SB Nation - Jake Plummer

Revisiting the Arizona Cardinals Past With The Detroit Lions

Andrew602 — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 16:02:36 -0000

Before the last two seasons the Cardinals had made it a regular occurrence to face the Detroit Lions during the regular season. From 2001-2007 the Cardinals and Lions have squared off with the average score being Cardinals 24.7, Lions 26.5. The Cardinals have currently lost 2 of 3 and face the Lions who have only won 3 out of the last 34 games. Let's take a look down memory lane to see the Cardinals previous 6 games with the Lions.

Dec 8th, 2002: Cardinals 23, Lions 20

It was a game between two losers, as the 3-9 Lions traveled to Arizona to face the 4-8 Cardinals. It wasn't the most exciting of games but it did involve a 4th quarter comeback by Jake Plummer. The game went to OT where Robert Porcher recorded a QB hit that was intercepted by Chris Claiborne who returned it 30 yards into FG position. A facemask penalty was called on Porcher and Cardinals TE Freddie Jones, making the penalties offset and both teams replayed the down. The Cardinals got into FG range where they eventually kicked the FG for the win in OT.

Sep 7th, 2003: Cardinals 24, Lions 42

The Cardinals opened the season at Detroit, where rookie Anquan Boldin made a name for himself setting rookie debut records with 10 catches and 217 yards. The new-look Cardinals featuring Jeff Blake and Emmitt Smith weren't enough for the Lions high-scoring offense. The Cardinals turned the ball over 3 times and Joey Harrington threw 4 touchdowns which eventually set the tone for the Cardinals 4-12 season.

Dec 5th, 2004: Cardinals 12, Lions 26

The Cardinals traveled to Detroit for the 2nd year in a row, where Cardinals fans were waiting to see what 7th round pick John Navarre would do at quarterback. That question was answered when he threw 4 interceptions in the first game of his career. The part that hurt more was that the Lions had lost 5 in a row before this game and many thought the Cardinals would be favored to win. That turned out to be wrong when Lions rookie running back Kevin Jones ran for 196 yards - ouch.

Nov 13th, 2005: Cardinals 21, Lions 29

At Detroit, the Cardinals were once again not able to beat the lowly Lions who were currently on another losing skid(2). Kurt Warner started in place of Josh McCown, and threw for 359 yards, but only had 1 touchdown on the day. The Cardinals could only run for 38 yards and scored their 1st rushing touchdown of the season, while allowing 157 rushing yards to the Lions. This was the Cardinals third straight loss at Detroit and was their last appearence there until this season.

Nov 19th, 2006: Cardinals 17, Lions 10

The Cardinals played the Lions for the first time at University of Phoenix stadium with rookie Matt Leinart at quarterback getting his first NFL win. Leinart threw 233 yards and 1 touchdown while also running in a touchdown. The Cardinals were on their own 8 game losing streak and getting this win helped them ~~revive their season and make the playoffs~~ break their 3 game losing streak to the Lions and finish the season 5-11.

Nov 11th, 2007: Cardinals 31, Lions 21

Yours truly attended this game to watch the Cardinals lay a beating on the Lions after making their previous five games too close. Kurt Warner had 259 passing yards and 3 touchdowns as the Cardinals out-gained the Lions 319-245 in total yards. The Cardinals held the Lions to -18 rushing yards while forcing 5 turnovers in what would be the last time these two teams met.

If you're noticing a tendency here it's that the Cardinals haven't won in Detroit in this past decade no matter how bad the Lions have been. Obviously the Cardinals should be tremendously favored to win the game, but after the ugly loss we were forced to watch last week, who knows which Cardinals team will show up on Sunday.

Another Potential Bears O.C., Weis, Martz and now ...

Lester A. Wiltfong Jr. — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 16:00:13 -0000

There is a constant theme of comments being left on the threads of the series I'm doing looking at possible new offensive coordinators for the Bears. Many are wondering, why hire a new OC instead of a new coach. And some are even looking for a complete overhaul, from GM on down.

At this point in the season, even with as bad as things have gone, I still don't see them launching Lovie Smith. It's not in the character of the franchise to eat a contract as big as Smith's or Jerry Angelo's for that matter. The odds say that if a move is made it'll be one of the assistants that is canned. Look at the last few years and the coaching turnover on the defense. It's logical to assume that someone on the offense will be fired after this season. Sorry Ron Turner. It's possible the Bears will clean house, and depending on the remaining games, it may even make the most sense. But until we see how the '09 season plays out, there's no way to know. In the mean time speculating on a new offensive coordinator will have to suffice.

After the jump I'll look at another potential candidate, one with Denver Bronco ties, but not one of the names you'd expect.

Gary Kubiak has been on the hot seat for a couple years now. Every time a "hot seat" list is compiled the Houston Texans coach is on it. I don't exactly agree with it as he's had some injury issues and he plays in a tough division, but .500 seasons just aren't acceptable in this day and age of the NFL. He had another tough home loss this week and is sitting at 5-6. The Texans have some winnable games on their remaining schedule, but if they don't sneak into the playoffs I think they'll make a change at the top.

If Kubiak is fired he could be in the hunt for an NFL head coaching job, and he'll no doubt receive some offers from a few colleges, but I see him as an NFL lifer. He'll look to get into the best possible situation for himself and coaching Jay Cutler would appeal to him. He runs a very similar offense to the one he coordinated in Denver under Mike Shanahan, a more run heavy variation of the West Coast offense, and it's an offense that Cutler would be familiar with. He even joked upon his hiring by the Texans that his playbook will only be in a different shade of blue. Even though Kubiak likes that power running style of the old Bronco teams, he isn't afraid to put the ball in the air and utilize the talents of his quarterback.

He coached Steve Young to his best season while the QB coach in San Francisco, and had John Elway playing the best football of his career while coaching in Denver. He coached Brian Griese to a Pro Bowl season and helped Jake Plummer get his name in the Bronco record books. And his offense in Houston has never been the reason they aren't winning more games, Matt Schaub (when healthy) puts up really good numbers.

Gary Kubiak knows offensive football and would be an outstanding fit in Chicago.

Shallow Thoughts & Nearsighted Observations

Ted Bartlett — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:00:20 -0000

Happy Tuesday, friends. It's a short week, with another game on Thursday night, so there's no time to mope or feel sorry for ourselves. In their scheduling wisdom, the NFL took away our right to do so - and I, for one, am glad. The Giants can be beaten, with sound play, but we'll get to that eventually. For now we'll put this week to bed and move on quickly. Ready.... BEGIN!!!!

1. I am approaching one full year as a staff contributor to MHR, having joined at the beginning of December 2008. It's been quite an interesting year, and my relationship to the team has kind of changed in an unexpected way during that time.

I first discovered MHR in April 2008, right before the draft. It, and SBNation, have come a long way since then, but the basics were the same; MHR is a respectful, knowledgeable community which discussed all things about their team. I was inspired to join such a community, and I started posting some FanPosts (which were still called Diaries only a year and a half ago).

Unlike a lot of staff members, I wasn't asked to fill a specific role, so I had to figure out what mine would be. I had always done some around the league stuff, but I wanted to find a delivery formula that would work well on a Broncos site. I debuted ST&NO on January 12, 2009, with the following opening:

As we enter the re-loading season, I felt like I needed to establish a fun new recurring feature. HT has MHR University, and Broncobear has the always excellent Tales from the Sunny Side. Styg is heading up some great draft coverage, which has a fun name, which you'll be hearing about very soon. Nick has some statistical analysis pieces which will be coming, and Zappa will continue to be Zappa, intermittently unleashing jolts of Broncos fan brilliance. And the Guru, when we form like Voltron, the Guru is the head.

So where does that leave me? Well, I was thinking a couple days ago, as I listened to Enter The Wu-Tang and shoveled a foot of snow, that two things I can consistently provide are shallow thoughts, and nearsighted observations. Since this is a Broncos blog, I'll focus on our team, but I'll also include some league-wide thoughts, for keeping-up-with- the-Jones purposes. Shallow Thoughts & Nearsighted Observations. What else could be needed on top of that? Maybe just some more cowbell.... Did anybody bring a cowbell?

Well, ST&NO has grown, and I have too. As I was sitting on my couch Sunday, watching the debacle against the Chargers, I realized that I wasn't yelling and cursing as much as normal. I didn't get that excited, and I have to say, upon some reflection, that I have been less excitable about the Broncos this season than ever. For the first 6 games, I had a hard time finding new ways to express my pleasure with the situation, and for the last 4, I have had trouble doing the opposite thing.

All I can figure is that my role in writing for this site has subtly and gradually forced me to become more of an objective analyst, and less of a passionate fan. I think the change largely has to do with my relationship with and attitude toward reporters.

I like to beat up on NFL reporters, because I think that most of them only have a surface-level knowledge of what is going on in a football game. The Broncos have a couple of good reporters, in Lindsay Jones and Jeff Legwold, and I never take any shots at them. I actually have tended toward staying away from taking deserved shots at the Denver-area Woody Paige bloviator class, because I don't want to spend the site's goodwill with the Denver media; it's John's to spend, not mine, after all. (Woody going after Kyle at BroncoTalk made me briefly lift my moratorium in the comments section of Horse Tracks the other day.)

Here's a summary of my general attitude toward football reporting. I think there is relatively little value in the reporting of news, at the national level. When Lindsay Jones reports on what happened at the facility every day, there is value in that. When Chris Mortensen hears 10 minutes before Jay Glazer that Chris Simms will start, who cares? Everybody was going to find out soon enough anyway, so what's the difference who had it first?

The real value, to me, is in the analysis, which is why I devote my time and effort to being a good analyst. While I am not a journalist, I do admire the journalistic principle of objectivity, and I think that in reconciling my criticism of national NFL reporters with my long-held policy of non-hypocrisy, I have become more objective. If I am going to beat them up for not knowing the technical aspects of the game as well as me, I can't be less objective than them. Something like that.

