterback to shape up - Monte Poole

NFL News

NFL - NFL names Dungy to lead newly formed Player Advisory Forum

NFL - Vikings reward Childress with contract extension through 2013

NFL - Bengals RB Benson likely out vs. Raiders

NFL - Redskins RB Portis ruled out vs. Cowboys because of concussion

NFL - Week 11 injuries: Saints’ Bush misses second practice

NFL - A change is gonna come: Owner Wilson ready to revamp Bills

NFL - Torn ACL ends season for up-and-coming Rams DE Ah You

NFP - Brohm’s arrival signals change for Buffalo - Matt Bowen
The Bills snatched another recent draft choice off the Packers' practice squad; this time it's 2008 second-rounder QB Brian Brohm. Before that, it was '09 fifth-rounder OT Jamon Meredith.

FH - Bears Shun NBC for Sunday Night Game - Matt Snyder

NFL Opinion

SI - Mike Shanahan, Leslie Frazier among NFL coaching candidates - Don Banks
"The smart money continues to be on Washington and Danny "Warbucks'' Snyder (we could call it the Danny and Shanny show)."

Y! - Eagles, Packers' futures brighter than Giants' - Charles Robinson

SN - For three struggling QBs, it's November nosedive - Clifton Brown

Y! - Gruden finds safe haven in the booth - Mike Silver

FH - Thursday-and-Long: It's Rex Ryan's Party, He Can Cry If He Wants To - Dan Graziano

FOX - It's a QB's world in today's NFL - Alex Marvez

CBS - Hungry Jones-Drew rushing to elite stature - Pete Prisco

NFL - Bengals have easy out if they lose their gamble with LJ - Steve Wyche

SI - Larry Johnson will try to resurrect career with Bengals - Paul Daugherty

FOX - NFL Truths: LeBron needs to focus on NBA - Jason Whitlock

ESPN - Percy Harvin is making Vikings QB Brett Favre look good - Elizabeth Merrill

FOX - Boom or Bust: Who's to blame for Bills' struggles? - Adam Schein

SI - Wildcat revolution fails to materialize in NFL in 2009 - Andrew Perloff

PFW - Mays' freakish talent being preserved - Nolan Nawrocki

Picks, Etc.

NFP - The Player's Picks: Week 11 - Matt Bowen
"I see a great AFC West game with Nate Kaeding winning it on a long field goal in the fourth quarter as the Chargers take over the West."

NYT - Week 11 N.F.L. Matchups - Mike Tanier
"After 20 years, the dossier on Norv Turner is complete...As a disciplinarian and motivator, he ranks somewhere between Dick Jauron and a substitute gym teacher...We’ll learn over the next few weeks whether McDaniels will correct those mistakes, get overwhelmed by them or adopt Turner’s philosophy: ignore them and hope his veterans bail him out."

NFL - McNabb-Cutler duel leads solid list of Week 11 matchups

ESPN - Sunday Countdown online: Your weekly NFL guide - Week 11

SI - The Peter King Challenge
"Prediction: San Diego Chargers 30, Denver Broncos 14"

FH - Week 11 NFL Picks: Colts Goin' Down - Dave Goldberg

Poll

What do you think is behind the Broncos' defensive woes?

Barrel Man's Last Game

2009-11-20T05:35:55Z

Barrel Man's Last Game

I heard a news report the other night that this Sunday, Nov. 22 against the Chargers, Barrel Man Tim McKernan will be in attendance at Invesco Field @ Mile High for the final time. He was recently diagnosed with terminal cancer and given 2-6 months to live. I can't find an internet source, but I saw it on 9NEWS. Thoughts and prayers. And please, put this man in the Ring of Fame.

San Diego Chargers at Denver Broncos Thursday Injury Report

2009-11-20T00:54:46Z

DENVER BRONCOS
Player	Injury	Wed. Participation	Thur. Participation	Fri. Participation	Friday Status
S Josh Barrett	Hamstring	Did Not Participate	Limited Participation
T Ryan Harris	Toe	Did Not Participate	Did Not Participate
RB LaMont Jordan	Back	Did Not Participate	Did Not Participate
WR Brandon Marshall	Neck	Did Not Participate	Full Participation
QB Kyle Orton	Ankle	Did Not Participate	Did Not Participate
RB Correll Buckhalter	Knee	Limited Participation	Did Not Participate
WR Brandon Lloyd	Foot	Limited Participation	Did Not Participate

San Diego Chargers
Player	Injury	Wed. Participation	Thur. Participation	Fri. Participation	Friday Status
T Jeromey Clary	Ankle	Did Not Participate	Did Not Participate
TE Antonio Gates	Foot	Did Not Participate	Full Participation
C Nick Hardwick	Ankle	Did Not Participate	Did Not Participate
DE Travis Johnson	Groin	Did Not Participate	Limited Participation
OLB Shawne Merriman	Foot	Did Not Participate	Full Participation
DT Ogemdi Nwagbuo	Ankle	Did Not Participate	Did Not Participate
OLB Shaun Phillips	Ankle	Did Not Participate	Limited Participation
P Mike Scifres	Bilateral Groin	Limited Participation	Full Participation
ILB Tim Dobbins	Knee	Full Participation	Full Participation

Brian Dawkins tabbed to join NFL Player Advisory Forum led by Tony Dungy

2009-11-19T21:30:11Z

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

Who wouldn't listen to this guy?? (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Browse more photos »

Former NFL head coach TONY DUNGY will lead a new NFL Player Advisory Forum as Special Advisor to COMMISSIONER ROGER GOODELL, the NFL announced today. The program will involve a regular series of meetings in various cities with NFL players, including Pro Bowl veterans such as BRIAN DAWKINS of the Denver Broncos, RAY LEWIS of the Baltimore Ravens, and KURT WARNER of the Arizona Cardinals.

"Players continue to be an invaluable resource in providing direction and insight into a wide range of programs and policies," said Commissioner Goodell. "Tony's experience and expertise in working with players make him an ideal leader of the Player Advisory Forum and we appreciate his willingness to take on this important role."

The purpose of the Player Advisory Forum is to provide input to the commissioner's office on policies, programs, and issues that affect the lives of players on and off the field, including player health and safety, personal conduct, game rules and procedures, career transition, and player development.

Dungy will organize the meetings, identify the player attendees, and develop a list of topics for discussion. Commissioner Goodell will attend the meetings and the NFL Players Association has been invited to send a representative. Dungy also will serve as a resource to the NFL Player Development staff and the team Player Development Directors.

"Input from the players to the commissioner's office and vice versa is so important in helping our league and our players be the best they can be, on and off the field," Dungy said. "The commissioner asked me if I would lead this initiative and to me it is exciting to be in a position to help our players."

Dawkins, Lewis, and Warner said they are looking forward to being part of the initiative.

"It's an honor and privilege to work with Coach Dungy," Dawkins said. "This will be a great new way for players working with Coach Dungy to be part of the process of improving the league for everybody."

Added Lewis, "This is extremely important and Tony's involvement is a big factor for me because he stands for everything that is right about the NFL. This is an area where we need unity because it's about players and the league helping each other. I truly believe we can accomplish things that will carry on way beyond us."

Warner, the 2008 Walter Payton Award winner as the NFL Man of the Year, said, "For the NFL to remain as successful as it is today, this type of open communication between the players and commissioner's office is crucial. To have someone as respected and accomplished as Coach Dungy leading the effort is tremendous. His integrity and credibility are unmatched and everyone involved will be better off because of his involvement."

The Player Advisory Forum will be similar to the series of meetings Commissioner Goodell conducted around the country last year with retired players. The new program for current players is an evolution of the NFL Player Advisory Council, which was created by Commissioner Goodell with the NFL Players Association in 2006.

The Player Advisory Council provided ideas and direction for the development of the Personal Conduct Policy, the team captains program, the change in venue of the Pro Bowl this season to South Florida prior to the Super Bowl, and contributed direct input on other policy matters, including safety-related rules changes.

Mitch Berger...he's got a "good personality"

2009-11-19T18:30:20Z

Sometimes the hot girl at the bar is only hot because she's wearing a lot of makeup and the lights are dimmed low. And while she looks great now, you find out later it was all show, and perhaps you just had a little too much to drink.

Her friend, on the other hand, is only slightly above-average. She falls into the "good personality" category. But you know she's the kind of girl you could bring home to momma.

Which one should you choose?

Neither. This isn't about you. It's about the Denver Broncos.

And they did NOT choose the hot girl.

They chose Mitch Berger.

You know the backstory. When the Broncos signed Mitch Berger three weeks ago, it caused quite a stir in Broncos Country. The Broncos were 6-0. But the dirty little secret was that their punt-coverage unit was horrible. Not because the coverage was bad, but because Brett Kern was out-kicking the coverage.

Denver has dropped three straight games since the signing of Berger. But I wouldn't exactly say he's to blame. As Lindsay Jones points out today in her article from the Denver Post:

Berger's gross punting average in the past three games is several yards shorter than Kern's — 39.7, compared with 46.1 for Kern — but the average net distance when returns are factored in has been slightly better (36.5 to 34.5). Berger also has put only one punt in the end zone in three games.

It turns out the girl with the personality may have actually helped the Broncos, after all.

Of course, some at MHR were against the move. And they will continue to be. Some of us were for it. The day the move was made, John Bena had this to say:

For many of us, both on this site and on MHR Radio, we've been discussing the concerns in the punting game. After the Broncos beat the Bengals in Week 1, the team spent the off day working out punters. I wrote that Kern's ineffectiveness was costing the Broncos - at times 10 yards per punt - compared to some of the better punters in the NFL. That's a first down each change of possession - when you have a defense playing the way Denver's is right now, well, that's a HUGE deal.

Several days later, I wrote a statistical piece as to why the move was made, making the case for Berger based on his ability to limit the amount of opportunities the other team had on punt return:

In the punting game, putting your opponent in their red zone and limiting return opportunities are the most important factors in winning. In fact, the two most important positive relationships between winning and punting are the percentage of your punts that you put inside the 20 and the percentage of punts not returned. Again, don't let your opponent have the opportunity to have opportunity!

And finally, here is a quote from Berger himself before they face the Charger this Sunday (again courtesy of the Lindsay Jones story you can find here). Either he reads Mile High Report or he's a punter who understands what helps teams win games:

"You just want to hit balls accurate and high and give your guys as much time to cover as you can," Berger said. "Hopefully you get some fair catches where (Sproles) doesn't have a chance at all. You want to put the ball in the part of the field where he has the least options possible."

The girl with personality is also well-spoken, which is another plus. Mother will certainly like that.

Admittedly, the debate isn't over. If the Broncos drop another 2 games in a row, the "curse of Kern" talk will again surface. However, Berger is doing his job, even though on TV, he's not got the "big leg" that the casual fan mistakenly associates with winning games. It's about limiting the ability of the other team to get return yards.

Broncos fans, let's not think we need to go back to the hot girl again because we're a little bored. It looks way too needy. And you simply don't need her anyway. She's high maintenance and out-kicks your coverage.

Go Broncos!!

Poll of the Week - Who is the Broncos Biggest Rival

2009-11-19T13:16:29Z

This topic recently came up and I thought I would ask it of the greatest Broncos fans in the world - so guys and gals of Broncos Country - which is the biggest rivalry the Broncos face?? We all know the Raiders are the historic rival, but their lack of success may have dampened that. The Chiefs and Broncos battled for AFC West supremacy in the 90's and early in this decade but they too are now struggling. The Broncos and Chargers are battling it out nowadays, and it appeared Philip Rivers and Jay Cutler were going to have their own personal rivalry going until the events of the off-season.

Please explain your answer in the comments. Call it a little "market research"!

So, I ask all of you -

Poll

Who is the Broncos biggest rival??

Horse Tracks 11/19/09 - According to AP, Kyle Orton has torn ligaments in ankle

2009-11-19T13:02:05Z

DB - Week 11 - Wed: McDaniels - Broncos TV

AP - Simms Gets The Reps, Orton Sits Out Practice - Arnie Stapleton
"The ligaments in Kyle Orton's left ankle are torn. He certainly isn't." WHAT?!?!?!?!

DPP - Broncos QB Orton hurting but hopes to play - Mike Klis
"His sore ankle — initially twisted two weeks earlier against the Baltimore Ravens — had not healed sufficiently to participate in practice."