I remember last spring sitting in a bar with some co-workers for a happy hour, and seeing Woody's face come on Around The Horn. I told this girl I work with, Trudy, that I competed with him in the marketplace of ideas, and that I kicked his butt, on the merits. Well, I really don't think of Woody as my competition anymore, for a lot of obvious reasons. (Like, for example, he can't compete with me.) Due to the established nature of my content, I feel like I am competing with national guys, like Peter King and Gregg Easterbrook, even if this platform is Broncos-specific.

So, the point of this is that I was struggling with what to say in a general way about Sunday's game, when I don't have the deep feelings that most of you do, and that I would have had a year ago. I feel like I imagine Tom Jackson to feel; I'm very disappointed at the result for my affiliated team, but at the end of the day, I have the rest of the football landscape to worry about, too, and I have to get on with the business of being an objective analyst. I am still coming to grips with this change, and I am not really sure what the ancillary implications are for me. This may be one of these existential crises like we're seeing with Team Edward or Team Jacob. (I have a lot of 20-something women among my Facebook friends, so, trust me, I know.) See here for a funny breakdown of that Twilight sitch-ee-ation.

(Big up my man Justin Dazet for finding that. Justin writes a blog that gets into gaming and other stuff, and a San Diego area column on Geek Culture. Check him out if you're into that sort of thing.)

Momentarily, I will get back to the business of breaking down the game details, like I always do, but I thought I should at least explain why there was no impassioned, emotional screed today about the Broncos.

2. Information From My Eyes - Chargers at Broncos

a. First things first. I am going to tell you why Kyle Orton didn't start the game. He couldn't take snaps from under center and drop back effectively. It's that simple. The injury that he has prevented it. If you can only play in the shotgun, your running game is severely limited, from the perspective of the direction you can run. Josh McDaniels said this without really getting detailed, but this is what he meant.

Orton took a few snaps under center, but he really labored with his footwork, and it hindered the timing of the running game, and the Broncos could only really run to the A and B gaps. When the QB is playing slow, it makes the whole offense play slow, unfortunately.

b. The Broncos came out running the ball like they meant business. They could do that with Chris Simms under center, but Simms obviously never held his end of the bargain as a passer. When Orton came into the game, it wasn't conducive to running the ball, and neither was Orton's ability to retreat from center.

c. Knowshon Moreno scored a Touchdown, and ~~Ron~~ Nuclear Winter's crew blew the call. When I saw who the referee was, right after kickoff, I tweeted;

I am sure Moreno's play was a TD by virtue of relative positioning. To wit, Russ Hochstein's knee was across the goal line, and if his knee caused the fumble, which it clearly did, then the ball had to be across the goal line. That play was an absolute killer, because with a TD at the end of the half, the Broncos are right back in the game at 13-7. The energy of the game had momentarily shifted to the Broncos, and just like that, it was gone.

d. I was very disappointed with the defensive scheme, as I have been the last several weeks. The Broncos have really changed from an aggressive defense to one which is reading and reacting, and I don't like it at all. In the game at San Diego, the Broncos had great success pressuring the A gaps, and I saw very little effort to do that Sunday. They also got Elvis Dumervil in favorable matchups against the terrible Jeromey Clary, and again, there was none of that. Clary was even injured, and they didn't seem like they wanted to go after him. The Broncos need to get back to what made them tough on defense.

e. A little noticed good thing about Sunday was kickoff and punt coverage. The Broncos never let Darren Sproles hurt them in the return game, and both Josh Barrett and David Bruton made outstanding plays in downfield coverage.

f. The Chargers defensive backs got away with playing through the bodies of Denver receivers several times. The Broncos were a lot sloppier than San Diego, but not to the point where the penalty disparity should have been as wide as it was. It seems to me that teams which have "physical" labels like San Diego, Pittsburgh, and Baltimore get away with mugging a lot of WRs, and not just with crappy officiating crews like Nuclear Winter. It's like how you might call a foul playing an indoor basketball game at the Y, but you wouldn't call the same thing playing streetball.

g. Speaking of penalties, I want to know what the unsportsmanlike conduct was against Marcus Thomas and Ronald Fields on those two kicking plays. It seemed to me that they just hit the long snapper, though it was hard to tell from the TV angles on the recorded Short Cut. Those seemed like Nuclear Winter ticky-tack calls.

h. Andre' Goodman had a hard time dealing with the size of Malcolm Floyd on Sunday. Chris Chambers has done very well in Kansas City, but Floyd is a much tougher matchup for a guy like Goodman.

i. I put a great deal of the Broncos' recent offensive struggles on the absence of Ryan Harris. They haven't been able to protect nearly as well as they did in the first six games. That's not exactly meant to be an indictment of Tyler Polumbus, who is fine as a backup OT and special teams player. It's just recognizing the fact that Harris is one of the best RTs in the game. The timing of the offensive struggles aren't coincidental. It looks like Harris is still hurt, but let's hope he can play on the other side of the Giants game.

j. Again, the gap discipline took a vacation in the second half of the football game. Peter King thinks the defense of the first six games was a mirage, which is dramatically oversimplifying the case. They have still been quick and active for big stretches during the losing streak. It's just been less common to see them sustain it for 60 minutes lately. D.J. Williams (again) and Andra Davis both had pretty bad days in the gap discipline department.

k. I was fine with the onsides kick call, even if it didn't work. It was a good situation for it, because the Broncos were going to lose anyway without a big play.

3. Information From My Eyes - Other Games

a. Again, Thursday seems like it was a long time ago. I was very impressed with the play of Ricky Williams in the absence of Ronnie Brown. I haven't liked the play of Williams so much, maybe ever. The Dolphins didn't do much of their Wild Cute Marine Mammal stuff, but they ran very well from traditional formations, against a Carolina defense which is usually stout against the run. The direct snap stuff is good because of Brown, who has a rare instinctiveness for the options it provides. The Dolphins were smart to go back to the handoff game with Williams.

b. I still don't like Chad Henne's tattoo, but he had a very steady game. He's improving as a player every week, and I give the Dolphins a lot of credit for taking it slow with him, and developing him in an intelligent way. Tony Sparano doesn't receive a lot of acclaim, but I have been very impressed with the coaching job his staff has done for two years now.

c. The Dolphins have started ST&NO Favorite Sean Smith at RCB all season, and are now starting Vontae Davis at LCB. They have done a great job, and they really more than held their own against Muhsin Muhammad and Steve Smith last Thursday. Both guys are very talented, but again, it's a testament to the coaching they are getting from Todd Bowles, the Dolphins Assistant Head Coach and Secondary coach. I fully expect Bowles to get a head coaching job this offseason, even though nobody in the reporter-o-sphere is talking about him.

d. I criticized Joey Porter's play last week, but the benching seems to have motivated him. He was dominant, with two sacks and two other tackles for losses. It helped that Jordan Gross was hurt, but Porter looked much better than I have seen him this season, regardless of the matchup.

e. I watched a great deal of the Green Bay-San Francisco game, and I came away thinking that Aaron Rodgers has it better than Alex Smith from a protection standpoint, which isn't saying much at all, obviously. San Francisco has a pretty good LT in Joe Staley, but he's been hurt for a few weeks now. Smith couldn't do anything at all for most of the game Sunday, because he was getting hit the second he got to the top of his drops.

In the second half, with the score getting lopsided, the Niners smartened up and just put Smith in the shotgun, where he is most comfortable. He responded with 3 TD passes and made the game look like it was closer than it was. I continue to think that Smith is more than good enough to win with, if he gets protection. When you evaluate what he does in a vacuum, he's doing the right things way more often than not.

f. I have heard a lot of criticism of Aaron Rodgers lately, but he continues to look like a top-notch passer to me. He is gaining 8.2 yards per pass attempt, with 19 TDs and 5 INTs this season. He has also run for more yards than any QB in the NFL, and 3 TDs. I also tend to think you have to evaluate Rodgers in a vacuum, and other than holding the ball a little too long sometimes, he doesn't do much wrong. The last couple weeks, he's been getting the ball out quicker, too.

g. The loss of Al Harris is really going to hurt the Packers badly. It severely limits their ability to use Charles Woodson in the wide variety of roles that they liked to use him in. Woodson has often covered TEs and is a great blitzer. He's played as well as any defensive player in the NFL this season, and now the Packers may need to use him more on the outside.

I actually think the loss of Aaron Kampman is pretty negligible for them, despite his big name. He hasn't adjusted well to playing OLB, and his tallness has hurt him. By coming from a standup position, Kampman hasn't gotten the leverage he used to play with. He needs to move on to a 4-3 team where he can play on the strongside again. He's about the best in the NFL at that, after Mario Williams.

h. I can't believe the Jaguars are 6-4, but they are. When they win, they have been getting good play from David Garrard and Mike Sims-Walker, which they did on Sunday against Buffalo. Garrard is an interesting guy, because he seems young, but he isn't. He's actually 31, and he's probably reached the prime of his career. He's good enough to take a team to the playoffs, obviously, but do you build around him? I kind of feel the same way about Garrard as I did about Jake Plummer at the end of 2005, though I think Garrard is a little better player than Plummer was.

i. A guy who has been an outstanding player for a few years, without getting any credit, is Kyle Williams for the Bills. He was dominant on Sunday. Williams is kind of a short, stout DT, who does a great job getting penetration from a 3-technique position. He's never been a big sack guy, but his ability to shoot gaps has disrupted a lot of running games.

j. It's funny how many ST&NO favorites become really good players in the NFL. Percy Harvin hasn't gotten a lot of credit, because the media is busy loving on Brett Favre, but he's become a good NFL receiver quickly. A lot of Mel Kiper's said Harvin didn't run a lot of routes at Florida, but he was always open when he did. It was clear to me that he'd be able to separate with quickness as he learned NFL technique. His technique is improving quickly, and he's a handful. Along with Sidney Rice and Bernard Berrian, he's part of a really dangerous receiving corps. I can't think of a lot of groups I'd take over them, actually.

k. Joseph Addai has never been a favorite of mine, but he's playing better than ever lately. I still think that Donald Brown is going to be the better player, but Addai seems to have found some confidence and toughness that I never perceived in him.

l. The AFC has had a lot of outstanding safety play this season, but if I had to pick two starters for the Pro Bowl, they'd be Melvin Bullitt and Bernard Pollard. Bullitt got some notice for stopping the 4th and 2 last week, but he has been terrific in replacing Bob Sanders. Tampa 2-teams need a quick safety who can get from a cover-2 shell to the box very quickly, and Bullitt has done it as well as Sanders ever did.