DPP - Berger's net punting is Broncos' more important statistic - Lindsay Jones
"Elvis Dumervil has been credited with an additional half a sack in Denver's game at Washington, bringing his season total to 12...In addition to quarterback Kyle Orton, whose injured left ankle kept him sidelined, wide receiver Brandon Marshall (neck), running back LaMont Jordan (back), offensive tackle Ryan Harris (toe) and safety Josh Barrett (hamstring) did not participate...Rookie tight end Richard Quinn was yanked during a blocking drill against linebackers Wednesday and reprimanded for several minutes by position coach Clancy Barone."

DPP - Broncos in a rush to stop the run - Jeff Legwold

DPP - Q&A: Stokley no longer star receiver in Broncos' slot - Jeff Legwold

DPP - Analysis: Broncos looking to buck disturbing late-season trend - Jeff Legwold
"They lost five of their last seven in 2006, lost four of the last six in 2007 and lost four of the last six last year, including the last three games of the season."

DB - Quarterback Quandary - Gray Caldwell

DB - Bringing a Backfield Presence - Chris Gentilviso
"Denver forced four fumbles in its 34-23 Week 6 win over San Diego...Since that Oct. 19 game, the Broncos have forced a total of two fumbles in their three losses to the Ravens, Steelers and Redskins."

DB - Week 11 - Wed: Orton - Broncos TV

DB - Week 11 - Wed: Dawkins - Broncos TV

DPP - Woody's Mailbag: Broncos broken down
"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."

"People tell me Robert Ayers is sensational. He has made one play." Funny, the "one play" Woody credits Ayers as having made is the one play where he probably just happened to be in the right place at the right time (the fumble return for TD).

"Also, if you have a quarterback who doesn't throw down the field (until the Washington game), cornerbacks cheat up; the defense can put a safety in the box, and the defensive line can sell out on the run." Hasn't it been established on MHR that in the Broncos' losses, the opposing defenses have gotten a rush out of their front 7, therefore not needing to keep two safeties deep bring up either of their safeties? Or was I imagining things?

CSG - McDaniels doesn't say what injured Orton's status is - Frank Schwab

CSG - Broncos won't devise different game plans for quarterbacks - Frank Schwab

CSG - Broncos, Chargers going opposite directions - Frank Schwab

CBS4 - Hnida: Hard To Assess Orton's Ankle At This Point

DPP - Numbers: Broncos-Chargers rivalry hits the century mark

KDVR - Chargers vs. Broncos Round II - Chris Tanaka

KDVR - Insider's Blog: Broncos Ryan Harris, Robert Ayers; Redskins Clinton Portis, Ladell Betts - Josina Anderson

Chargers News

SDUT - Tucker to IR - Kevin ACee

SDUT - Denver aware of Chargers' second-half surges

SDUT - Gamer Gates - Kevin Acee

AFC West News

KCS - Passing game must adjust to life without Bowe - Adam Teicher

KCS - Chiefs buzz: Brown AFC defensive player of the week - Kent Babb

SFC - The future is no longer now - Russell's out - David White

SFC - RAIDERS' FUTURE - Team extends lease at Coliseum 3 years - David White & Carolyn Jones

SFG - Raiders Silver and Black Blog : Cable on JaMarcus - David White

NFL News

NFL - Survey: Players hide concussions, despite fear of long-term effects

NFL - Brown lost for season with bad foot; Williams now Dolphins' top RB

NFL - Childress close to contract extension with Vikings

NFL - Doctors see improvement in Eagles' Westbrook after concussion

NFL - Jets safety Leonhard's status vs. Pats unknown after thumb surgery

NFL - Double whammy: Seahawks CBs Trufant, Wilson suffer concussions

NFL - Lions put S Manuel, CB Williams on injured reserve, add two players
Yes, that Manuel.

NFL Opinion

NFP - Tavern talk: Scoring too early can hurt - Mike Lombardi

SI - Saints, Colts remain on top - Don Banks

NFL - Let's get wild: Playoff races heating up heading into Week 11 - Steve Wyche

SI - NFL regular season would be fine if more games added - Ross Tucker

SN - Week 11 picks: Chargers surging for a Mile High pass - Vinnie Iyer

CBS - Sorry, Colts/Saints fans ... Super Bowl highly unlikely - Clark Judge

ESPN - More coaching firings likely on the horizon - John Clayton
"Certainly, the idiot -- that would be yours truly -- who said the Broncos would finish the season with a 3-13 record won't be overly critical about a team he miscalculated."

FOX - Week 11 Cheat Sheet: NFL picks and predictions - Peter Schrager

FH - Dirty Dozen: The Mysteries of Rankings - Dave Goldberg

FH - Steelers Kick Coverage Team May Break Records ... In a Bad Way - J.J. Cooper

FH - How Might Miami Replace Ronnie Brown? - Chris Burke

NYT - N.F.L. Week 11 Probabilities, and a Forecast for Jets-Patriots - Brian Burke

Y! - Disruptive behavior a winning formula route for Johnson - Charles Robinson

NFP - Wednesday whys: Concerns send Westbrook to specialists - Andrew Brandt

NFL - Lofty expectations have played into Ryan's sophomore struggles - Bucky Brooks

NFP - The NFP Super 30 - Wes Bunting

SN - Mock draft: Mays the solution for Giants' struggling secondary? - Russ Lande

Shanny/Bills/Browns

NFL - Shanahan likely to meet with Bills officials next week

DP - Memo to Shanny: Just say no to Buffalo - Jim Armstrong
I was stunned by this, too - at least Shanny is checking out all his options. Maybe he's bored and wants to get out of the house for a couple days?

NFP - Crank up the coaching carousel - Robert Boland

NFP - Diner morning news: No magic wand for Fewell - Mike Lombardi

NFP - Can Perry Fewell win in Buffalo? - Matt Bowen

NFL - Bills interim coach Fewell reinstates Fitzpatrick as QB, fires up team

NFP - Why Quinn should pay big for hit on Suggs - Matt Bowen

NFL - In trouble again: Quinn stumbles in second chance with Browns

Poll

Why do you think Mike Shanahan is going to meet with the Bills?

Potent Quotables - Wednesday Media Walk-Through

2009-11-19T02:57:14Z

Josh McDaniels, Kyle Orton and Brian Dawkins took their usual turn at the podium in preparations for the Broncos-Chargers showdown this Sunday at Invesco Field @ Mile High. While Orton hopes he can go on Sunday, he DID NOT participate in Wednesday's workout.

Here is the transcript for the Presser, brought to us by our friends in the Denver Broncos P.R. Staff -

HEAD COACH JOSH McDANIELS

On QB Kyle Orton's status

"I don't know. We'll see. He's going to do everything he can to get better every day. We'll make that decision at the end of the week."

On adjusting an offensive line to a left-handed quarterback vs. a right-handed quarterback

"We're not going to really change our system, so it's not that the plays are going to be different. If we feel like we need to do something different on the backside of a player, whether he be left handed or right handed, than that is up to us as a staff to do that, but I don't think the preparation for the linemen, in general, is going to be much different. They've got to still block the same guys, and the protections that we use, we use protections where we slide left, where we slide right, where the left tackle is singled (and) where the right tackle is singled, and we do that when we have either quarterback in the game. That shouldn't make a difference in terms of what we're doing and how we're preparing. They've got to do their assignment the same no matter what hand the guy throws with."

On if Orton is questionable for Sunday's game against San Diego

"You're going to see it on the injury report today."

On switching the left and right tackles based on what arm the quarterback uses to throw

"Nobody that I know does it. I've only coached one other left-handed quarterback in my career, and he never played in a game. In terms of speaking for other coaches and other staffs that have done different things when they've had a left-hander and a right-hander, I have no idea. We're not doing that. We're going to play left and right tackle the way that we know how to play it and get ready to play the game."

On if momentum from the Broncos and Chargers' last few games will affect Sunday's result

"I don't think so. They've obviously played extremely well since we played them four weeks ago. They've really gotten on a roll and played a lot of good football. I think that they're a team that has really improved in every phase of their game. They're playing better defensively, better offensively, more balanced (and) really have improved significantly in the kicking game in basically every area on special teams. We've lost three games in a row, and I understand it seems like we're going in opposite directions, but I think this game is going to be determined by how we play on Sunday and how they play. If we have a good week of preparation and practice and go out there and play well, we know what we are capable of doing, and it ought to be a really difficult game for either one of us to get away from one another. We'll see who plays better in the second half (and) wins the game."

On how San Diego has improved since its last game against Denver

"There are a lot of things. They've only given up four sacks in the last 16 quarters. They haven't turned the ball over very much. (RB LaDainian) Tomlinson is running the ball very well. They've got the running game going pretty well right now. (They) ran the ball very effectively last week against Philadelphia. I think they're fourth in defending the run (during) the last month of the season. They've created a lot of turnovers. (OLB Shawne) Merriman and (OLB Shaun) Phillips have 10 sacks in the last four games. They've moved up significantly in punt return, net punting (and) their kickoff return in terms of where they stand in the league and how productive they've been. We know that they've been in this predicament before where they haven't necessarily started as well as maybe they would have liked, but that hasn't fazed them at all. Three years ago, they won the last 10 (games). Two years ago, they won the last eight. Last year, they won the last five. We know we're playing a team that's going to be very confident, and they should be based on the way that they're playing."

On if the special teams touchdowns in the last Broncos-Chargers game greatly affects both teams' game plan this week

"I don't believe so. I think those kick returns kept the game kind of tight. The whole second half was basically played within a score of one another. I don't think we're going to get a whole lot different in terms of what they're going to try to do to defend us or attack us on offense. Schemes will change, we understand that, but it's an explosive offense that makes a lot of big plays in the passing game. They're running the ball well. They do what they do on defense. They blitz you, and they get plenty out of their pass rush in their blitz game. We're going to have to block that in the run game, block it in pass protection and try to make some yards doing that. That's really what the first game was all about, anyways. This is a team that is very talented, and I think when you're playing a team like that, they don't have to change dramatically from one game to the next. We're going to prepare for what we've seen, and what we've seen the last four games is very similar to what we played against. They just have done things better, and they're getting better as a team. I think that last game does matter. I think there are some things that we will take from it and try to get better at, and I'm sure they're doing the same."

On if having only four days between the next two games affects the quarterbacks' repetitions in practice this week

"I don't think the short week has anything to do with it. I think if Kyle can practice then he will. If he can't practice or he is limited to some degree, than (QB) Chris (Simms) will take the reps that we feel like he needs to take just to be ready to in case we have to play him this week. If Kyle can't practice, then he'll take most of the reps, just like Kyle would. I don't really think next week is going to have a big bearing on how we handle our quarterbacks this week during the course of the week. We're going to practice the players we think are going to play in the game, and if Kyle is not out there today and he is tomorrow, whatever day it is, then we'll make that determination of how many reps he needs to get versus how many reps Chris gets, but I don't think that has anything to do with the game next week."

On if QB Tom Brandstater will get reps in practice this week

"That'll all depend. He could get a few reps. If Kyle is not practicing, yes, he will get a few reps. He always takes plenty of the defense's reps when the defense is out there. We try to get him a lot of work against high-level competition."

On if Simms will get more reps in practice as the season continues in case Orton gets injured again

"No, there are too many things that go into a game plan that you need the guy that you think is going to play-we're playing the percentages. If we've got a healthy quarterback, by and large, he's going to go play the game and hopefully, most of the time, play the whole thing. We do give (Simms) those kinds of things. He does the same drills, and we get a lot of reps in those kinds of periods in practice that simulate some of that stuff. That's what it is. Any backup player, you're talking about a backup left tackle, he doesn't get a lot of reps either, but if he has to go into the game, we're not going to change the protections because he didn't necessarily rep them in practice. It doesn't make any difference what position it is. If you're a backup player, you've got to do a great job of studying and understanding the play and knowing what to do even though you may not do it at full speed in practice against the same look that you're going to play against. That's just life, and we deal with that on a weekly basis. It just so happens it's not normally the quarterback, but there are many times in the course of a game where we're playing with a backup defensive tackle or a backup left guard or whatever it may be because we've got an injury or a bump or a bruise, and that guy goes in there and he's got to do his job."

On if timing is a factor when using a backup quarterback in practice

"Yeah, but the same case would be made with the starter. If you're going to take him out of those reps, then the guy who's playing 95, 99 percent of the time is not going to have the same reps that he needs to be effective."