Pollard was cut by Kansas City, and I just didn't get it. Maybe Scott Pioli was paying him back for last season's hit on Tom Brady? Pollard has been spectacular at times for the Texans, and has really been the star on the back end that they've never had. (No, Dunta Robinson is not a star; he's only paid like one.)

Brian Dawkins, Ed Reed, Jairus Byrd, Antoine Bethea, Kerry Rhodes, Brandon Meriweather, and Reggie Nelson would be battling it out for the last Pro Bowl spot, but I am sure about the top 2, as of today.

m. Laurence Maroney is doing a decent job of re-establishing his reputation as a solid RB. He has had the knock of not being particularly tough, kind of like Addai, but Maroney has been picking up a lot of tough yards lately. Take away the goal-line fumble against he Colts, and he's been really good.

n. Mark Sanchez looked confused almost the whole game on Sunday, against a New England team that knows how to confuse a QB. Sanchez is a classic example of what happens when teams get some film on you and know what you're going to do. I don't think it's time to bench him, like the average Peter King is calling for, but it would definitely behoove the Jets to figure out what Sanchez is comfortable doing, and sticking to only that stuff.

o. I can tell you right now, the Lions had a fantastic draft in 2009. Matthew Stafford, Brandon Pettigrew, and Louis Delmas all look like future Pro Bowlers. MHR favorite Sammie Lee Hill has been a solid starter at DT, and DeAndre Levy has been solid starting at WLB, since Ernie Sims as lost for the season, too. The guy I might like best, actually, is sixth-rounder Aaron Brown, a RB from TCU. He caught a TD pass on Sunday, but where he looked really dangerous was on kickoff returns. He's very explosive looking. I think Derrick Williams will eventually be a useful player too, and that makes 7 hits in one draft class. It's exactly the kind of performance that their opponents from Sunday (the Browns) need.

p. Speaking of he Browns, I have some thoughts. It sucks to lose like that, on an untimed down, but if I was a Browns fan, I would feel a lot better than I did a week ago. Brady Quinn had his best day as a pro, with 4 TD passes, and a 5th one dropped. Sure, he wasn't pressured a lot, when Detroit didn't blitz, but he looked like he was in command, and the offensive game plan looked like Brian Daboll trusted Quinn, finally. Mohamed Massaquoi and Chansi Stuckey did a very nice job making plays down the field.

I mentioned that the Browns need a good draft; they have 11 picks as of right now, and they need to hit on the majority of them. If I were their new football czar, I wouldn't draft a QB in the first round. I would give Quinn a full year with better talent (and coaching), and see what I have. My target would be Russell Okung, an OT from Oklahoma State, who I'd play on the right side. The Browns' current right side is flat-out awful. I'd be bringing in 2 good RBs, since they have zero right now. They need a Correll Buckhalter-type of free agent, and a second-round pick like a Jonathan Dwyer from Georgia Tech. One of their 3rd-round picks would go for a TE who can catch, like Ed Dickson from Oregon. With 2 new RBs, a TE, and a RT, all of a sudden, you have a solid group of players on offense.

Offense has to be the priority, because their 5 TDs on Sunday matched their previous total in 9 games. They aren't really that far away from being league-average, and I only used 3 of 11 picks in this hypothetical situation. The Browns could be 8-8 or 9-7 next season, if they make the most of their offseason opportunities. I can see it now; Todd Bowles wins coach of the year for them, after going from 2-14 to 9-7.

q. The Texans just continue to lose heartbreakers. Matt Schaub made plays, again, and gave his team a chance to win, again. And then Kris Brown blew it, again. I feel really bad for guys like Schaub, Andre Johnson and Mario Williams, who bring it every week. I'd hate to see these circumstances cost Gary Kubiak his job, but they just might.

r. I was going to talk about how everybody needs to slow down on the Vince Young hype train, but he justified the hype Monday night. Repeatedly, he picked up 3rd downs with his legs, and his throwing was pretty good too. He particularly threw a pretty ball that Nate Washington didn't come down with. He looked like he did at the University of Texas. You heard it here first; the Titans are going to beat San Diego by 2 TDs in a few weeks.

s. Trent Dilfer is a really terrible analyst, and I don't get the Steve Levy and Matt Winer combination with him. Usually, there's one anchor type to serve up softballs to the analyst. It's a weird setup. Back to Dilfer, I think the guy is just about always wrong.

t. Right after I typed that, ESPN went back to the Stuart Scott-Matt Millen-Steve Young set, and they proceeded to blame Matt Schaub for Kris Brown's missed field goal. Epic FAIL. All the guy could do was what he did. He moved his team down the field in 45 seconds, and set them up with a shot at a makeable kick. How in the world does that fall on the QB that they lost the game? That is just too idiotic for words

4. As promised, here is the rationale for why the Broncos can win on Thursday night. The Giants are extremely susceptible to getting beaten down the field, since they lost their starting Free Safety, Kenny Phillips. They are getting Aaron Ross back into the swing of things at CB, but he hadn't played all season, prior to this past Sunday.

With their shakiness on the back end, the Giants have blitzed a bit less than in past years, particularly in the A gaps. Tyler Polumbus will need some help on Justin Tuck, when they're matched up, but I expect the Broncos to be able to protect Kyle Orton reasonably well.

The Giants, meanwhile, aren't getting much from their running game lately. I also believe that their WRs don't pose a huge threat against Champ Bailey and Andre' Goodman. David Diehl will almost certainly struggle against Elvis Dumervil, because he's a natural LG playing LT. I feel pretty good about the defensive matchup, really.

This game is no lock, obviously, but it's one which the Broncos can win if they execute, stop taking bad penalties, and take care of the football. John Bena had it exactly right Sunday night. The Broncos can't beat good teams if they make mistakes, and the Giants are a good team. A victory is very plausible, though, if they do what they need to do.

5. I have cited several reasons lately for cutting ST&NO a little short, and I have another one. I got a bit sidetracked from writing, because of some big news in my family, which led to some calling, texting, and emailing, but not much writing.

On Monday night, my brother Chris911's wife Ana gave birth to their first child, Elizabeth Danielle Bartlett, at 7:36 Pacific Time, in Los Angeles, CA. Elizabeth weighed 5 pounds, 12.5 ounces, and was 17 1/4 inches long. Mother and baby are doing well. It occurred to me that I was in a good position to write the first birth announcement. Please join me in congratulating Chris and Ana on the birth of the newest little Broncos fan.

Since I am decidedly not in the having kids business, I took some time to live vicariously through them, and try to feel their excitement. Now, I am going to get back to living vicariously though myself, though. Y'all know how I do...

6. I am hitting the road for Connecticut on Tuesday, right after this story posts, to go eat some turkey, take a hellified tryptophan nap, and find a bar with NFL Network. My main reason for going, though, is to play in the 38th Annual Erb-Orsini Bowl in my hometown of Norwich, CT. I am only 32, so it predates me, but I have played in a number of them over the years. I said I would try to go back east for it last year, but it was snowing all across Pennsylvania, and I decided at the last minute to stay in Cleveland. I wasn't feeling 600 miles of driving in snow. This year, I wanted to show up and play, and the weather is cooperative. I have too much work to do to take the time, but I am going to work on Wednesday from a Tim Horton's restaurant.

The Erb-Orsini Bowl is a touch game, but it's been pretty physical and competitive in the past. The picture below is from the 2004 game. I am on the left. On the right is my brother John. He laid out for a pass early in the game, and was shaken up. His shoulder hurt, and he said that he didn't want to catch any more passes, and that he'd just stay in and pass-block, so he did just that. Thirty-six hours later, after not saying anything more about the topic, he decided to go to the hospital. Turned out, he had broken his shoulder. It's kind of the Bartlett way to suffer in silence, really, which is owed to being half Irish.

The keeper of the flame is the guy in the midde, my long-time friend Tony Orsini. Tony, as it happens, is a huge Giants fan. He's such a huge fan, actually, that he and his dad spent thousands of dollars to go to Arizona and get tickets for Super Bowl XLII against the mighty Patriots. Against that 16-0 team, i would have never spent that kind of coin, but he did, and he was rewarded. (To me, when I heard about it, it sounded like that time in 7th grade when I bet Pete Lacombe 5 bucks that Denver would beat San Francisco, straight-up, in Super Bowl XXIV, even though my allowance was $2 per week at that time. That was an all-time dumb call.)

On Thursday morning, I am hoping for a good Erb-Orsini Bowl, where I make some big plays, and on Thursday night, for our Broncos to beat Tony's Giants. Do any of y'all have good Turkey Bowls to play in? Let's hear some tangential Thanksgiving football stories. You might as well get with me on this meandering, because you never know where we might end up when the carousel stops.

7. Retired for John Elway.

8. The Buffalo coaching search is interesting. We know they've reached out to Mike Shanahan, and word materialized Monday night/Tuesday morning that Bill Cowher was contacted, and that he declined to be considered. Ralph Wilson is 91, and he wants to win now. Unfortunately for Buffalo, he is relatively cash-poor, and the team probably doesn't stay in his family when he dies, due to estate taxation. If it leaves his family, it almost certainly leaves Buffalo, which is a rapidly declining city.