On how Orton and Simms' personal strengths affect his game plan for San Diego

"Really, the only thing that's going to change-to me, the game plan is going to be set up to beat the Chargers not to just cater to one or the other (quarterback) because both quarterbacks are here because they can function in our system. The game plan this week is designed for whichever quarterback is playing to be able to be effective, and it's not going to change that much. The only thing that may change is if we're going to sprint out right or sprint out left, it'll be based on which quarterback is in the game. Other than that, the run game is the same (and) the pass patterns that we feel like can be successful this week, either quarterback is going to have to get ready to throw those. San Diego does an excellent job of defending the deep part of the field. They've given up the fewest number of big plays in the league this year. We understand what kind of defense we are playing this week. It's a talented defense that does a lot of things well and puts a lot of pressure on you, so we're not going to try to mess around to create some magical game plan for Chris and then have one kind of in the hole for Kyle or vice versa and have one ready for Chris if Kyle can't go. The game plan is the game plan. I don't think you can do that to your other players. They have to practice and they have to study one type of plan, and you have to make it go with whoever is in there. Whichever quarterback plays, that's what we're going to do."

QB KYLE ORTON

On if he will play on Sunday against the Chargers

"I sure hope so. That is the goal. I'm going to do everything that I can to be on the field Sunday. Myself just like everybody else, we're excited to move on and play San Diego and just play in this big game for the AFC West."

On the status of his ankle

"We're going to see. It is going to be a day-to-day deal. I haven't done much on it as of yet. We'll go out there and see what we can do. I'm not positive I can go today or not."

On if the injury is similar to the one he suffered last year with Chicago

"(It is a) different foot and different deal. It is different. It is not the same type of thing, but I've played with leg injuries in the past, and I hope that I can do it this time."

On if it is a high-ankle sprain

"If you're going to get that specific, you've got to talk to Greek (Head Athletic Trainer Steve Antonopulos) or (Head Coach) Josh (McDaniels)."

On comparing last year's ankle injury to this year's

"Last year was so tough because it was (painful) pushing off and that was my back leg. That was tough. This will present a different challenge, I'm sure, but we'll see if I can play through it."

On if he returned to play too early after his ankle injury last year

"I come back as fast as I can and try to lead my football team and try and be in the huddle like everybody else. This sport, you've got to play when you are dinged up, and the quarterback is no different. Did my play go down or whatever? I don't know. That is opinion, I guess, but I came back last year as soon as I could, and I'll do the same thing this year."

On how his ankle has improved since last Sunday

"I have had improvement. I haven't tried to do a whole lot, so I can't really give you any details, but I have made improvement every day so that is definitely a positive. (I am) feeling better, and I'll hopefully feel better tomorrow."

On getting treatment for the injury

"I've been in the training room every day, and I'll continue to do that until Sunday."

On how San Diego's defense has improved since Denver's first meeting with the Chargers

"The pass rush is really getting to the quarterback. It seems like the quarterbacks have had to move a lot and get out of the pocket, and they've really got into the inside of the pocket, which makes it tough. Just like when we played them last time, the cornerbacks are extremely good. There are not a whole lot of plays being made outside on them, and they are stopping the run, so we will have to be able to stay balanced."

On if San Diego's pass rush will affect his status for Sunday's game

"No. If I can sit there and throw the ball and do everything that I need to do, then I'll be playing."

On if it is difficult to play in a game after missing the majority of the team's preparation

"It is tough. It is not an ideal situation, but it is what it is, and we are going to make the best of whatever situation it is."

On if he was fully healthy when he returned from his injury last season

"No. I wasn't. I wasn't even close for the Green Bay game. That's just how it is. I don't know if anybody is feeling 100 percent right now on our team. It has been a physical season, and I'm no different."

On if he will talk to Chris Simms more this week

"We talk a bunch every week, and that won't change this week. I'm going to prepare like I'm playing, I'm sure he is going to prepare like he is playing and we will communicate throughout the entire week and make sure whoever is playing is going to do a good job."

On the offense's performance in the first half against Washington last Sunday

"We were playing well up until (I was injured), offensively speaking. We did some decent things in the first half. When the deal happened, I thought I had a decent chance for coming back out (to play) in the second half, and I came out and tried to do it, and I just wasn't able to, unfortunately. We didn't play 60 minutes, and that is why we got beat."

On if he will be a game-time decision on Sunday

"Hopefully, it is better tomorrow and I'll be practicing tomorrow. Hopefully, I'll be able to practice today. We'll just have to wait and see every day."

S BRIAN DAWKINS

On how San Diego has changed over the past few weeks

"I've always had a healthy respect for this team and the weapons that they have. (QB Philip) Rivers has always been a competitive guy. (RB) LaDainian (Tomlinson) has always been able to do the things he needed to do in big-time situations. They are playing with a high intensity right now. They are very confident. All the things that we expected in the first game, we are expecting the same things in this game, a very tough battle. (We are) going to have to be very mentally strong both sides of the field. It is going to be a very, very exciting game."

On if he will be checking on QB Kyle Orton's status

"Our job does not change. I've said this quite a few times. Our job does not change. No matter who our quarterback is, no matter what the offense is doing or whatever you want to say, our job does not change. It remains the same. We have to do a better job of doing what we are supposed to do this game and then be consistent at doing it, not having spurts of doing it and then trying to do too much at other times. We've just got to do what we are supposed to do and go up against a very, very talented team."

On San Diego RB LaDainian Tomlinson's age affecting his play

"You just go out and play your game. That is going to happen as long as you continue and mount up years. It is a blessing that you are playing. It can be a curse if you listen to the outside people because once you get past a certain age, no matter what you do or whatever mistake you make out on the football field, it is always going to be because of your age. That is what people are going to say. I know that that is not the truth. I look at him on film and still see him making the same cuts and stopping on a dime and leaving people standing right there in their shoes while he is going the other way. I see those same things happening on the football field from him. I'll let all the experts, so called, say that he can't do it because of his age. I'm going to respect (him) and I'm going to go in and expect his best game and expect me to have to be a very sure tackler against a very, very talented running back."

On players being criticized for poor play because of their age

"That's just the way it is. People, they want to find the reasons why you aren't doing something. It doesn't have to be anything, but the fact that you made a wrong read (or were) a step too slow because of guessing on something. It is always going to be because of your age, so I've learned (to) leave that alone, let people say whatever they want to say (and) use it as motivation if you want to. As I've said in the past also, I've never let somebody's opinion of me define who I am. That will never change."

On rebounding from three consecutive losses

"I've been in these things a couple of times, these things being losing streaks (and being) completely counted out, whatever the reason was, or whether we lost (Philadelphia QB) Donovan (McNabb) or whatever. I've been in these situations before. I love being put in a situation where people don't expect you to do something, or they think you can't do it. I love that. I relish that. I feed off of that. We're put in a situation that we've got to go out and do our job, but like I said, this is going to be (an) exciting, playoff type of atmosphere. These are the type of games that should just get your blood pumping and get your heart beating fast, get you breathing hard, like I'm doing right now (in) anticipation of the game."

On if having people doubt his ability due to his age motivates him

"I use those things. I told you guys that before. I won't shy away from that. I use those things as motivation. I put them into my pile and burn them, and then during the offseason, (I) make sure that when I come out that all of those questions that somebody may have had, that I answered with a definite. The things that they were saying won't be answered from a positive stand(point) from their side. The thing that I wanted to do coming here was be who my teammates needed me to be here. I've tried to give everything that I've had emotionally and physically (and) to do everything that I needed to do to let my teammates here-which I believe, they do now have complete and total confidence in me. If I'm one-on-one, I'm going to make that tackle nine times out of 10. If I'm in coverage, there is going to be a great percentage that I am going to be able to knock the ball out, get a pick or bring him down immediately. Those are the types of confidence builders that I wanted my teammates to have in me. I think that they have that in me."

On helping the Broncos stay positive mentally

"I practice what I preach, and I preach what I practice first. In other words, I'm out doing what I'm supposed to do on the football field. I'm doing what I'm supposed to do in the meeting rooms. I'm still engaged in every phase of preparing for a team with my teammates (and) having conversations. My head is not held low. My smile, it doesn't disappear from my face in the midst of a losing streak. I'm still going to have fun playing this game. Those things, young guys, especially, see that and understand that this is not a panic situation. It is a situation where the things that we've talked about the last couple of weeks of doing consistently, we haven't done consistently. In order for us to get back to where we want to be, we have to do those things consistently. The challenge is put forth, absolutely. I don't think there is not a guy in the locker room that shouldn't feel a thirst for this game. There is so much excitement for this game. There really is."

On the Chargers' performance during the past month

"You look at tape, regardless. (You) look at from when we played them last and then look at the games that they've played, obviously, since then and how much progress they've made since then. They are playing with a different fire, with a different zest that you can see on film. You just go into this game expecting their best, and then you put up your best and see whose best is the best. Like I said, it is going to be an exciting game. I'm jacked up, juiced up about it already."

The Dude Abides...The Stats That Don't Lie, Week 10

2009-11-18T16:30:12Z

I can no longer sit back and allow a stats infiltration, a stats indoctrination, a stats subversion, and the international stats conspiracy to sap and impurify all of our precious bodily fluids. --General Jack D. Ripper

______________________________________________________________________

Last week another disaster movie, 2012, opened across the USA. This coincided with Week 10 of the NFL season. We were reminded of three important things:

Do not ignore ancient warnings (apparently, the world ends)
Don't give Peyton Manning a short field (apparently, the game ends)
Jay Cutler's arm is a Mayan calendar (apparently, the Bears end)

The Denver Broncos have thus far avoided complete catastrophe, sitting at 6-3. But another loss, and you should probably head to the basement with all of your canned goods, bottled water, and flashlight batteries.

Welcome to the Week 10 version of the Stats That Don't Lie. These are the stats that infect the entire population--at least until the 3rd act. They are the statistical little green men locked in your pantry. In short, these are stats to take to the bomb shelter (with the little lady, of course). As always they include Turnovers, Field Position, Time of Possession, and 3rd-down efficiency.

The Broncos continue their downward spiral from last week's ranking in the four categories. But rather than compare this week's rankings to last week's as we normally do, let's instead look at a picture that tells the real story of the 2009 Broncos' season. The following chart is the Broncos' turnover margin from each game of 2009. You may want to hide the women and children before you look at the last three (Note: I "normalized" the New England game and removed Orton's hail mary, so the turnover battle was effectively zero).

If you knew nothing about football or had been dropped here from outer space (your average Raiders fan) and you saw this graph, it wouldn't take you long to figure out which games the Broncos had won and which games they had lost. In fact, if you had no knowledge of Jay Cutler or Kyle Orton or Mitch Berger or Brett Kern, you would probably look at this chart and say, "5-3, no doubt, with the New England game going either way."

This makes both intuitive sense and statistical sense. If you've read some of my previous work on turnover margin, you'll probably remember that during the last roughly 360 games, I found the following winning percentages associated with each specific turnover ratio:

-2 turnover margin:21.95%
-1 turnover margin:28.36%
Even Turnover margin:50% (of course)
+1 turnover margin:71.64%
+2 turnover margin:78.05%

Simply put, win the turnover battle and you will win on the scoreboard. And not just for the obvious reasons of short circuiting your drive, taking away potential points off the board, and giving your opponent the chance to score. If you've ever played any sport (although it's particularly pronounced in football), you have probably experienced what happens when you feel momentum and emotion shift from one team to another. It's contagious. It's powerful. The very outcome of a game is often determined by it. Well, a turnover is like a momentum shift on HGH. If you doubt this, simply replay the tape of Champ Baily intercepting Tom Brady in the 2005 Playoffs. That was the BALCO of turnovers.

On Sunday the Broncos didn't win the turnover margin against the Redskins, and they are 6-3 because of it. Fake field goals and injured ankles got the headlines. But turnover margin was the dirty little secret.

Here are how all 32 teams rank this week in each of the four categories. Remember, I calculate this on an average/per game basis.

Denver is now 8th in giveaways, 25th in Field Position, 17th in Time of Possession, and 19th in 3rd-down efficiency. If one wants to begin a descent into mediocrity, these kinds of rankings will certainly suffice.

The third downs and time of possession will come along, I believe, but field position remains a primary concern. Mitch Berger continues to be the focus of a lot of friendly fire; but again, I ask, how can Denver kick start its Kick Return and Punt Return game? The Broncos aren't going to get 2 return TDs again against San Diego, nor is San Diego going to kick the ball out of bounds twice.

I make my weekly plea for Alphonso Smith getting some action as a return man. I like the move for several reasons. First, Ty Law is now getting most of Denver's Nickel action. Second, Smith is a playmaker. He needs to be on the field. Don't believe his 40 time. He has a burst. Third, it can't get much worse.