If I were a coach looking for work, I would consider Buffalo unattractive for those reasons, as well as for the fact that they don't have a QB or any real quality on the O-Line. They have 2 good RBs, the fantastic Lee Evans, some good CBs and a good young safety in Jairus Byrd and pass rusher in Aaron Maybin. Paul Posluszny is solid, and Kyle Williams is very good, as I mentioned. The cupboard is not totally empty talent-wise, but it's a serious personnel challenge in a boring, economically depressed cold-weather town. The only thing they have on Cleveland, in terms of attracting free agents, is marginally better-looking uniforms. I expect that the Bills end up hiring a first time Head Coach, after being spurned by Shanahan and others.

That's all I have for this week, friends. I am off to get on the road for the East Coast. I won't see any comments until 10 or 11 hours from now, but I will check them out when I get where I am going, and will answer the ones that need answering. Have a great week, a great holiday, and a great Football Thursday. Go Broncos!

Horse Tracks 10/17/09 - Buckhalter and Jordan to play Monday; Savannah State to retire Sharpe's Number

Douglas A. Lee — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 13:43:03 -0000

DPP - Q&A: Broncos' Orton takes off glove, and his passes take off - Jeff Legwold
"Orton's teammates consider him to be a tough, smart guy who spends a lot of time at the Broncos facility - taking more preparation time, the players say, than Jay Cutler or Jake Plummer did."

DPP - Broncos' bridge too far is 3rd- and 4th-and one - Lindsay Jones
"We've had a lot of different reasons why we weren't successful on the few short yardage situations we've missed, and we're going to work hard to try to fix that," McDaniels said.

DB - More Than Meets the Eye - Gray Caldwell
Despite what Woody says, coaches and veteran players are impressed with Robert Ayers, his attitude, work ethic and contributions on game day. "You try to contribute when you can and make the plays that come to you instead of going out of your way to make plays, because that's when you mess up the team scheme," Ayers said.

DB - Leadership On Multiple Fronts - Chris Gentilviso

DB - Week 6 - Fri: McDaniels - Broncos TV

AP - Shannon Sharpe's (College) Number To Be Retired - Jonathan Landrum

DB - A Few Minutes With Champ Bailey - Broncos TV

LTC - Orton’s confidence growing with Broncos - Brian Howell

CSG - Broncos DE all jazzed up about aerobics - Frank Schwab

CSG - Broncos motivated against San Diego nemesis - Frank Schwab

DPP - Analysis: Broncos' "D" fantastic with four rushers - Jeff Legwold

DPP - Video review: Playoff zeal expected in S.D. - Jeff Legwold

DB - Savoring the Single Week - Jim Saccomano

DP - Armstrong: Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton has great "D" Jay Cutler would have killed for
Lots of drivel...

AFC West News

SDUT - Orton says he's thrilled with Broncos - Tod Leonard

SDUT - Believe it: O-line showing improvement - Kevin Acee

SDUT - Blackout lifted for Monday's game - Jay Posner

ESPN - Final Word: AFC West - Bill Williamson

KCS - Cassel comfortable in hurry-up offense - Adam Teicher

KCS - Chiefs notebook: Albert not ruled out for Sunday’s game - Kent Babb

SFC - Hanson looking for lie-detector showdown - David White

SFC - Giants noticed Raiders' lack of emotion - David White

OT - Eagles ready to dog it against Raiders - Steve Corkran

NFL News

NFL - Ravens' Lewis fined $25K two infractions, including hit on Ochocinco

NFL - Mendenhall returns from illness, expected to start over Parker

NFL - Bucs trade former first-round pick Adams to Bears for draft pick
Wow. When is the Bears' first draft pick next year? The 4th round? Holy smokes...

NFL - Ochocinco, sponsor help keep sellout streak alive, avoid blackout

NFL - Roethlisberger seeking unspecified counter damages from accuser

NFL - Goodell, Smith will testify at hearing on head injuries among players

NFL Opinion

FOX - Bad protection, big production for Pack's Rodgers - Kevin Hench
"Orton was hit squarely below the knees against the Patriots and there was no call. Then again, Orton didn't turn to the ref with his palms up and plead for the flag."

NFL - Undefeated teams more a product of league's weak links - Jason La Canfora
"It's funny, because a few weeks back we all were asking whether or not Denver was for real -- myself included -- but by virtue of their early schedule the Broncos have actually faced the toughest road." La Canfora goes on to show he knows practically nothing about the Broncos by writing, "Nolan inherited a team that ranked dead last in many defensive areas, very little was done to change the roster on his side of the ball, yet now they rank first in many statistical categories." Dawkins, Hill, Goodman, A. Smith, Bruton, McBath, Davis, Ayers, Holliday, Reid, Fields, etc. Yes, very little was done to change the defensive roster...

NFL - Modern-day 'big three' gives Falcons chance at ultimate success - Steve Wyche

NFL - It may be same old situation for teams seeking turnaround - Pat Kirwan

Y! - Jackson not clamoring to escape losing Rams - Mike Silver

SI - Rush Limbaugh was business liability to group trying to buy Rams - Jack McCallum

NFP - Double-dipping can be a good thing - Andrew Brandt

NFP - Diner morning news: Too many problems in Big D - Mike Lombardi

SI - What to watch in NFL Week 6, including Giants vs. Saints - Ross Tucker

SI - Eli Manning returns to New Orleans, Ray Lewis faces Brett Favre - Peter King

CBS - Peek at the Week: Saints seek Super status, Ravens require redemption - Clark Judge

SN - Week 6: Ten Bold Predictions - RealScouts
4. Chargers D will outplay Broncos D - "the Broncos safeties could be exposed by TE Antonio Gates, who is a dangerous threat on the seam, and the height advantage enjoyed by the Chargers receivers could yield some big plays downfield in this one."

ESPN - Bill Simmons Week 6 NFL matchups on and off the field
"Josh McDaniels & Mike Nolan (-10) over NORV TURNER & RON RIVERA 'Nuff said. "

ESPN - John Clayton breaks down the biggest NFL games of Week 6

ESPN- NFL Picks and Predictions for Week 6

49ers Year-by-Year: 1999

howtheyscored — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:00:23 -0000

1999 wasn't the beginning of the end for the 49ers' storied dynasty. It was an affirmation of the end. With the loss of Steve Young and the continued absence of Garrison Hearst, the San Francisco 49ers discovered that their talent had diminished to the point where success was unsustainable. But as with all of these posts, the end result isn't as important as the journey. See how it all came to be right here:

Date:	Opponent:	Score:	Record:	Opponent's Record:
Sept. 12	@ Jacksonville Jaguars	L: 3-41	0-1	0-1
Sept. 19	New Orleans Saints	W: 21-28	1-1	1-1
Sept. 27	@ Arizona Cardinals	W: 24-10	2-1	1-2
Oct. 3	Tennessee Titans	W: 22-24	3-1	3-1
Oct. 10	@ St. Louis Rams	L: 20-42	3-2	4-0
Oct. 17	Carolina Panthers	L: 31-29	3-3	2-3
Oct. 24	@ Minnesota Vikings	L: 16-40	3-4	3-4
Nov. 7	Pittsburgh Steelers	L: 27-6	3-5	5-3
Nov. 14	@ New Orleans Saints	L: 6-24	3-6	2-7
Nov. 21	St. Louis Rams	L: 23-7	3-7	8-2
Nov. 29	Green Bay Packers	L: 20-3	3-8	6-5
Dec. 5	@ Cincinnati Bengals	L: 30-44	3-9	3-10
Dec. 12	Atlanta Falcons	W: 7-26	4-9	3-10
Dec. 18	@ Carolina Panthers	L: 24-41	4-10	7-7
Dec. 25	Washington Redskins	L: 26-20	4-11	9-6
Jan. 3	@ Atlanta Falcons	L: 29-34	4-12	5-11

Head Coach: Steve Mariucci

Key Losses: G Kevin Gogan, T Kirk Scrafford, DE Roy Barker, DE Chris Doleman, FS Merton Hanks, QB Jim Druckenmiller,

Key Additions: QB Jeff Garcia, RB Charlie Garner, FB Terry Jackson, DE Chike Okeafor, RB Lawrence Phillips

In 1999, the NFL welcomed the Cleveland Browns back into the league as an expansion team. The new Browns would essentially own the history of the "Browns" franchise, even though technically the original team had relocated to become the Ravens. This gave the league 31 teams, forcing the league to adopt a non-standard scheduling that called for at least one team bye in every week of the season.

Also in 1999, the Tennessee Oilers, formerly the Houston Oilers, officially changed their name to the Titans. With the name change came a new logo, uniforms, and official team colors. It also brought a first for the league, as the NFL actually retired a team name, putting the use of the name Oilers to rest for good.

With the year 2000 only a few months away, the NFL approached the new year with caution. The Y2K frenzy was in full swing by the start of the NFL season, and the league adjusted the schedule so that no teams would have to travel or play on January 1.

Finally, instant replay, a system that the NFL had adopted and abandoned in the past, was brought back with new technology and new rules in place. 1999 would be a trial run for the new system.

For the 49ers, a lot of questions were hanging in the air. The team wasn't getting any younger, or healthier. Plagued by concussions throughout his career and particularly in recent years, Steve Young's health became a question mark every time he took a sack. Jerry Rice was showing the early signs of decline as age took hold and the first major injury of his career continued to hang in the minds of fans even nearly two years after suffering it. With Terrell Owens developing into a fine young receiver, Rice's position on the team this year and in the future was beginning to become a question.

Worst of all, Garrison Hearst, who had been so good for the team in 1998, was lost to a grisly ankle injury suffered in a playoff loss to the Falcons the year before.

But while question marks littered the offense, the defense was as much of a concern. The 49ers lost Merton Hanks in the offseason, and were expecting to start players in the twilights of their careers at just about every position. From Tim McDonald to Ken Norton, Jr., to Charles Haley, the 49ers defense was loaded with talented players - only most of them had already seen their best days. Perhaps most pressing would be Bryant Young's recovery from a horrifying broken leg that he had suffered less than a year before.

To try to make up for their losses, the 49ers picked up small, shifty running back Charlie Garner and reclamation project Lawrence Phillips. Garner came out of Philadelphia, where he was never able to answer questions about his ability to be a featured back. Phillips came with a history as a clubhouse cancer and with an off-field record that included an assault charge to match. His troubles had driven him out of the NFL and into NFL Europe, but the 49ers were willing to give him a chance to solve their running back woes.

The 49ers attempted to address their aging defense in the draft, but failed to make any significant splashes that season. But perhaps most importantly, the 49ers built in a contingency plan for Steve Young. Giving up on former quarterback of the future Jim Druckenmiller, the 49ers followed the counsel of Bill Walsh in looking to the Canadian Football league and Jeff Garcia to fill their need for a competent backup.

In the preseason, many of the 49ers starters were held out of games in order to keep them healthy for the season. When the season started, the decision was apparent. In Jacksonville, the team was completely off balance and out of rhythm on both sides of the ball. The eventual 41-3 loss was the franchise's worst in nearly 13 years.

Things didn't look better a week later against a miserable Saints team, but San Francisco was able to pick up the pieces enough in the second half to salvage a win against their division rivals.

Things wouldn't get any easier. At first, it seemed like they would, as San Francisco jumped on Jake Plummer and the Cardinals for a 17-0 first-half lead. And then Steve Young found himself on his back with another concussion, his first since 1997, and would remain out of the game for the second half. Up 17 with less than two minutes to play in the half, Mariucci and the 49ers were trying to keep the throttle down and knock the Cardinals out. Instead, as Young dropped back to pass, Lawrence Phillips missed a key block on Aeneas Williams, who hammered Young to end the play. Though termed mild, the blow left Young unconscious for a short period and shook him up emotionally. Though worried, he did try to get back in the game, but the coaches wouldn't let him.

Mariucci's decision to play it "conservatively" in the second half by holding Young out was informed by his decision in 1997 to let Young return against the Buccaneers under somewhat similar circumstances. After Young suffered an injury in that game, Mariucci was not willing to continue to take chances with his quarterback. Similarly, the tragic loss of Young while attempting to play out an aggressive, attacking half may conceivably have affected Mariucci's style of gamecalling from that point forward, as conservative play would become his trademark among fans.

Young wouldn't play the following week, and would ultimately miss the rest of the season and have to retire in order to protect his health in the long term. Jeff Garcia stepped in against Tennessee and led the team ably, defeating the previously undefeated Titans and giving 49er fans a glimmer of hope that the season wasn't lost.

But from that point forward, the wheels came off. The 49ers were decimated by the high-octane Rams the next week, and lost again the week after that (to none other than former coach George Seifert and his Carolina Panthers) to drop to .500. Only two games removed from a victory over one of the league's top teams, it was unclear which version of these Steve Young-less 49ers was the real one. The real answer to that question was not one any fan of the team was ready to accept.

But the 49ers kept on losing. First Jeff George torched the defense for three touchdowns. Then, the Niner defense made Kordell Stewart look like a model of efficiency. Then, the one-win Saints doubled their total, while Billy Joe Tolliver accounted for three scores against a seemingly inept San Francisco defense in a 24-6 romp. Then the Packers. Then the Bengals. And then, with the Falcons coming to town, the 49ers were on the verge of their first 10 loss season since 1980.

On a day that saw Charlie Garner go over 1,000 rushing yards on the season and that was marked by some of the strongest play of the season from recovering defensive star Bryant Young, the 49ers knocked Chris Chandler and the struggling Falcons around pretty much all game. For one week, the 49ers looked like they once did. And for one week, they staved off that tenth loss.

It would only be one week, though, as George Seifert proved that his Panthers had the 49ers' number that year by beating them handily on December 18^th. The 49ers were in the midst of their worst season in almost two decades, and it wasn't getting any better. After losing to Washington in week 16, the 49ers season was finally allowed to end on January 3^rd as - falling behind 31-7 to the Falcons in Atlanta - even their best comeback attempt would come up short.

At long last, the 49ers dynasty had unraveled. With an aging and hurting team, could it possibly be reborn?

Primary References:

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/sfo/1999_games.htm
http://articles.latimes.com/1999/oct/18/sports/sp-23718
http://articles.latimes.com/1999/nov/15/sports/sp-33817
http://articles.latimes.com/1999/dec/13/sports/sp-43575
http://articles.latimes.com/1999/dec/19/sports/sp-45612
http://articles.latimes.com/1999/sep/13/sports/sp-9802
http://articles.latimes.com/1999/sep/20/sports/sp-12335
http://articles.latimes.com/1999/sep/28/sports/sp-15061
http://www.nytimes.com/1999/10/04/sports/nfl-week-4-titans-handed-first-loss.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_NFL_season
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Phillips

Cedric Benson misses out on AFC Offensive Player of the Week to Kyle Orton

Kirkendall — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 03:39:33 -0000

While Cedric Benson is nominated for the weekly FedEx Ground Player of the Week (don't forget to vote by going here... a lot), Benson didn't win the AFC Offensive Player of the Week. Sure, he was nominated. But Denver Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton won the prize. Here's the story on Orton's performance during the Broncos win over the New England Patriots:

Orton completed 35 of 48 (72.9 percent) passes for 330 yards with two touchdowns versus one interception and a 96.7 passer rating in Denver’s 20-17 overtime win against New England.
Orton’s two touchdown passes came in drives that covered 98 and 90 yards.
He completed 6 of 10 passes for 76 yards on Denver’s 98-yard TD drive that tied the game at 17 with 5:21 remaining in the fourth quarter.
In overtime, Orton completed 4 of 6 passes for 31 yards and led Denver 58 yards on 11 plays to set up a game-winning field goal by kicker Matt Prater.
Orton helped Denver post a 5-0 record for the first time in 11 seasons (1998).
In his fifth year from Purdue, this is Orton’s first career Player of the Week Award. He joins Jay Cutler, John Elway, Brian Griese, Gary Kubiak and Jake Plummer, as the sixth Broncos QB to win the award.

Also nominated for AFC Offensive Player of the Week are:

Cincinnati running back Cedric Benson, who rushed for 120 yards (4.4 average) on 27 attempts with one touchdown in a 17-14 win over the Ravens.
Indianapolis rookie wide receiver Austin Collie, who totaled eight receptions for 97 yards (12.1 average) with two touchdowns in a 31-9 victory over Tennessee.
Miami quarterback Chad Henne, who completed 20 of 26 passes (76.9 percent) for 241 yards with two touchdowns versus zero interceptions and a 130.4 passer rating in a 31-27 win over the Jets.
Cleveland running back Jamal Lewis , who gained 117 yards (3.8 average) on 31 attempts.
Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning , who completed 36 of 44 passes (81.8 percent) for 309 yards with three touchdowns versus one interception and a 109.2 passer rating.
Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who completed 23 of 30 passes (76.7 percent) for 277 yards with three touchdowns versus one interception and a 123.9 passer rating.

In case you're interested, James Harrison won AFC Player of the Week and punter Dave Zastudil won AFC Special Teams Player of the Week. If you're interested even more, then:

NFC Offensive Player of the Week: WR Miles Austin, Dallas Cowboys
NFC Defensive Player of the Week: CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Arizona Cardinals
NFC Special Teams Player of the Week: P Jason Baker, Carolina Panthers

Shallow Thoughts & Nearsighted Observations

Ted Bartlett — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:30:15 -0000

More photos » by Chris Schneider - AP

2 months ago: Denver Broncos coach Josh McDaniels salutes the crowd after the Broncos defeated the New England Patriots 20-17 in overtime in an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009, in Denver. (AP Photo/Chris Schneider)

Browse more photos »

Happy Tuesday, friends, and welcome to another edition of Shallow Thoughts & Nearsighted Observations. Is anybody else feeling like they could get used to feeling like this on a Tuesday? It's great to be 5-0, isn't it? Maybe Mark Kiszla is right, and we should all join him in welcoming Kyle Orton to Denver, since MHR is clearly bringing up the rear, there. Y'all know how skeptical I have been. Despite our ongoing skepticism, and community-wide propensity for all things negative, we press on. Ready..... BEGIN!!!!

1. Speaking of my skepticism, I was pretty high on this team, heading into the first game.

This is an 11-5 football team, and it's one that is only going to improve as it adds more quality talent in the next few years. I put my money where my mouth is too, donating $11 to the Susan G. Komen Race For The Cure, on John Bena's wife's behalf. Please do the same thing, if you can, by donating $1 for every win you think the Broncos will get this season. Things have to break right for that to happen, sure, but I think they will. Forget last season, this is a totally different thing.

Well, that caused a stir. John Bena took a beating on Twitter about it, and even my brother Chris thought I was about 4 games too generous. At this point, I am frankly wondering if I shorted the Susan G Komen outfit by a buck or two. One mea culpa though.

By the way, the Broncos five losses are to the Patriots, Giants, and Raiders at home, and the Chargers and Eagles on the road. I know a lot of people will groan at the thought of losing to Oakland at home, but let's face it, the Broncos annually lose a game they have no business losing, and I had a feeling that that would be the one. I think they can beat Baltimore and Pittsburgh, because they protect the QB, and will be strong defensively against the run. It's about matchups, in those cases. Really, I believe that the Broncos can beat any team on their schedule if they execute, and consistently do the things you need to do to win football games.

I had the Broncos going to 4-0, (in case anybody claims nobody did), before losing both (Sunday) to the Patriots and next Monday night to the Chargers. They beat the Patriots, and I am pretty sure they'll beat the Chargers too, to move to 6-0. I also don't think there is any way they lose to the Raiders, with the consistent preparation and focus they've shown, and Oakland's extreme awfulness. So, even the most optimistic reasonable guy you know may have been underselling this team.