A few other teams stand out from these rankings. First, notice New England. Sure, they lost a crazy game to Indianapolis, but despite their 6-3 record, they are battle tested, playoff ready, and they rank in the top 7 in all four categories. Another team is New Orleans. For an undefeated team, they sure do turn the ball over a lot, despite their turnover margin being +6. Even though they are in the top ten in Field Position, Time of Possession, and 3rd-down efficiency, they might run into a game in the playoffs, in which they are not going to be explosive enough to overcome their mistakes, and the other team is going to hold onto the ball.

There are two other teams of curiosity. The first is Green Bay, who ranks 1st in giveaways/game, and is in the top 12 in each of the other categories. As a stats guy, I have to believe what I am seeing with these numbers. I think they surprise people in the 2nd half, have a chance to beat both Baltimore and Pittsburgh, and get to the playoffs. The second team is the Cleveland Browns, who are last in giveaways, 30th in Time of Possession, and 31st in 3rd-down efficiency. Their only bright spot? They are ninth in Field Position. How is this? Joshua Cribbs (they call me Mr. Cribbs).

Why would I focus on the Cleveland Browns? For one, I enjoy making fun of the Cleveland Browns. Another reason is for perspective. Denver would have to sink pretty low to get into Browns territory. Third, if I can reference Sidney Poitier, you think I'm not going to do it?

Week 10 Games

Before getting into the individual game stats, I want to bring your attention to a few individual games in interest.

The first, of course, is the Denver/Washington game. I've already pointed out Denver's horrid performance with respect to turnovers, but Washington also beat them in average starting field position. This happened even in the face of the two kickoffs out of bounds by Washington. Denver's average starting field position was the 27.91-yard line. Washington's was the 31.10. Denver also lost the time of possession- and 3rd-down efficiency battles. Denver's quick-strike offense in the first half helped contribute to this, along with the injury to Orton, forcing Chris Simms into action, and into inaction on 3rd down.

Another game of interest was the Kansas City/Oakland game, for the chief reason that this is the first game of the entire season in which one team lost all four categories (non-ties), yet still won the game. Congrats, Oakland. Even when you win, you lose. Just how was this possible?

Rather than say karma, I went back and watched the game again in search of some magic bullet that would tell me how this happened. But it was just putrid Oakland football that caused their demise. A slew of penalties, dropped passes, and a red-zone interception told the tale. And if you look at the stat line, it's not as if Oakland dominated all four categories. So I'm filing this one away as an renegade game. Al Davis would be so proud.

Of course, I can't stop myself from looking at the Chicago/San Francisco game. Jay Cutler, you are the Frankenstein of QBs. You have a grotesquely strong arm, but you're going to kill your team with its use. 5 interceptions and a turnover margin of -4. That's not quarterbacking. That's a recipe for a Mayan disaster movie.

And finally, we would not be complete if we didn't look at Brady vs. Manning. While Bill Belichick's 4th-quarter decision will be the focus of the analysis for most of the week, the stats tell the story. Despite the win by Indianapolis, New England was the better team, and shouldn't be worried about the rematch, which is certain to happen.

Week 10 Summaries:

2-Turnover Rule (Explained Here)

7 teams had 0 turnovers. 7 won (100%); For the season, 48/58 (83%)
7 teams had 1 turnover. 3 won (43%); For the season, 44/76 (58%)
12 teams had 2 turnovers. 4 won (33%); For the season, 40/89 (45%)
3 teams had 3 turnovers. 1 won (33%); For the season, 8/39 (21%)
0 team had 4 turnovers. None won (0%); For the season, 4/19 (21%)
1 teams had 5+ turnovers. None won (0%); For the season, 0/7 (0%)

Week 10 Big Picture:

The team that won the turnover battle won 13 of 15 games played (87%).
In the previous category, remove the ties (3 games) and this changes to 73%
The team that won the time of possession battle won 10 of the 15 games played (67%).
The team that had better third-down efficiency won 8 of the 15 games played (53%).
The team that had better average starting field position won 12 of the 15 games played (80%).
There were 6 games this week in which a team won all four categories. In 4 of the 6, the same team won on the scoreboard (67%). For the season, this stat is 48 out of 51 games. In only 1 game, however, has a team won outright in all four categories (no ties in turnovers) and lost.
The winning teams this week averaged .93 turnovers, 30:39 in time of possession, 39.64% on 3rd downs, and their average starting field position was the 31.50 yard line.

Top 5 in Week 10:

Top 5 in giveaways: 7 Teams tied with 0
Top 5 in time of possession: 1.GB 2.WAS 3.NE 4.STL 5. ATL
Top 5 in 3rd downs: 1.TEN 2.NO 3.JAX, NYJ, CAR are tied
Top 5 in avg. starting field position: 1.CIN 2.NO 3.MIN 4.SF 5.BAL

Running Totals, Season (through 10 weeks):

144 games have been played this season
83.33% were won by the team with less turnovers (counting ties as wins)
66.67% with a better time of possession
65.97% by the team who won on 3rd down
72.92% by the team that won the field position battle.

10-week Averages for Benchmarking This Week's Games:

10-week running average/game, turnovers (all teams): 1.69

10-week running average/game, time of possession (all teams): 30:10 (thanks to numerous OT games)

10-week running average/game, 3rd down efficiency (all teams): 37.65%

10-week running average, starting field position (all teams) 29.89 yard line

Here are the individual game stats from Week 10 (including obligatory comments):

The Look Ahead

Looking ahead to San Diego, here is how the two teams stack up in the four statistical categories (keeping in mind these are averages/game):

Team Turnovers/Game Time of Possession Field Position 3rd-Down Efficiency

Denver 1.22 29:41 27.72 37.52%

San Diego 1.13 27:57 30.38 40.43%

The turnover battle is a wash. Denver has been chewing up more clock, but that's not saying much. And San Diego has the edge in both field position and 3rd-down efficiency.

While these stats point to doom and gloom for the Broncos, one has to also consider home-field advantage. In the NFL, the home team wins about 55%-60% of the time. Is this enough to overcome Orton's injury, the return game of Darren Sproles, the whining of Phil Rivers, and the momentum that is clearly in the favor of the Chargers?

If so, the apocalypse will be with the Chargers. Denver will have beaten them twice, and tie-breakers won't save them this year.

Go Broncos!!!

Last Stat: 100% (percentage chance that Phil Rivers wishes he could play Jay Cutler twice a year)

Horse Tracks 11/18/09 - Orton to give his weekly presser today; but will he practice?

2009-11-18T12:46:39Z

DB - Weekly Press Release - Patrick Smyth

DP - Orton to the podium - Mike Klis
Hard to say if this means anything, but Orton will take his weekly presser today as the starting QB.

DPP - Analysis: Broncos need to remember what made them 6-0 - Jeff Legwold
"The last three weeks, they seem to be reaching more, striving for the big plays more, trying to have some pizzazz."

DPP - Broncos not fretting about potential repeat collapse - Mike Klis

DPP - Broncos expect Knowshon Moreno to continue on learning curve - Jeff Legwold
"In their six victories, the Broncos have averaged 25.3 rushing attempts, with a season-most 45 carries for 215 yards against the Raiders in Week 2. In the Broncos' three losses, they have averaged 18.3 rushes...This is the fourth consecutive season the Broncos have had a losing streak of at least three games."

LTC - Broncos Safety Renaldo Hill feels right at home - Brian Howell
"I don’t know that there’s a player on our team that is more prepared on a weekly basis," McDaniels said.

LTC - Broncos need to rush to improve D - Brian Howell

CBS - Cutler, Orton living up -- and down -- to expectations - Charley Casserly

DB - Providing Another Reason to Give Thanks - Gray Caldwell
BDawk made quite a generous donation to the Salvation Army to help provide Thanksgiving meals to those in need.

DB - Thanksgiving Comes Early - Broncos TV

DB - Bailey Leader Among AFC CBs - Gray Caldwell
Only Champ is currently in line to make the Pro Bowl (no Doom, Clady or Dawkins).

DPP - Q&A: Could punter Britton Colquitt find himself back with the Broncos? - Jeff Legwold
"Scouts believe Colquitt has the leg strength to have a place in the league over the long term, and he certainly has the pedigree being in a family with such a history on the job. But consistency, not just leg strength, is what keeps punters around."

DPP - Krieger: Broncos in hot pursuit of their old mojo
Oh, my. Is Krieger trying to be Woody?

CSG - Hillis playing insignificant role for Broncos - Frank Schwab

CBS4 - Chargers Game Could Be Most Important Of Season - Matthew Buettner

KDVR - Broncos' Kyle Orton 'questionable' vs. Chargers; can Simms carry the weight? - Zubin Mehenti

DP - Elway was paid to speak by firm now probed by SEC - Aldo Svaldi
Uh-oh.

Chargers News

SDUT - Scouting the Broncos

SDUT - Running back by committee - Chris Jenkins

SDUT - It's been a snap for fill-in Mruczkowski - Kevin Acee

NCT - CHARGERS: Scouting report vs. Denver Broncos - Scott Bair

AFC West News

ESPN - How I See It: AFC West Stock Watch - Bill Williamson

KCS - Bowe suspended for violating NFL policy on performance-enhancing drugs - Kent Babb

KCS - New Bengal LJ craves chance to play against Chiefs - Randy Covitz

NFL News

NFL - Bengals release TE Utecht, WR Chatman

NFL - Steelers respond to specials teams issues by cutting Harrison

NFL - Mangini regrets play that resulted in Cribbs' injury

NFL - Saints add Chris McAlister with Porter out 4-6 weeks

NFL - Eagles' Westbrook will visit two concussion specialists

NFL - Dolphins RB Brown to miss Panthers game with foot injury

NFL - No-helmet practices? Could happen in NFL's push for player safety - Jason La Canfora
Hopefully some progress in how the NFL prevents and handles concussions is coming...

NFL Opinion

NFL - For unbeaten Colts, it's better to be lucky AND good - Vic Carucci

SI - Bill Belichick fallout was comical, but Patriots aren't laughing - Don Banks

Y! - Risky call puts Belichick in bad company - Mike Silver

Y! - Patriots' defense put Belichick in tough situation - Jason Cole

SI - Bill Belichick sends wrong message in Patriots-Colts game - Jerome Bettis
"Maybe we were right about the Denver Broncos and, more importantly, Kyle Orton after all. Teams let this guy sit back and do his thing for the first few weeks and his stats were eye-popping. Now that he has our attention, people are finally getting after him, and I think we're seeing a truer picture." Umm, did you even WATCH Sunday's game, Bus????

SI - Lovie Smith bearing brunt of Chicago Bears' disappointment - Dan McGrath

FH - Worst Show on Turf: Eric Mangini's Cleveland Clowns - Jay Mariotti

NFP - Diner morning news: Bad night for the Browns - Mike Lombardi

NFP - Quinn’s NFL numbers don’t lie - Matt Bowen

FH - Dear Redskins, Do the Right Thing - Kevin Blackistone

FOX - Schein 9: For Chargers, it's in Rivers we trust
"It's San Diego and Denver in Colorado this weekend. I love the Chargers in this game. Orton is banged up. The Broncos lost their swagger. And Rivers loves playing against the Broncos and wants revenge from earlier this year."

NFP - Scout’s notebook: defensive review - Wes Bunting

Special Dick Jauron Got Canned Section

NFL - Bills fire Jauron; defensive coordinator Fewell is interim coach

NFP - Tavern talk: Bills need a team for the elements - Mike Lombardi

NFP - Jauron’s dismissal is business as usual - Matt Bowen

ESPN - Who will be Buffalo's coach in 2010? - Tim Graham

SI - Rudderless Bills need direction more than they need a new coach - Jim Trotter

FH - Dick Jauron the Latest Example of Damage a Bad Quarterback Can Do - Dan Graziano

SN - Firing Jauron just a start for overdue Bills - Clifton Brown

PFW - Lack of continuity, direction do in Jauron - Michael Blunda

Power Rankings, etc.

NYT - Week 10 Passer Rankings: On the Bright Side With Cutler - Luis DeLoureiro

ESPN - NFL Power Rankings Week 11

CBS - Power Rankings: Manning, Brady remind us how great they are - Pete Prisco

SN - NFL Power Poll: Chargers following familiar pattern - Clifton Brown

FH - NFL Power Rankings, Week 11: Hanging On to the Top for Dear Life - Josh Alper

Shallow Thoughts & Nearsighted Observations

2009-11-17T13:30:18Z

More photos » by Nick Wass - AP

5 days ago: Denver Broncos wide receiver Brandon Marshall is stopped by Washington Redskins cornerback DeAngelo Hall during the third quarter of the NFL football game, Nov. 15, 2009 in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Browse more photos »

Happy Tuesday, friends, and welcome to another edition of Shallow Thoughts & Nearsighted Observations. Here we are again, with another loss to contend with. This one is worse than the last two, because this one looked like a sure victory when we were marking off W's and L's on the schedule. Of course, if Kyle Orton didn't get hurt, it probably is a W, and the Broncos are still sitting on a 1-game lead over the Chargers. Since that's not the way it played out, we have to do the other thing.