I am not much of a stats guy, but are you ready for an unbelievable one? In five weeks, the Broncos have made zero personnel moves. For all you hear about how much "turmoil" surrounded this team in the offseason, there has been absolutely none in the regular season. Of course, having had no major injuries helps, but it's really indicative of the quality of the team's personnel plan. There was no area where the staff thought incorrectly that the personnel would be good enough. It's good enough everywhere.

There is a lot of reason to really like this team. When the score was 10-0 in the first quarter, my father (Ed) called me, like he does when things aren't going that well for the Broncos. This is the conversation, practically word-for-word.

Ed: What's going on with your boys?

Ted: (A little annoyed.) Nothing, they had a good drive, but missed a field goal, and then they fumbled. Then they held the Patriots to a field goal despite really favorable field position. I'm not worried about it yet. These things happen.

Ed: I don't know...

Ted: This team has shown an ability to be resilient, and make adjustments. I think they'll hang in there, and be okay. (More annoyed, because the commercial was ending, and the game was restarting.) They just (bleeped) up a couple times, it's not the end of the world.

Ed: We'll see....

Ted: Yes, we will. I have to go, so I can pay attention.

Ed: Okay, when you write your analysis, you should mention that your expert father thinks they played like (bleep) because of those ugly uniforms.

Like me, my father is a former United States sailor (a Chief Nuke Machinist Mate), and we tend to employ some sailors' vocabulary when we speak. (In the interest of authenticity, I thought everybody should know that.)

I think back to the last few years, and there is a striking difference with this team. I think of 2005, and the Broncos hardly ever trailed in that season. Jake Plummer was made to play low-risk football, the defense was solid, and the Broncos ran the ball very well. If the plan was executed, the Broncos were going to win. Once it wasn't, in the AFC Championship Game, there was no coming back.

Between 2006-2008, the team was very mistake-prone, on both offense and defense (after the first 6 games of 2006). Generally, you'd have the feeling that if a player or unit made a mistake, that a long day of repeat mistakes would be sure to follow. Think of all the times Jay Cutler played the team out of games, or the defense took a holiday from tackling (or both happened in the same game, like the early season Chiefs game last season). There was always a puncher's chance, but you felt like every mistake was the killer.

I have a tremendous amount of faith in this team's ability to overcome mistakes. In the short amount of time they've been together, I've seen them do it a lot of times. It's not like they're making a lot of mistakes, but they show the ability to settle down and re-focus, no matter what happens. The 2008 Broncos would have gotten blown out today, no question about it. This team hangs in there, gets back to playing solid football, and gets in position to win in the end. It happened against Cincinnati, it happened against Dallas, and it happened again today. (Of course, there never was one second where the Browns or Raiders had an apparent chance, so there was no particular need to hang in there in those games.)

Check out this tweet from Darrell Reid, from Sunday night:

@Footz95: Bronco Fans Please 4Give Me 4 My Penalty That Almost Cost Us The Game. Luckily Its A Team Sport And My Teammates Overcame That Play. Thank U

That's pure class and accountability, and it's emblematic of this team. There was nothing about how the penalty was kind of ticky-tack, even if it was. He knows the rules, he ran into the guy's leg, and he is accountable for his mistake.

It's a gift to be able to feel like this, and I think only probably Patriots, Steelers, and Colts fans have been able to do so consistently, in recent memory. I think Giants and Saints fans probably can right now. Somehow, our team is going to keep focused, and find a way to be in the game until the final gun. What a great new Broncos fan reality.

2. Information From My Eyes, Patriots at Broncos:

a. The WRs for the Broncos did great work all game on Sunday. They ran a ton of hitches, and really got out of their breaks well on them. They also really caught the ball.

b. Andra Davis and D.J. Williams both missed clean sacks on Tom Brady, on delayed blitzes. It sure would have been nice to have those sacks, at the time.

c. I thought the use of Russ Hochstein as a FB was a nice touch a few times. It's been hit or miss this season, and it hit Sunday.

d. Both Brandon Marshall TDs were emblematic of his improvement as an all-around player. He made plays with his physicality, which he hadn't ever fully harnessed in past years. There was no sideways running Sunday, just good routes and power.

e. That Ben Watson TD was evidently a mistake by D.J. Williams, who from the looks of the rest of the scheme, and Wesley Woodyard's reaction, should have stayed in zone coverage, instead of following the underneath crosser.

f. Maybe Kyle Orton was so fantastic because he read Mark Kiszla's column before the game. Feeling like "one of us" has to go a long way, right?

g. That was a joke, of course, but Orton really did look as good as I have ever seen him. His feet were calm, active, and precise, his decisions were quick and correct, and his throws were consistently on the money. He looked like Tom Brady looks on a good day, and that's no overstatement.

h. I want to see a QB sneak on a short-yardage play one of these days. I am tired of seeing these handoff plays get blown up by quick penetration, usually over Ben Hamilton.

i. WOW, did Josh McDaniels ever flame-spray Mike Priefer and Keith Burns over that Darrell Reid penalty. He had a point. There was no particular need to be halfway rushing that punt, in that situation. Honestly, I am a believer in not trying to block a punt at all, unless there's 6 or more yards to go. That mitigates the risk of running into the kicker.

j. If you remember the second-down play in the 4th quarter, with about 10 minutes to go, where Brady threw deep and the ball was broken up by Brian Dawkins, the real play was made by D.J.Williams, in covering Wes Welker one-on-one. Brady clearly wanted to go there, and it was blanketed. On the next play, Brady did throw to Welker, and Champ Bailey had great coverage. The Broncos did a great job taking Welker away in the second half.

k. Everybody knows I wasn't that high on the Knowshon Moreno pick when it was made, but I have come to really love this player. He is going to be a superstar for years to come. I especially appreciate his skill at picking up the blitz, which is rare for a rookie.

3. Information From My Eyes, Other Games:

a. I had the Bengals-Ravens game on my fixed screen Sunday, for the duration. The key observation from that game is that I had it slightly wrong a couple weeks ago, when I said that the Ravens were without any glaring weaknesses. Their cornerbacks are below average, and they can be killed outside the numbers. Old friend Domonique Foxworth is a good guy, but an average-at-best player. Fabian Washington isn't even as good as that. Particularly if you can block the Ravens' pressure packages, there is a lot of opportunity for success.

b. It is, however, best to stay out of the middle of the field, with any kind of risky throws. Ed Reed is as great as ever, and we all know about Ray Lewis. Reed made a couple big plays Sunday, stripping Chad Ochocinco on a long gainer before the first half ended, and then also returning an interception for a TD later. The Bengals dominated this game, and Reed and Ray Rice were the Ravens' only real positives, and managed to keep the Ravens in it.

c. Matt Cassel says he wants to find the right "anecdote" to losing. The Chiefs ought to start by drafting a lot more speed, because they're the slowest team in the NFL, ahead of their opponent Sunday, Dallas. The Chiefs are going to have another very high draft pick this year, because they are really horrible. If I were Scott Pioli, I would do everything possible to get below the Top 10, because a third straight very high pick, along with Cassel's contract, is going to really mess up their salary structure, a la Oakland. I would give a top pick away, straight-up, for the 12th pick, in their situation. Bill Polian had it right when he said that you don't get good by picking high in the draft every year. Unless you're taking a can't-miss QB, like Peyton Manning, nobody is worth the money you have to pay out.

d. Speaking of the Chiefs, this has gone mostly under the radar, but they're not playing Derrick Johnson, their best linebacker. He was their best defensive player in 2008, and now he's frozen out for some undisclosed reason. If I were a 40-front team, I'd be calling the Chiefs before the trade deadline next week. I bet he could be had for a 5th-rounder.

e. Have you ever seen that show, Intervention, on A&E? I know I have a pretty male-heavy readership, and it's mostly targeted toward a female demographic, so I ask, rather than assume. Anyway, it's not what I would call uplifting television. There's always some really troubled person, with drugs, or gambling, or compulsive shopping, or whatever. Their family loves them, and wants to help get them on the straight and narrow, but addiction is really hard (my 3-year anniversary of quitting smoking is next Monday, so trust me, I have an idea about addiction).

Anyway, the Jaguars remind me of an addict who is trying to get clean, and tries hard, and does well for a while, and then has a staggering, messy relapse. Jacksonville's addiction is to playing undisciplined and stupid football. The last two weeks, against Houston and Tennessee, the Jags had their act together. Sunday, against Seattle, they relapsed, and got completely embarassed. Rashean Mathis, a good CB, had a horrid game, and got out of position repeatedly. I think Jack Del Rio's days have to be numbered, because his program just isn't getting the team to where they need to be. I'm not picking them in any more games this year, either, unless it's against an obviously terrible team. Sometimes, even though you may love the addict, they won't let themselves be helped, and you have to cut them off.

f. The 49ers are not addicted to undisciplined football, but they sure played like the Jaguars West on Sunday. Watching the Short Cut, I really feel like they lost their composure after Roddy White's 90-yard TD in the second quarter. Nate Clements got beat on that play, and had a tough game overall. The defense was physical, and maintained their run lanes, but didn't tackle well, at all. I expect that Mike Singletary will re-focus his team, and they'll show better in their next game, after their bye. Since they're clearly not built to play from behind, they need to establish early leads.

g. A lot was made of Dre' Bly's idiotic celebration Sunday, but Donnie Avery deserves some scorn too, for dancing after a TD catch, when it made the score 31-10 Vikings, with 6 minutes to go. That's just clown-like. Hand the ball to the Field Judge, and get back to your sideline.

h. Matt Schaub threw a noodle-armed out route Sunday, which Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie took back for the game-winning TD. Even after that, Schaub drove the team the length of the field, before the Cardinals held them on 4th and goal from the 1. The problem with being a zone-blocking team, as we've seen, is that you tend to struggle in short yardage situations, and the Texans really struggle with them.

i. I got called "ignorant" once by our dear friend/Colts blogger BigBlueShoe for saying that Anthony Gonzalez was a below-average starter. I considered it an honor, because I am happy to disagree with anybody. (Evaluation is a function of what I see, not what anybody thinks they know, and by extension, that they think I should "know.") In any case, Gonzalez, who is from 3 towns west of where I live, is going to stuggle to get on the field when he gets healthy. Austin Collie and Pierre Garcon have done fantastic work this season, and they're both better players than Gonzalez. Collie is smooth in his routes, and fundamentally sound, and Garcon is fast and fluid. Gonzalez struggles to get off press coverage, and as Mike Shanahan once said, if you can't get off press coverage, you'll be selling cars before too long.

j. The Steelers defense looks extremely beatable lately, especially if you can pass protect. The Lions did a lot of good stuff offensively Sunday, and lost only because they couldn't contain James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley. Trust me, they're not a terrible team team this season.

k. Josh Johnson looked like an NFL starting QB on Sunday, which is an accomplishment, for your second career start, against a defense like Philadelphia's. His stats were pedestrian (26-50, 240 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT with 5 carries for 40 yards), but he passed the eye test. His throws were mostly accurate and decisive, and he was victimized by quite a few drops, at least 6 or 7.

l. I haven't gotten a great look at Jason Peters yet this regular season, and I have been wanting to. Sunday's game didn't show me much, because Gaines Adams just looks clueless on the field. LDE Jimmy Wilkerson got 3 sacks for the Buccaneers, and lazy analysis would lead me to criticize RT Winston Justice, who I am typically not a big fan of. Thing is, I looked at the plays, and none were particularly bad plays by Justice. One was an overload, where the RG picked up Wilkerson, and on the other two, Donovan McNabb rolled into a decently-blocked Wilkerson.

m. ST&NO favorite Channing Crowder had a fantastic game on Monday Night, and really backed up his smack talk from the spring with Rex Ryan. Another ST&NO favorite, Sean Smith, did not have a particularly great game. He struggled a little with Braylon Edwards, and while he didn't embarass himself, he has looked a lot better in other games. He was still the best CB the Dolphins had, as Vontae Davis and Will Allen both struggled worse.

n. I called this just last Tuesday with Edwards. He got out of Cleveland, and he's going to flourish in New York. He always thought of Cleveland as a non-cosmopolitan place, even to a greater extent than what is really true. (It's medium in its cosmopolitan-ness; well behind the major cities, but well ahead of a place like Jacksonville.) Edwards also felt like Ohio fans secretly hated him because he is a Michigan guy. The enmity between OSU and Michigan people is pretty real, for Big 10 country anyway, but Clevelanders are almost universally Browns fans before they're OSU fans. It's an NFL town, first, no question about it. If Edwards did well for the Browns, he'd have gotten plenty of love here.

My read on Edwards' personality, from living in the same town, is that the fact that he comes from a fairly affluent, two-parent, suburban background works against his ability to be a great player. He knows he has options outside of football. Poor kids need football, and many dedicate themselves fully to it, but I don't think Edwards has ever felt like he needs it. (For an example, there's the famous story of him asking Will Demps how to get into modeling and acting, between plays, during a game with the Texans).

I expect that Edwards will be very good for the Jets, and get himself a good contract extension after this season. New York is the town he wants to be in, and at his best, he can be like Tiki Barber, a guy who is interested in a lot of other stuff, but finally focuses pretty well on football, and has some good years under some tough coaching. Just don't be the person who believes the nonsense about him being a bad player, because he is not one.

n. The Dolphins offensive line is really one-dimensional, because their Tackles, Jake Long and Vernon Carey, severely lack foot quickness. Both guys can really move defenders off the ball in the running game, though. I am a big fan of Justin Smiley at LG; he's a mauler. The Dolphins do well in their wildcat stuff, but I think they should play more with their QB under center, to generate opportunities in the play-action game. It's the only way their QB will ever be able to consistently take a very deep dropback, unless they want to max-protect with a limited pattern.

o. Wow.... two successful fake punts in one first half by the Jets. I don't know if I have ever seen that before. Brad Smith was almost stopped on the second one, but he managed to get away from the tackle.

p. Chad Henne has looked much better than I thought he could play the last two weeks, but I am not sold on some things. For one thing, since when do QBs have lousy, jail-house looking tattoos, or any tattoos at all? It's like when an enlisted guy in the military becomes an officer, and suddenly looks a little different, sporting a bunch of ink. (My buddy who is getting married in Dallas in about 2 weeks is actually one of these.) Anyway, it's weird to see a QB with that going on. As a player, he looked really good, though.

q. Ted Ginn put a pretty humbling move on Darrelle Revis in the 4th quarter Monday Night. When you hear scouts talk about suddenness, Ginn is not a guy who really has it, as opposed to somebody like Percy Harvin, who does. Ginn does, however, have world-class speed once he gets going, and he ran by the outstanding Revis for a go-ahead TD.

r. I usually ignore MNF while I write the bulk of ST&NO on Monday nights, but this Dolphins-Jets game was terrific. Both of these teams are playoff-caliber teams, and only one of them will probably make it.

s. The Packers had a bye week, and signed Mark Tauscher, which was smart. I think he is below-average, (and so is Chad Clifton), but they are a damnsight better than Daryn Colledge and Allen Barbre. If Aaron Rodgers can get sacked only 3-4 times per game, as opposed to 8-9, the Packers would have a better chance to beat good teams. Rodgers does tend to hold the ball too long at times, and I am sure the Packers are working with him on that, as well.

t. There were a lot of lousy games this weekend, which weren't particularly relevant to anything. I didn't bother with them. (That means you, Buffalo-Cleveland and Washington-Carolina.)

4. Between The Lines - Patriots at Broncos

a. The Patriots pass-protected very well in this game, much better than I expected them to. Matt Light and Nick Kaczur really held their own against Elvis Dumervil, Robert Ayers, and others. The Broncos mostly tried to play coverage, and generally didn't blitz a lot, but the Patriots handled their 3- and 4-man rushes virtually every time. Once Light was injured, and replaced by Sebastian Vollmer, I felt like the Patriots expressly didn't want to have him singled up on anybody, and they got more conservative with their protection calls. Of course, on the key play where Vonnie Holliday sacked and stripped Brady, and Dumervil recovered, that was only a 4-man rush, and Vollmer was the victim. The Patriots won this battle on volume, but he Broncos got the biggest play.

b. The Broncos also were outstanding in protection. Orton was never significantly pressured during the game, and the two sacks he took were both coverage sacks, delivered by LBs Rob Ninkovich and Tully Banta-Cain. Ryan Clady and Ryan Harris were outstanding as usual. Although Clady did have Banta-Cain on his sack, it's hard to call the play Ryan's fault. Pressure up the middle forced Orton to step backwards, into the area where Clady had ridden Banta-Cain. Sometimes you take a hit for doing your job right. The interior was strong in protection too, especially Chris Kuper. He does a great job anchoring against power rushers. The Broncos were terrific in this area, and won it going away.

c. The Patriots seemed to want to run the ball at Ryan McBean and Mario Haggan, and had a bit of success at it early with Sammy Morris. After that, they seemed to get away from that plan, only running much from shotgun looks. The Broncos defensive line was up to the task, consistently holding the line of scrimmage, as they have in all five games. Noteworthy performances were turned in by Ronald Fields, Le Kevin Smith, and Kenny Peterson, in addition to McBean. These big guys just continue to hold up. Logan Mankins was tough for the Patriots, and Dan Koppen was steady and crafty. Kaczur had a couple nice early blocks on the opening possession too. This battle was pretty even, in the final analysis.

d. Vince Wilfork was the best all-around player on the field on Sunday, and he couldn't be blocked. If the Patriots don't pay him, I'll be shocked, but there are actually rumblings that they may not. The rest of the Patriots defensive line got pushed around in the running game. The Broncos blockers were terrific in opening up holes for Knowshon Moreno and LaMont Jordan. Clady, Harris, and Kuper were especially noteworthy for their efforts in the running game. Wilfork did make a key stop on third-and-short, and blew up Hamilton on the play. Moreno's 4.2 yard average was a lot better than teams usually get from the Patriots. This is a win for the Broncos.

e. Remember a year ago, when the Patriots physically dominated the Broncos on both lines? That did not happen Sunday. The matchup was pretty even, with a slight edge going to the Broncos. This was very important to the final outcome of the game, as always.

(I am scrapping the BTL feature for another game. I am pretty overloaded lately, and I need to save the 90 minutes per week. It seemed like the best place to cut from. Sorry for anybody who will miss it.)

5. Weird comment from Pat Kirwan on NFL.com:

5. Things I didn't like

When the visiting Patriots lost the coin toss in overtime and the Broncos drove the field and kicked a winning field goal, it left me wanting more than that to decide a winner. Wouldn't it have been great if, after Denver's field goal, Tom Brady had one drive to score a touchdown?

Is Kirwan saying that Brady should get even more special treatment, because he's Brady, or is he saying that the NFL should allow both teams to get the ball at least once in overtime, as a rule for all teams? I typically like Kirwan's work, but this has me pretty confused.

And for the record, I don't think it would have been great if Brady had one drive to score a touchdown. To me, moving down the field after winning the toss, and kicking a winning FG is legitimate. I also think the Broncos play-calling would have been a bit different, once Knowshon Moreno got them inside the 30, if they felt like they really needed to play for a TD.

6. Big up Lindsay Jones of the Denver Post, for reminding us, via Twitter, of somebody who hasn't come forth with their mea culpa yet. I'm looking at you, Rick Reilly, purveyor of puff pieces.

Actually, Reilly's words were more mean-spirited than anybody's, so he really owes Josh McDaniels an apology.