We'll get into the details, from soup to chocolate cake, and make some sense of all this, because that's what we do here. We'll explore what happened, we'll find some things to feel positive about, and we'll have some fun. Out of the echo chamber, and into the fire, y'all. Ready..... BEGIN!!!!

1. There's a certain interconnectedness to a football game, and its outcome, among all phases of the game, and all 45 active players. I've talked about this many times before, and John Bena called the loss a team effort in his postgame writeup. I would call this a team effort whose final score is mostly attributable to the poor second half play of the offense, and mostly, of Chris Simms.

What I mean by that is this. Over the first 6 games of the season, the Broncos led the league in scoring defense. They were especially strong defensively in the second half of games. That trend has been turned on its head the last 3 weeks. The last two weeks, especially, I believe that the main reason why the defense struggled in the second half was that they were on the field for too many plays, due to the struggles of the offense. Each side of the ball needs to help the other. The Broncos have been getting shut down on offense, and worn down on defense, and it's been difficult to watch.

Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth were going on and on Sunday night about how the Colts led the NFL in scoring defense heading into this week. If you've watched the Colts, they don't even have a particularly good defense, if there is any chance you can run the ball against them. They have allowed so few points because they deliberately shorten the game when they're on offense, and because once they get a lead, the strength of their defense comes to the fore. They rush the passer well with four men, and drop 7 men into cover-2. If you stay out of situations that are favorable to Indianapolis, you can gash their defense.

This is what has been happening to the Broncos as well. Remember - in the first 6 games, the offense did its best work in the second half of games. They possessed the ball, they took their time, and they methodically controlled the games. When the defense was on the field, they were fresh, they substituted frequently, and they made plays to get off the field quickly.

Kyle Orton played great in the first half Sunday, just as he'd played very well in the first half of the Pittsburgh game, (outside the one interception). For all the hollering that went on about his lack of deep throwing, he threw a couple very nice deep balls for TDs to Brandon Marshall, and he just barely missed another to Eddie Royal. That opened the field vertically. He also did a very nice job on a few bootleg throws to Tony Scheffler, and a crossing pattern to Marshall. Those plays stretched the field horizontally.

The Broncos had Washington where they wanted them. Remember, they moved the ball on the possession where Correll Buckhalter fumbled, and they had the 17-play drive at the end of the first half, to take the 3-point lead. The Orton injury changed the entire complexion of the game. Simms simply couldn't complete a pass, and didn't seem to know where to go with the ball, and a lot of good work by Knowshon Moreno was wasted.

Most teams will struggle when they lose their starting QB. That's a function of the fact that there aren't 32 good QBs in the NFL, let alone 64 of them. I came into this game thinking that the Broncos are in good shape with Simms, if they needed to use him. I hope that he shows better if he has to play against San Diego, after a week of first-team reps. I still do tend to think that Simms can play.

You hate to have a game get away from you because your backup QB couldn't cut it. The only thing worse would be if two games got away for that reason. I expect that Josh McDaniels will have Simms ready to go next week, and that the gameplan will play to his strengths, if they need to use him.

You have to be careful not to let one game unduly affect an evaluation of a team. All the time, teams lay eggs in games, and lose (or nearly lose) to teams they should blow out. Look no further than New Orleans on Sunday, who seemingly tried to lose to St. Louis. Not to say that Dallas should have blown out Green Bay, but they shouldn't have gotten dominated like they did, either.

There's a lot of Chicken Little stuff going on here, and the one thing that will stop it is a victory against San Diego next week. Yes, I know that the Chargers are on a winning streak and the Broncos are on a losing streak. Remember when the Broncos had won 6 in a row, and the Ravens had lost 3 in a row? The Broncos can beat San Diego, which we know, because they already have this season. If they win that game, they'll re-take command of the division, with a one-game lead, and a sweeping of the head-to-head matchup.

2. In the big-time matchup of the week, the Colts got a win against the Patriots, and on Monday, Bill Belichick is being blamed by everybody who doesn't like him personally (AKA just about everyone). The fact is, Belichick has never curried favor with the media, and reporters tend to be critical of you every chance they get, if you don't pay them their due deference.

Joe Biden could tell you all about how that works. He never trusted the media after their treatment of the death of his first wife and daughter in 1972, and it always hurt him later, particularly in his two Presidential bids. John McCain and Barack Obama both have very deft touches with the media, and longstanding strategies of providing them a lot of access, and it was no accident that both were the nominees of their parties in 2008. If you're going to be a public figure, there's a clear benefit to cultivating relationships with reporters. The thing is, not everybody has the stomach for it, and Belichick is one of those guys who doesn't. Brett Favre benefits immensely from his relationship-building efforts, to the point of it being sickening most of the time. I heard somewhere recently that Favre spends hours with the TV guys on Saturday afternoons, as long as they want to hang out, and they really can't help but love on him.

Back to the lecture at hand, I would have done exactly the same thing as Belichick in that game situation, in going for it on 4th and 2 from his own 28. Why did he do it? Because he was pretty close to certain that he would lose the game if he punted, that's why.

Let's say you go by the book, and punt. Over all 2,293 punts in the NFL in 2008, the average net change in field position was 39.53 yards. The right call, if you ask Peter King, or others, was to punt, and give Manning the ball at his own 32, with about 2 minutes, and all 3 timeouts left. I say that that is choosing to lose the game in a way that will leave the coach blameless, as far as the idiot media is concerned. Well, he trusted his defense, and he played the percentages; it's not the coach's fault. Except he didn't play the percentages.

First of all, let's get this nonsense about trusting your defense dispensed with. You should always trust your defense. Former defensive players like Tedy Bruschi, Matt Bowen, and old friend Tom Jackson love this line of thinking, but it's utter horse (manure). You should only trust your defense if you think they are likely to make the stop, and win you the game. If you think they aren't, then it's a fool's errand to trust them. You say to them, hey, realistically, you guys probably weren't going to stop Peyton Manning, which really doesn't make you much different from any other team's defense. There is no room for blind machismo, or making a statement, or worrying about hurt feelings; this is about winning football games, nothing more.

I didn't spend a great deal of time on it, but I took a look at every game recap for the Colts since 2005. (I think 4 ½ seasons is a reasonable sample size.) Since then, including the postseason, Manning has had the ball late in the game, trailing, on 19 occasions which I counted. He came through to either tie or take the lead 15 times, which is a 79% success rate. (In 2007, he was 1-for-4, which was pretty aberrant for this sample. Two of those misses were against the strong 2007 Chargers, whom the Colts struggled to pass-protect against.)

Here's the deal. Statistically, you have a 60% chance of picking up 4th and 2, but that probability is almost certainly greater, due to the fact that you have an outstanding offense, and the Colts have an average-at-best defense. If I were Belichick, I would have put my conversion probability at 70% for that play. That same source says that an average team returning a punt, given those field position- and time parameters, scores 53% of the time. We already know Manning succeeds 79% of the time, because he's one of the greatest QBs ever.

You can choose to probably win, or you can choose to probably lose, in one moment. What do you choose?

Belichick chose to probably win, and came up on the side where the probable outcome wasn't the actual outcome. Serious poker players know exactly what I am talking about here. Sometimes, you play the hand correctly, and you go all-in with the best cards, but you lose anyway. It's a fact of life. You accept it, and you don't complain about it, because you know you made the right call, regardless of the outcome. The next time you're faced with the same situation, you do the same thing, again, because it was the right call.

When I got home Monday night, all I saw and heard was TV talking heads second-guessing the decision. Stuart Scott pretty much butchered the stats, but he actually cited our friends at AdvancedNFLStats.com. The shockingly anti-intellectual Steve Young promptly claimed that the stats aren't legitimate (except they are). We got to hear from Tedy Bruschi how he'd feel as a defensive player on the Patriots, as if that's germane to anything at all. Trent Dilfer's blood boils when he hears the "other side" of the argument, AKA the correct side. Blah, blah, blah. (Sorry, brief possession by an ex-wife-like-entity again.)

Just imagine the reaction if Kevin Faulk had made the 2 yards. The stories today would have been about the stones on Belichick, and how he is such a great coach to make a risky call. It would be like Mike Shanahan going for 2 in the Hochuli Game last season. (Shanahan correctly thought that was his best chance to win. He felt he had a better-than-50 percent chance of scoring the conversion, and he knew that he had a 50% chance of winning a coin toss, and about a 98% chance that the Chargers would score in overtime, if he lost the toss.)

I'm no great defender of Belichick, the man, but when he's right, he's right. If it's an average QB, and an average offense, you might punt in that situation, but against Manning, that's always going to be the wrong call on 4th and 2. Once again, Belichick is smarter than the average bear, and smarter than every member of the football MSM.

3. Information From My Eyes - Broncos at Redskins

a. All four deep throws Orton made were good throws. Eddie Royal misjudged the one incompletion, and Brandon Marshall got out-fought by DeAngelo Hall on the second, but both were definitely well-thrown balls.

b. That fake field goal was a debacle, but I don't personally blame Mike Priefer. My goat on that play is Darrell Reid, who was telling Marcus Thomas to cover Mike Sellers, while he decided to contain the left edge of the offense, as the play flowed right. Alphonso Smith caught some initial blame, but I disagree there. He was in deep center field, and flowed with the play, like anybody would coach him to. Who knew Hunter Smith could throw back across the field?

c. Ryan Clady got beat badly once on Sunday. That doesn't happen often at all, obviously. That's the first sack he allowed that I would say was fully on him.

d. From the department of good news, Matt Prater doesn't seem to be having a second-half slump this season.

e. I was very impressed with Knowshon Moreno's vision and quickness on Sunday.

f. I've already made my evaluation of Mitch Berger, so everybody knows where I am at on that one. I saw somewhere where Frank Schwab, some beat reporter, speculated that Mitch Berger's 65-yard punt might save his job. If a kick that went about 42 yards in the air, and rolled 23 on the ground can do that, something absurd is going on.

g. I had a busy workday Monday, which set my schedule back, and is unfortunately going to preclude me from taking the time to do Between The Lines this week.

On watching the game a second time, though, it occurred to me that the bulk of Washington's success in running the ball was on zone-blocked plays. As I think about it, the Broncos haven't faced much of that this season at all; really just Oakland, who does it crappily. That's really something to work on, because the lateral movement seemed to unsettle the Broncos defensive line.

h. D.J. Williams got blocked a lot, and took a lot of bad angles. Again. This is getting to be an annoying habit.

i. Andra Davis continued to be a bright spot. He is a terrific blitzer and has a great sense of timing for delaying his rush. His missed tackle on that Devin Thomas catch and run in the 4th quarter was bad, but he otherwise graded out very well.

j. On a painful second pass watching the game, Chris Simms lacked timing with the receivers, as much as anything. Every throw was a little late. It seems like Orton may be able to play next Sunday, but if it's Simms, I hope a week's worth of reps will help him build some timing.

4. Information From My Eyes - Other Games:

a. I was really curious to see the Buffalo-Tennessee game, and I recorded the Short Cut overnight, and watched the game Monday evening. Why would I care about this game? Well, the two teams played in the Hall of Fame Game, way back when it was still warm in Cleveland, and my girlfriend at the time called at halftime to break up with me.

In that game, the Bills couldn't block Tennessee, and the Titans looked like a Super Bowl team. So, I wanted to watch Sunday's game, because I wanted a good sense of where these two teams are. Tennessee probably isn't going to make the playoffs, after starting 0-6, but they've righted their ship, and they'd be trouble if they did make it. Their defensive line is still nasty, and I continue to be impressed with the job William Hayes is doing in replacing Jevon Kearse.

b. On the other side, the Bills still are below average on their offensive line. Their two highly-drafted rookies, Eric Wood, and Andy Levitre, particularly struggled, as they both had in the preseason game. Levitre even ended up playing some LT, due to an injury, and he really struggled outside. Wood got pushed backwards consistently in the passing game, and he's been generally pretty good as a rookie. The Bills need to shore up their offensive line in the offseason, and I am sure their new head coach will make that a priority, if they hire a competent one.

c. I am ready to make a pronouncement. If Vince Young couldn't run, he'd be the second coming of Trent Dilfer. He really isn't much of a thrower of the ball, and he leaves too much air under his throws. You can get by with him in a run-heavy offense, which is what the Titans really are.

Because he can run, he adds a useful element, and the team is really dangerous on option plays, and QB runs. His running ability can dictate that teams play man-to-man defense, and keep a guy out of coverage to spy him. Really, the Titans are back to being the 10-6ish team they were in 2007. I think they'll ultimately decide to stick with Young for next season, and look to build up the interior of their offensive line, and their back 7 on defense.

d. It seems like forever ago, but I did watch the Chicago-San Francisco game intently last Thursday. I think my first thought that I'd like to share is that the Bears defense played like they had some pride. I think Tommie Harris playing well made a huge difference. He is really the key to their whole scheme. I ripped him, and them, last week, and I told the guy from WCG who took exception that I'd say when they played well on defense. They did.

e. I don't really feel like I should say anything about Jay Cutler, because this column aims to stay away from saying obvious things. I'll just say it must be nice to have so many apologists when you mess up. He's like the second coming of Ronald Reagan with how teflon he is.

(Tangential ST&NO story - Reagan is a member of my fraternity. When he died in June of 2004, I was a senior at CSU, and President of my chapter, and I was asked to go on local television, to talk about Reagan as a fraternity man. Our guys did a fundraiser, and jumped on a trampoline for 54 straight days in the 80s, to break a Guinness record, while Frater Ronnie was POTUS. He sent us a congratulatory letter, so I focused on that with the news chick, Angie Lau. I had nothing but nice things to say, as Ronnie was definitely a good fraternity man.)

f. Peter King is really proud of himself for naming San Francisco's Aubrayo Franklin a midseason All-Pro as a NT. When Franklin got that scoring-area INT early on last Thursday, I kind of groaned, because I knew there was going to be some crowing about it.

I never have felt like Franklin jumped out, so I watched him closely, and my review is mixed. He didn't play a lot of snaps, so I wonder about his conditioning. He did play pretty stout against the run at times, and I felt like he was a good player overall when he was on the field. I could easily name 10-12 interior defensive players who are better, though. I guess it's fun to have a guy who is your guy, though.

g. Is Marc Bulger a veteran QB? I have always thought he was, but his command of clock management seemed really bad on Sunday. The Rams had a pretty good shot to beat the Saints, and Bulger and his receivers blew it. Man, I can't tell you how much I would hate to be associated with that team, in any capacity. It's got to be so disheartening to have no talent, be almost completely uncompetitive, then have a chance to beat an undefeated team, and blow it. Can you imagine what it's like to be a fan of such a team?

h. Reggie Bush had a really big game for the Saints on Sunday, stepping up from his usual "highly-paid-decoy" role. It's interesting to speculate on how the Saints value him. Obviously, they don't think he's a full-time RB, but he's paid like he's Adrian Peterson. I'd be happy to have him as a swing player, between RB and WR, but he's a backup at both positions, and I'd only pay him backup money. We'll soon see what the Saints think, because if I recall correctly, his contract is pretty well back-loaded.

i. Josh Freeman continues to look like he's the real deal for the Buccaneers, and Raheem Morris continues to look like he's gotten his bearings as a Head Coach. Both did a nice job in Sunday's game, despite Miami's comeback victory.

j. Speaking of Miami, I want to address the "Wildcat." The Dolphins are the only team which has had a lot of success with it, and every time they have a game with limited success, somebody speculates that the "trend" has run its course.

The thing is, Miami doesn't treat it like a trend. They treat it as a key part of the way they play offense, which puts their best players on the field together. They are committed to it, and they will continue to run it. They trade the disadvantage of being formationally unlikely to throw for the advantage of having 2-3 players who are good ball-carriers, who might get the ball in the running game. Other teams are finding that the direct-snap game maybe doesn't work for them. For Miami, it will continue to be an important part of their gameplan.

k. Joey Porter has had a pretty sub-par year, and he was a healthy scratch on Sunday. That raised some eyebrows, and Tony Sparano wouldn't comment on it. It actually parallels Adalius Thomas basically being shut down by the Patriots. Both teams are showing that having a big name and a big salary doesn't guarantee playing time, if you aren't producing on the field. Expect both players to be released after the season.

l. Another game I decided to watch on Monday was Jacksonville at the Jets. The Jets miss Kris Jenkins terribly, and their defense is nowhere near as good as it was when he was healthy. They are having to scheme to stop the inside run, and to keep Bart Scott and David Harris clean, and these things used to just happen. I expect New England to blow them out this coming week.

m. I can see why people like Mark Sanchez, but I continue not to be a fan. He's well-coached, and he has excellent fundamentals. I just think he's very limited as a natural thrower of the ball. I consider him to be a poor man's Matt Ryan, which is another way of calling him a middle class man's Chad Pennington.

Sanchez plays in a windy place, which I have noted before, and that's going to always be an issue. Another issue is that the offensive scheme he is playing in is very vertical, and Sanchez is a poster boy for the West Coast Offense. Rex Ryan inherited Brian Schottenheimer as offensive coordinator, but I don't think Schottenheimer and Sanchez are a very good match. I have to wonder if the Jets don't make a change in the offseason, to bring in somebody to make the passing game's design more horizontal. Mike Shanahan could do wonders with Sanchez, although he won't be going to New York.

Really, as I think about it, if Sanchez and Jason Campbell could trade offensive coaching staffs, they'd probably both be much better off. Two owners traded teams once; why couldn't this happen?

n. There was a crazy sequence in the third quarter, where Sanchez threw an interception to Quentin Groves, then Maurice Jones-Drew fumbled at the goal line, and then Braylon Edwards fumbled at the end of a 41-yard catch. It was a whole lot of ugly going on at once, like the perennially sloppy tendencies of the Jaguars were rubbing off on the Jets.

o. Torry Holt was a great player for many years, despite playing for some obscure St. Louis teams. Really, you could make a case that he was a better player than a few Hall of Famers. (How about Art Monk, Steve Largent, and Lynn Swann to name a few?) I would go so far as to say that he was better than any WR the Broncos have had in my lifetime, a little ahead of Rod Smith.

My point in giving Holt credit, is that I have to say that I think he is getting pretty close to the end of the line. He has really struggled to get any separation, in the times I have watched him this season. He had two strong games, against St. Louis (bad defense) and Seattle (garbage time in a 41-0 game), but I haven't been impressed with his recent work.

p. I loved the call by the Jaguars to have Jones-Drew take a knee and run the clock out. His apology to his fantasy owners made me cringe, though. I may be 7-3 in the official MHR league, but fantasy football is at odds with my beliefs about football, and I have a hard time reconciling the two things.

q. I couldn't talk myself into watching the Cincinnati-Pittsburgh game. Sorry, I know it was a key game, but a game with zero offensive touchdowns offends my sensibilities. (Just in case you were wondering why I had nothing on this game.) I'm sure it was ugly, and I feel fine, personally, having seen the highlights. When I walk into a smelly restroom, I get out as quick as possible. No need to hang around for half an hour, to have a good idea what happened there.

r. Jake Delhomme had a dangerously solid game on Sunday. It was the type of fool's gold performance that makes the regime think they are okay with him as their QB, and really, Jake has been having those games his whole career. The Panthers are suddenly 4-5, and back in the picture for a Wild Card spot, but I really believe that they need a better QB if they ever want to really compete for a championship.

s. Matt Ryan struggled mightily again on Sunday, and his two interceptions were a lot of the reason the Falcons lost the game. His first INT, in the second quarter, led to a TD which set the Falcons behind 21-10. The one he threw in the 4th quarter was converted 3 plays later into the TD which put the game away for Carolina.

Don't get me wrong; Ryan is mostly a good QB, but he has definite limitations, which I have highlighted in the past. He really struggles to beat tight coverage, and he's seen a lot of it lately.

t. Speaking of Hall of Fame-caliber guys who look washed up, old friend Jason Elam seems to have really lost his fastball. He's now 9 for 14, and he's only 3 for 6 between 30 and 39 yards. I would be surprised if he kicks after this season.

u. I always thought Beanie Wells was soft when he was at Ohio State, and he didn't do a lot early this season to change my mind. Lately, though, he's shown a lot better, and he's a big reason why the Cardinals are 6-3, and squarely in control of the NFC West. I've also been more impressed with the play of RT Levi Brown than ever before. He's been blowing some people off the ball in the running game.

v. The Chargers have been really tough in the scoring area lately. Of course, the Eagles helped them out by not even trying to run the ball down there. You have to make the defense think that they have to defend everything, or else they are at a distinct advantage. Only getting field goals of 18, 25, and 25 yards on visits deep into San Diego territory was the difference in that game. A defense can get shredded, as the Chargers did, and if they toughen up in the scoring area, they make up for it. A lot of Donovan McNabb's 450 yards were low-quality.

w. The Chargers sure are paying Darren Sproles a lot of money not to participate very much on offense. He's a lot like Reggie Bush, in being a highly-paid decoy who is never going to be much more than what he is.

x. Hey, Adam Schefter. From a money guy, "large" means thousand. When you say "two hundred fifty thousand large," that means $250 Million. He said that on Monday Night Countdown (Served by Applebee's... really). People misspeak all the time; I just wanted to make sure he knows what "large" means. This is coming from a helpful place.

y. I have to hand it to the Browns. They played really well on defense Monday night. Their offense is just so terrible, that it's no use. Those defensive players are playing for jobs next year, whether it be in Cleveland under a new regime, or elsewhere. Guys who show some pride and effort on bad teams will have some good film for their agents to shop them with. Guys who pack it in will be out of the league, like so many guys who played defense in Denver last season.

z. I actually like to listen to MNF nowadays, as I finish ST&NO every week. The main reason is that I actually think that both Ron Jaworski and Jon Gruden are value-adding to listen to. The guys at Mickey Mouse-land spent so many years looking for a good third man, with such horrible results, and they've finally found a good 3-man booth. I actually don't like Mike Tirico, who is good at basketball, but bad at football play-by-play (much like Joe Buck is great with baseball, and abysmal with football).

5. I know the Bengals have always been willing to take on troubled players, but it's hard to imagine what they are thinking in reportedly bringing in Larry Johnson. As LJ was to be the key RB on the Shallow Thoughts team in the official MHR Fantasy League, I can tell you that his performance has been garbage this season. Some of his bad performance can certainly be attributed to bad offensive line play in Kansas City, but Johnson is clearly lacking quickness to the hole, and the leg drive he had in his prime. I just don't see what value the Bengals are going to get out of him.

I've reached midnight, and unfortunately, I need to call it a night. My company is in the process of being acquired, which has caused me to be much busier than normal at this time of the month, and I have an early morning meeting Tuesday. I hope you enjoy this edition of ST&NO, and have a great week. I'll see you all again next Tuesday, hopefully with time to give you my normal output.

Horse Tracks 11/17/09 - Orton's status questionable for Sunday; Harris ruled out

2009-11-17T12:36:44Z

DB - Week 11 - Mon: McDaniels - Broncos TV

DPP - Kyle Orton's status for Broncos uncertain for now - Lindsay Jones

INDT - 6-3 is not 3-6! Where’s the love? - Hunter Ansley
"Denver isn’t the only divisional leader sporting the deep scar of a shameful loss; it’s just the only one that everyone loves to hate. It’s the only team that has ESPN sportscasters squirming in their stools with gleeful doubt."

DPP - Denver's lines no longer in control - Mike Klis
Said Mike Nolan, "I think a lot of that is lack of discipline in what we're doing. We did it so well for most of the early part of the season, and we've got to get back to that. It's evident on film and the players all see it. It always seems to be the case when games are tight and guys try to make a play that can make a difference, and those are the times you have to be the most disciplined."

DPP - Ground work focus for next round of foes - Jeff Legwold
"Denver has surrendered more than 170 yards rushing in back-to-back weeks to teams that currently are ranked 17th and 19th running the ball."

DPP - Kiszla: Orton's field hooky not a good move
Wow. I'm not sure if Kiszla is saying what I think he's saying...

DPP - Q&A: Peyton Hillis needs to fight for a spot on Sundays - Jeff Legwold
Legwold does a very good job of explaining why Peyton Hillis hasn't been playing. But then he uses the J.J. Arrington signing as an example of a dangerous preference for veterans that results in salary cap hits when they get injured (no joking). It cost the Broncos $100,000 versus the cap. That's virtually nothing and certainly not notable. Let's also consider that Arrington is only 26 years old. Legwold also knocks McXanders using (for example) a higher pick than necessary for a player they like in the draft. Frankly, I want the front office to choose players they like and think fit the team, not just gather for value's sake...

DPP - Broncos Mailbag: Playoff hopes quick to crumble - Mike Klis
Klis thinks the Broncos match up well versus the Dolts and Colts. Hmm...Klis says almost the exact opposite of Legwold, and that McD "won't reach for players to fill a position of need."

NFLN - Mile high meltdown - Video
Martz and Faulk on the Broncos

DB - Forward Progress - Chris Gentilviso

DPP - Analysis: Experience will help Broncos through this rut - Mike Klis

DPP - Spotlight on Broncos all-purpose player Spencer Larsen - Lindsay Jones

DPP - Broncos eyeing ... The Chargers - Lindsay Jones

DPP - A numbers tale of Broncos turnovers

CBS4 - Elway Thinks The Broncos Are 'In Trouble' - Matthew Buettner

CSG - Broncos focus on AFC West showdown with Chargers - Frank Schwab

CSG - Broncos' McDaniels doesn't rule Orton out for Chargers - Frank Schwab

AP - Broncos Playing Wait-And-See Game With Orton - Arnie Stapleton

USAT - With Broncos slowing down, Chargers charge back in AFC West

DB - Ask Wesley Woodyard...

Chargers News

SDUT - Surging Bolts hope they don't succumb to hype - Kevin Acee

SDUT - Fashioning that look of success - Nick Canepa

SDUT - This Chargers list rings true - Nick Canepa

SDUT - Monday injury update - Kevin Acee

Y! - Tomlinson delivers after hearing special news - Mike Silver

NCT - Winning brings out chuckles from Turner - Jay Paris

NFL Results

NFL - Baltimore Ravens 16 at Cleveland Browns 0

FH - Ravens Win, Fume at Quinn 'Cheap Shot'

AFC West News

KCS - Chiefs coach Haley finding out it’s not easy making the decisions - Adam Teicher

SFC - Gradkowski might start for Raiders - David White

SFG - Raiders Silver and Black Blog : Non-QB update - David White

NFL News

PFW - Week 11 matchup tidbits

NFL - Browns' Cribbs injured vs. Ravens, taken to hospital

NFL - Bengals agree to terms with ex-Chiefs RB Johnson

NFL - Seahawks owner Allen diagnosed with lymphoma

NFL - NFL fines Titans owner $250K for reported obscene gesture

NFL - Foot injury likely to sideline Dolphins' Brown vs. Panthers

NFL - Bills fear knee injury to LT Bell could be season-ending

NFL - Cowboys expect Hamlin out 3-4 weeks; Colombo longer

NFL - Gross expected to go on injured reserve after ankle surgery

NFL - Jets, defensive line coach make 'mutual decision' to part ways

NYT - Gruden Extends Contract With ESPN - Judy Battista

NYT - Supreme Court Won't Hear Redskins Name Case

NFL Opinion

NYT - N.F.L. Quick Hits From Week 10: Why Passing Is King - Andy Benoit

NFP - Diner morning news: great week, great games - Mike Lombardi

NFL - Six from Sunday: Believe in the Bengals; Romo, Russell struggle - Pat Kirwan

CBS - Prisco Grades: Week 10

FH - Vikings Put Faith in Adrian Peterson - Thomas George

ESPN - Gut-check time for Lovie - Gene Wojciechowski
Wojo wonders if Lovie Smith should bench Cutler

PFW - Johnson worth the risk for Bengals - Mike Wilkening

NFP - What will Bengals gain with L.J.? - Matt Bowen

NFP - NFL coaches eyeing college jobs - Jack Bechta

NFP - Deadline today for player extensions - Andrew Brandt

NFP - Scout’s notebook: offensive review - Wes Bunting

Beating the Belichick Decision to a Pulp

NFL - Belichick defends decision to go for it on fourth down vs. Colts
So are these guys being honest, or are they overcompensating as former Pats trying to seem objective??...
NBC analyst Rodney Harrison, a safety for Belichick for six years who retired before this season, called it "the worst coaching decision I've ever seen Bill Belichick make."
ESPN analyst Tedy Bruschi, who retired this year after 14 seasons as a Patriots linebacker, said, "The decision to go for it would be enough to make my blood boil for weeks. ... I would look at this decision as a lack of confidence in our ability as a defensive unit to come up with a big play to win the game."

NYT - ZEUS Computer Program Supports Belichick’s Fourth-Down Bid - Toni Monkovic

NFP - The Monday Tavern: Belichick prepares for every situation, even this one - Mike Lombardi

NFL - Belichick's move done out of respect for Manning's ability - Mike Lombardi

NFL - Easy to second guess, but Belichick was just playing the percentages - Steve Wyche

Y! - Criticism for Belichick is misguided - Dan Wetzel

PFW - Belichick made no blunder with bold decision - Nolan Nawrocki

SI - Bill Belichick made right decision in Patriots-Colts game - Joe Posnanski

ESPN - Belichick flunked his open-book test - Gene Wojciechowski

FOX - The Day After: The real problem with Belichick's call - John Czarnecki

Poll

If you were Bill Belichick, would you have gone for it on fourth down Sunday night?

Potent Quotables - Josh McDaniels Monday Media Meetup

2009-11-17T00:27:43Z

More photos » by Nick Wass - AP

5 days ago: Denver Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels looks over his shoulder during the NFL football game against the Washington Redskins, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2009 in Landover, Md. Washington won 27-17 handing the Broncos third loss in a row. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Browse more photos »

**Courtesy of the Denver Broncos P.R. Staff

Opening comments

"As I said yesterday, if you go on the road or at home, for that matter, and don't play a four-quarter game and certainly don't play nearly as well as you need to play to be competitive in every area, you're going to find it hard to win. Yesterday, that was really the case, and looking at the film, it shows us clearly what we failed to do and what we need to do a lot better going forward to get this corrected."

On a specific area that the Broncos need to improve on from Sunday's game at Washington

"There are a lot of things, not one thing."

On QB Kyle Orton's status

"He is questionable for this week. We're not sure exactly how that's going to go. We're going to see how he progresses during the course of the next few days."

On Orton's injury

"It's an ankle (injury)."

On if Orton's ankle has been thoroughly examined by the medical staff

"Yeah, we'll see how he progresses here the next few days."

On if QB Chris Simms will take Orton's repetitions in practice this week

"We'll have to see if and when Kyle is ready to go, whether that is Wednesday, Thursday, Friday or not at all. We're going to have to see how it goes. He's definitely not out for the game. We're certainly hopeful that we can get him ready to go, but if he can't practice, than it will be Chris, for sure."

On if he will use a player in a game who doesn't practice the week before due to injury

"That would be a case-by-case basis, I think. (I have) no general philosophy on it."

On the status of Orton's other ankle

"Yeah, the other one is all right. (The hit) did look a little gruesome on the film."

On Simms' play at Washington

"I would have loved for him to have played better, but I think there are some other things that happened during the course of the second half that affected his play or would have affected Kyle's play. We got into some long-yardage situations. We obviously had two two-minute drives there at the end where we're behind and we have to throw, and they know it and they are pass rushing us. The game plan was not necessarily designed to have a bunch of drop-back passes where we just stand there in the (shot)gun (formation) like a sitting duck and let them come after us. We knew they had a good front and a good rush, and that proved to be true in the second half more than it did in the first half, but there are some throws we could have made and some reads and all the rest of it. I think that as a backup quarterback, you're going to go in there and have those kinds of days if you don't get most of the reps (in practice), which is how we do it. We give our starter most of the reps here during the course of the week, and we count on the backup player knowing and understanding the game plan, but he certainly hasn't practiced it. I think that's probably very similar to the rest of the league. Nonetheless, we expect him to go in there and play well, but our performance or lack of success was not attributed to Chris Simms' performance, strictly. It was a multitude of things."

On signs of RB Knowshon Moreno's progress in yesterday's game at Washington

"I don't know if it was a step forward. He played well, but he's played well before. He's had some good games here already this year. (We) handed it to him a lot, and he was productive, made some tough yards, made some big gains, made some guys miss tackles and did a nice job of-there were some plays where there wasn't much there, but he didn't go negative. He went, got a yard, got a two-yard gain here or there and kept us in positive situations. That is something that he's doing better and better as the year goes on."

On if Moreno will continue to get the majority of the Broncos' carries this season

"We'll see. It is just something-we left him in there. He was doing a nice job. (RB Correll) Buck(halter) was playing more in sub (packages), so we just let him in there, and he did a good job."

On the Broncos' difficulty stopping the run the past three games

"(We are playing) not very good team defense. We know that we can be successful when we play good team defense. We've shown that ability. We've done it in the past against good teams. For a number of reasons, we've kind of forgotten what got us to that point. We've got to go back to work, and we've got to all understand that we're not 11 individuals out there. We're one group that has to play our responsibility the way that it needs to be played and do our job the way that it needs to be done, and that is many times done without glory individually, but what happens is the ball ends up going back to the guy that it's supposed to go back to and he's there to make the tackle. If he does, then you usually play decent run defense. Once you start jumping around blocks and (are) trying to make a play here and there, it kind of spreads throughout the defense and becomes a problem."

On if the Broncos' difficulty stopping the run can be attributed to physical mismatches or missed assignments

"I would say it's definitely more assignments than it is a physical mismatch because there were plenty of plays where the same guys are blocking the same guys on defense, and we handled our own just fine up front and at the linebacking corps. We can't play one play that way and two plays a different way. We've got to play them all the same, and when we do-that's the way this defense is designed-and when we play it right, we're pretty good. When we don't, we can be bad."

On the Broncos' psyche entering Sunday's game vs. San Diego

"I am not sure where the psyche of our team is. I know where I'm at. We need to get better. We need to play better. We can coach better. We're 6-3. We're playing San Diego, who is also 6-3. It's a huge division game at home. I don't know why we wouldn't like to be in this situation. I wish we had won the last three games. I think everybody in this building does, but we didn't, and there are reasons why we didn't. We've got to go fix the problems and play good football from here on out, starting with this week against a great team coming from San Diego in our division."

On OL Russ Hochstein's performance at Washington

"Russ played well. I think that he did what we thought he would do. I think (Washington DT Albert) Haynesworth ended up with a tackle or whatever it may be, but Russ did a nice job of playing with the other guys and doing what we were doing in terms of our scheme, both in the running game and in pass protection. (He) played physical."

On Washington's touchdown pass on fourth-and-10 after shifting out of a field-goal formation

"We were prepared for a gadget. We would love to check out of the front we were in and go to something different. We didn't get that necessarily done. We had too many people in coverage (and) not enough people rushing. It was well-designed on their part, but it's no excuse. We have to play it better, and we can play it better. We just didn't on that play."

On why RB Peyton Hillis has been inactive the past two games

"He had a personal thing he dealt with a week ago. (We are) just trying to dress the guys we think can give us the best chance to win. Peyton has certainly been in that group, and there have been a couple games where he hasn't. (There are) a few things that go into that. (The) kicking game and all the rest of that stuff goes into it. It's hard to take four backs to the game unless they're contributing significantly in the kicking game. Based on the way our roster pans out with all of the linebackers we take to the game, we've got to have some guys that can contribute there. He's done that in the past and he can, but it's more of a kicking game decision than it is anything else. He's in that mix every week to go to the game. There's certainly no preset decision on whether or not he can dress or not dress and play or not play. That'll be the same thing as it is this week."

On New England Head Coach Bill Belichick's fourth-down decision against Indianapolis

"I don't know the whole situation that was going on at the time. I don't know the circumstances in the game, so it's totally unfair for me to comment on that."

On ILB/FB Spencer Larsen's performance playing fullback at Washington

"Spencer does a nice job of that. He's very physical. Now that he's back and healthy from the shoulder (injury), I feel like he can contribute, obviously, in the kicking game. If we need him on defense, he can do that. He's also done a decent job for us as a lead blocker as a full back. (We have) no hesitation putting him in the game in that role because he can bring some level of physicality as a lead blocker to our backs. He did a good job yesterday."

REPORT - Orton will play on Sunday

2009-11-16T21:23:42Z

REPORT - Orton will play on Sunday

We are likely to see stories like this all week. Here is one from Michael Lombardi of the NFP.

Kyle Orton Questionable, Ryan Harris Out versus San Diego

2009-11-16T19:30:22Z

More photos » by Rob Carr - AP

(AP Photo/Rob Carr)

Browse more photos »

You'll be able to read the entire transcript later today, but Josh McDaniels did talk about two of the more prominent injured Broncos today during his meet-up with the media. Talking about Kyle Orton, McDaniels said that Orton hasn't been ruled out and will be evaluated throughout the week -

Not sure exactly how it’s going to go," McDaniels said. "We’re going to see how he progresses over the course of the next few days. We’ll have to see if and when Kyle is ready to go – whether it’s Wednesday, Thursday, Friday or not at all – we’re going to have to see how it goes. He’s definitely not out for the game. We’re hopeful he can be ready to go."

While that is a bit of good news, the same could not be said about OT Ryan Harris. McDaniels has already ruled Harris out for the game, meaning he will miss at least 3 weeks with his injured toe.

Horse Tracks 11/16/09 - Broncos fall to Redskins and into tie with Chargers; Orton injured and could miss game vs. San Diego

2009-11-16T13:06:45Z

Well, it was another rough weekend for the 2009 Broncos - and for several reasons, this was the worst. For the first time, the Broncos lost to an inferior team and struggled all day long to stop the run. (Me, I wasn't worried about Ladell Betts beating us. Apparently, the Broncos felt the same way...) Kyle Orton injured his ankle at the end of the first half, and Chris Simms was unable to make accurate throws or move the offense. In a stunning example of being out-coached, the Broncos' special teams allowed a fake-FG touchdown on 4th and 20, despite having seen the look prior to a Washington timeout. Personally, I was shocked to see Simms try to go deep on play action and throw a killer 4th-quarter interception. With Albert Haynesworth having just left with a leg injury and Simms already looking like a guy who hadn't gotten reps in a long time, I figured the Broncos would just run the ball for the rest of the game and go ball-control for the win. Yes, it sounds great to be aggressive and try to catch the defense playing the run, but with a backup QB who is already struggling? To me, that was where the Broncos lost the game. Knowshon had been running well, the score was tied, and Denver had great field position (just past midfield). Ugh. Well, Sunday brings the streaking Chargers in a showdown for the AFC West lead. Heal up, Kyle - although many didn't realize it before yesterday, we need you...

NFL - Redskins 27, Broncos 17 - Highlights with radio calls

DB - Redskins Postgame: McDaniels - Broncos TV

DB - Redskins Postgame: Report - Broncos TV

DPP - Broncos dealt 3rd straight loss - Mike Klis

DPP - Broncos lose at point of attack - Jeff Legwold

DPP - Simms doomed by lack of practice reps - Mike Klis

DPP - Krieger: "D" leads downfall

DB - Stepping In Under Center - Gray Caldwell

DB - Fourth Quarter Spoils Fast Start - Chris Gentilviso

DB - Redskins Postgame: Orton - Broncos TV

DB - Redskins Postgame: Simms - Broncos TV

NFL GameDay - Broncos vs. Redskins highlights - Video

DPP - Kiszla: A whiff of panic

DPP - Armstrong: Gut check time for Broncos

DPP - Going deep stuns Redskins - Lindsay Jones

DPP - Bye week break means bye-bye to early success
"In addition to Kyle Orton (ankle), defensive end Kenny Peterson (leg) and linebacker D.J. Williams (neck) briefly left the game, but returned. Both will be evaluated today."

CSG - Broncos lose third straight game - Frank Schwab

CSG - Tired defense fails once again to stop the run - Frank Schwab

CSG - Sunday's Broncos breakdown - Frank Schwab

CSG - Broncos notes: No passing the buck - Frank Schwab

KDVR - Tanaka's take: Losing month for Broncos

DB - Tough going in D.C. - Mark Cooper

ESPN - Denver Broncos drop third straight as offensive woes continue - Len Pasquarelli

ESPN - Falling Broncos, rising Chargers to collide - Bill Williamson

Redskins News

WP - Redskins buck up - Jason Reid

WP - Redskins' Ladell Betts fills in for Clinton Portis, has big day against Broncos - Rick Maese

WP - Planets align for Redskins on fake - Barry Svrluga

WP - Thomas Boswell: Sunday's performance was better, by a mile

WP - Mike Wise - A sign of positive change

NFL Results

NFL - Philadelphia Eagles 23 at San Diego Chargers 31

NFL - Kansas City Chiefs 16 at Oakland Raiders 10

NFL - Atlanta Falcons 19 at Carolina Panthers 28

NFL - Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23 at Miami Dolphins 25

NFL - Detroit Lions 10 at Minnesota Vikings 27

NFL - Jacksonville Jaguars 24 at New York Jets 22

NFL - Cincinnati Bengals 18 at Pittsburgh Steelers 12

NFL - New Orleans Saints 28 at St. Louis Rams 23

NFL - Buffalo Bills 17 at Tennessee Titans 41

NFL - Seattle Seahawks 20 at Arizona Cardinals 31

NFL - Dallas Cowboys 7 at Green Bay Packers 17

NFL - New England Patriots 34 at Indianapolis Colts 35

AFC West News

SDUT - Tomlinson delivers - Kevin Acee

SDUT - Defense bends, but doesn't break - Kevin Acee

SDUT - Rivers' barks cause Eagles to bite - Kevin Acee

FH - Unexpected Gift Rejuvenates Tomlinson - Nancy Gay

CBS - Extra motivation helps Tomlinson turn back clock - Tom Krasovic

FOX - Eagles' red zone issues give Chargers boost - Terry Bradshaw

KCS - Charles leads Chiefs to 16-10 win over Raiders - Adam Teicher

KCS - Raiders do major favor for Haley - Jason Whitlock

KCS - Brown and defensive reserves make big plays for Chiefs - Adam Teicher

KCS - Bowe, Chambers give Chiefs some stability at receiver - Kent Babb

KCS - Chiefs benefit from struggles of Raiders’ QBs - Kent Babb

KCS - Chiefs blitz: Succop again proves he’s a weapon - Kent Babb

SFC - Raiders hit bottom with loss to lowly Chiefs - David White

SFC - Ostler: Russell shows no improvement

SFC - Punt returns leave something to be desired - David White

OT - NFL unlikely to discipline Raiders coach Tom Cable over alleged physical abuse of women - Steve Corkran

OT - Cam Inman: When it comes to the Raiders' 'Chosen Ones,' it's better to laugh

OT - Monte Poole: Web of Raiders' despair on full display in loss to Chiefs

OT - McDonald: Tom Cable is losing faith in Raiders' JaMarcus Russell, but what about Al Davis?

NFL News

FH - Titans Owner Shoots Double Birds at Bills - Clay Travis

NFL - Speculation surrounds Westbrook’s latest concussion - Steve Wyche

NFL - Seattle RB Jones hospitalized as precaution after breaking rib

NFL - Steelers' Polamalu undergoes tests after re-injuring knee vs. Bengals

NFL - Bengals RB Benson sidelined vs. Steelers with hip injury

NFL - Colombo breaks leg, but not ruled out for season by Cowboys

NFL - Saints lose another cornerback when Porter leaves with knee injury

NFL - Panthers LT Gross breaks right ankle vs. Falcons

NFL - Falcons RB Turner will undergo tests on injured right ankle

NFL - Dolphins' Brown unsure about status after ankle injury against Bucs

NFL Opinion

NFP - Sunday rewind: Week 10 - Matt Bowen

SI - Bill Belichick made wrong call in Patriots-Colts game - Peter King

SI - The Jets are all talk; the Bengals are A-OK in the North - Don Banks

Y! - 'Salute' by Adams deserves a reprimand - Charles Robinson

CBS - Week 10 Judgements: Take it easy on the Eagles, OK? - Clark Judge

ESPN - Last Call: Wrapping up Week 10 - John Clayton

NFL - Bengals lead tandem of teams with statement games in Week 10 - Bucky Brooks

NFL - Chargers and Bengals emerging as legit threats in AFC - Steve Wyche

NYT - Maurice Jones-Drew’s Very Smart Play - Toni Monkovic

SI - Belichick's errant gamble may haunt Pats for entire year - Don Banks

CBS - Colts make Pats pay for Bill's unusually dumb decision - Pete Prisco

FH - Spygate to Stupidgate: Belichick Blunders - Jay Mariotti

NYT - Defending Belichick’s Fourth-Down Decision - Brian Burke

FH - Bengals Are Dysfunctional No Longer - Dave Goldberg

FOX - Bengals didn't follow Steelers' script this time - Alex Marvez

SN - Bengals sweep away Steelers, skepticism - Clifton Brown

Y! - Small things lead Bengals to big win over Steelers - Jason Cole

CBS - Bengals home free only if Ochocinco keeps it buttoned up - Gregg Doyel

FH - Cowboys Lay an Egg at Lambeau - Dan Graziano

MHR Radio Post-Game - Coming up at 6:30PM et / 4:30 PM mt

2009-11-15T23:05:42Z

Win or lose, you can always count on MHR Radio. Come talk about the game and what it all means to the Broncos!

Be sure to head on over to the home of MHR Radio, sign up, and get ready to get involved in the best independent source of the Denver Broncos in the podcastosphere!

Have a question or comment for the show? Email me - mhrradio@gmail.com or send me a tweet - @MileHighReport

Be sure to follow MHR on TWITTER and become a fan of MHR on FACEBOOK!

Broncos display a Team Effort in loss to Redskins

2009-11-15T21:44:49Z

More photos » by Nick Wass - AP

5 days ago: Washington Redskins fullback Mike Sellers scores a touchdown with Denver Broncos cornerback Alphonso Smith wrapped around this feet during the second quarter of the NFL football game, Sunday, Nov. 15, 2009 in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Browse more photos »

Football is the ultimate team game. Quarterbacks get way too much credit when thing go well and too much blame when the wheels come off. Perhaps there is no better example than the past three weeks. Kyle Orton was under the microscope so much this past week that many - including Woody Paige - were asking for Chris Simms to get his shot this weekend against the Redskins. Karma has a funny way of screwing with you.

The Broncos, behind Orton, scored on touchdown passes of 40 and 75 yards to Brandon Marshall. Orton was 11/18 for 193 yards in the first half. Then Kyle got hurt on the final play of the half, a nasty ankle twist that kept him out of the game. In came Simms and, well, most of you know the rest. Simms struggled mightily and the Broncos lost to the Redskins 27-17. The offense failed to score a single point and Simms could muster just 13 yards on 3/13 in the 2nd Half.

That would only tell part of the story. It is not the fault of Simms - not entirely - but it is an easy answer. The defense and special teams had their part in the loss as well.

We'll start with the defense. Right from the start, the Redskins were able to run the ball behind a patchwork offensive line and back-up running back Ladell Betts. Betts finished with 114 yards on 26 carries(4.4 ypc). As a team, the Redskins shredded the Broncos for 174 yards on 40 attempts. It's funny what a solid running game ca do for a quarterback. Behind efficient running running that kept the Redskins 'on schedule' Jason Campbell was able to play mistake-free football - 17/26, 193 yards, 1 TD.

For the Broncos, it was an odd game-plan to say the least, especially after Simms entered the game. After struggling to run the ball last week, the Broncos got the running game going today in a big way - 22 carries, 120 yards(5.5 ypc). Knowshon Moreno SHOULD have his first 100 yard day - playcalling kept him from getting it 0 as he ran 18 times for 97 yards(5.4) ypc. Josh McDaniels seemed to quick to go away from the run, especially with Simms at QB. To me, that was the difference - the Redskins dedicated themselves to running the ball, the Broncos did not. In a game that was close throughout, the Redskins doubled the Broncos run attempts for the game.

Then there is the Special Teams. Perhaps the play that turned the tide of the entire season for the Broncos - a fake FG that was so poorly played(twice) that the Redskins were able to run the play AFTER showing it and calling timeout. The final blame lies with the Head Coach, of course, but the Broncos should definitely be in the market for a Special Teams coach. The Redskins lined up for a 53-yard FG, and right before calling a time out showed their fake formation. After the time out, the 'Skins ran the play, with Hunter Smith throwing a TD pass to Mike Sellers. Smith had the time to roll all the way to his right and the arm strength to throw the ball back across to his left - quite athletic, but embarrassing that the Broncos let it happen. Denver led 14-7 at that point, and seemed in control. Now, with the game tied, the stage was set for what would happen next with Orton going down.

So where does that leave the Broncos? For one, we'll have to watch the scoreboard a bit closer. The Chargers and Eagles are playing as we speak and a San Diego win means the two teams would be tied when San Diego comes calling. The Broncos also need to find out the status of Orton for next Sunday, and fast.

As for karma? There is no time in the NFL for 'I told ya so's. Kyle Orton is the starting quarterback of the Denver Broncos for a reason - unfortunately that reason was found out the hard way.

All is not lost, Broncos fans, far from it. The Broncos still control their destiny - whatever that may be,