@DenverBroncos : Deadspin compiles all the not-so-nice things Rick Reilly wrote about McDaniels last spring. Pretty interesting. http://deadspin.com/5379838/delighting-in-rick-reillys-massively-wrong-broncos-predictions

I don't normally read Deadspin, but nice work by Tommy Creggs here. Some interesting reminders:

Reilly on April 3rd: "And none of it would've happened without McDaniels' ham-handed style and his Macy's-balloon ego. I have a buddy who honestly believes McDaniels thinks this is fantasy football; that Pat Bowlen gave him a whole team to play with and screw over in his own image and what the hell, if his moves don't work out, his league has a special "mulligan" rule and he can start over. Only there's no "oops" rule in the NFL. Years from now, the Cutler Catastrophe will go down as the dumbest thing in Boy Blunder's very short coaching career. By then, perhaps he will be your waiter at Olive Garden."

That was right after the Cutler trade. Nice, huh? Try this one out:

Reilly on April 29th: "To repeat: Boy Blunder used a [first-round pick] to take a second. And if the Broncos are going to be as lame as I think they're going to be-4-12 perhaps-that first-round pick will be very high. McDaniels is the worst combination of things: Terribly naïve and doubly confident. Bronco fans, you're screwed."

And one more pearl;

Reilly on September 29th: "You can't just bolt your team because you think it's going to suck. (Which the Broncos are. There is no debating that. They are going to lose more than France. Just because you worked under Bill Belichick and you wear your sweatshirt like Bill Belichick does not mean you are Bill Belichick.)"

I would have been glad to debate Reilly on September 29th, or any other day. And if Josh McDaniels was my waiter at Olive Garden, I'd tip him pretty well, because I tip well, and because I bet the service would be outstanding.

I mean, like they say on ESPN, C'mon Man! This drivel was worse than what came from any of the serious-ish reporters, right? Your garden-variety John Clayton, Peter King, or Don Banks were smug and disconnected from reality, but it wasn't personal. With Reilly, this was clearly PERSONAL. Where are you at, Rick? Being a Denver guy, I suspect you'll see this, or at least hear about it, from somebody who does. Ted Bartlett from MileHighReport.com wants to know where you're at with this today, and is directly, publicly asking, on behalf of the thousands who realize how wrong you were, and think we have a great Head Coach.

Hell, if I find out that Chad Henne's tattoo is actually beautifully and tastefully done, and I had it all wrong, you can bet that I'll man up to it publicly. Same goes for anything I ever say, in all seriousness. Maybe accountability to readers is a blogger thing, I don't know.

7. Retired for John Elway

8. So, there's a hellaciously stupid line of thought that's circulating throughout the punditry (as always, meant negatively.) It seems that there are two kinds of people: those who dichotomize, and those who don't. The punditry tends to dichotomize, and there are two kinds of coaches right now. Hot Coordinators (including some retreads like Mike Nolan, Gregg Williams, and Mike Mularkey), and Super Bowl Winning Retreads. And lemme tell you, nobody wants a Retread. Why not? Because they're Retreads, stupid!

My favorite contrarian Andrew Perloff tells us so in his crack column Against The Grain: ("A weekly NFL column that heads in the opposite direction of your average pro football analysis." Just in case you were wondering....)

3. The NFL information men are hot on the trail of finding out where former Super Bowl-winning coaches like Mike Shanahan, Mike Holmgren and Bill Cowher will end up. But shouldn't we be asking ourselves if those coaches are the right hires for franchises like Washington, Dallas and Carolina? A retread coach with a ring is still just a retread. Duplicating that kind of success is still a longshot in the NFL. Some of the organization problems within those teams would cause just as big a headache for a proven winner.

Perloff has a point about the organization problems, but calling somebody a retread, and assuming that they suddenly can't coach is asinine. Analysts who don't know how to analyze always look for correlation, and assume causation, where there often is none.

Some teams, like the Redskins and Cowboys, will almost certainly make big-splash hires. Some, like the Bills and Jaguars, will be cost conscious, and probably hire a coordinator. Some, like the Panthers, could go either way. You can believe that whatever is deemed to be the trend du jour, (probably hiring coordinators), the other path will be criticized. Such is life with the dichotomizing punditry.

9. Another fun Ted Bartlett prognostication from the preseason:

The Broncos are going to have the best defense in the AFC West.

I guess I am just hot this year. :)

That's all I have for this week. Have a great Tuesday, and beyond, and we'll see you Saturday for Lighting Up The Scoreboard, even as I will be at Notre Dame this weekend for their game against USC. It will be my first time seeing Touchdown Jesus, so we'll see what that does for me as a guy who grew up Catholic. Maybe I will tweet from the game. Follow me at @TedBartlett905. Thanks for reading, and go Broncos!!!

Horse Tracks 9/29/09 - None of Broncos' injuries sound serious

Douglas A. Lee — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 11:58:32 -0000

DB - A Team In The Making - Mike Rice

DB - Week 4 - Mon: McDaniels - Broncos TV

DPP - Broncos QB one of three without an interception - Lindsay Jones
Shades of 2005 Jake Plummer?

DPP - Nothing like physical play to make a team tougher - Jeff Legwold

DPP - Breakdown: Analyzing the Broncos' offense - Jeff Legwold

DPP - Scoring defense among the best in league history - Mike Klis
Ben Hamilton (hamstring), Ryan Harris (shoulder), Alphonso Smith (ankle) and Brandon Stokley (thigh) will be monitored this week. No word on Peyton Hills here.

NFP - Time to hop on the Broncos’ bandwagon? - Matt Bowen
And here we go...

DB - The Morning After: Week 3 - Zach Eisendrath

DPP - Q&A: Marshall leads Broncos in receptions - Jeff Legwold

DPP - Spotlight on Correll Buckhalter

AP - Dysfunctinal? - Josh Dubow

AP - Broncos Remain Humble As Schedule Gets Tougher - Arnie Stapleton

CSG - McDaniels has few complaints for Broncos - Frank Schwab

CSG - Broncos remain only worried about themselves - Frank Schwab

KDVR - Tanakas Take: NFL Powerhouse landscape shifting
What's for breakfast? Crow!!!

PFW - Swarming Broncos 'D' spurs 3-0 start - Nolan Nawrocki

Y! - Denver Broncos: Fraud or 'For Real' At 3-0? - Video
Charles Robinson blames the schedule for Denver's start and says we'll find out how good the Broncos are in coming weeks.

INDT - Drew Litton: The Broncos Ground Game

Cowboys News

NFL - Carolina Panthers 7 at Dallas Cowboys 21
Felix Jones was productive last night but left with a knee injury. The Cowboys' D took it away three times, including a pick six by Terence Newman. The Dallas offense racked up 449 yards and did not turn it over in dominating the time of possession 37:04 to 22:56. Like the Broncos, Dallas failed in their red zone (1/4) and goal-to-go (1/3) scenarios.

DMN - Romo gives Panthers nothing in Dallas Cowboys' 21-7 win - Tim Cowlishaw

DMN - Cowboys-Panthers: Game notebook

DMN - House party: Dallas Cowboys clock Carolina, 21-7 - David Moore

DMN - Embattled defense rescues Dallas Cowboys in 21-7 win - Jean-Jacques Taylor

DMN - Running backs deliver in Dallas Cowboys' 21-7 win - Bill Nichols

ST - Under pressure all week, Cowboys defense responds with big plays - Clarence Hill

ST - No sign of Crazy Tony in Cowboys simpler game plan - Randy Galloway

ST - Cowboys’ defense was better, but still could improve - Jennifer Floyd Engel

ST - Interception return for TD a boost for Newman - Jeff Caplan

ST - Backup runners fare well against Panthers - Charean Williams

ST - Defense ends drought of interceptions, sacks - Carlos Mendez

FOX - Cowboys win won't silence Romo critics - Alex Marvez

ESPN - Romo takes a less-is-more approach - Matt Mosley

AFC West

NFL - Raiders assistant tells police Cable struck him, broke his jaw

SFG - Cable sticks with JaMarcus - David White

OT - Raiders notebook: Russell is Cable's man at quarterback - Steve Corkran

SDUT - Armed & laborious - Nick Canepa

SDUT - Better running game would cure some ills - Kevin Acee

SDUT - Week 4 supplies ‘giant’ task - Kevin Acee

SDUT - Chargers sue Foley to recoup bonus - Greg Moran

KCS - This stretch of the schedule isn’t helping Chiefs - Adam Teicher

NFL News

NFL - Dolphins' Pennington suffered dislocated throwing shoulder

NFL - 49ers RB Gore to miss at least two games with ankle injury

NFL - Johnson to replace Leftwich as Bucs' starting quarterback

NFL - McKelvin out indefinitely for Bills; Whitner needs surgery

NFL - Bulger in doubt with bruised rotator cuff; Robinson out for season

NFL - Colts await diagnosis of injury to Freeney

NFL - Union, league will meet Tuesday to discuss CBA

NFL - Mangini again mulling over No. 1 QB, will decide Wednesday

NFL - Redskins expect Haynesworth to be ready despite strained muscle

NFL - Packers' Clifton improving, could return for Vikings game

NFL - Bears hope Hillenmeyer can play against Lions despite rib injury

NFL - Seahawks will stick with Mare after kicker missed two field goals

NFL Opinion

NFL - Lions return from exile, but other teams may abdicate hope - Mike Lombardi

NFL - Six from Sunday: It might be time for Eagles to trade Vick - Pat Kirwan

NFP - Diner morning news: random thoughts - Mike Lombardi

NFP - Tavern talk: lift a glass to Jim Schwartz - Mike Lombardi

NFP - Big deal for a small corner - Andrew Brandt
Brandt looks at two new contracts given to cornerbacks who are obviously too short to play in the NFL (just like Alphonso Smith is).

Y! - Belichick call rekindles image of recent glory - Mike Silver

SI - Tom Brady's back, Rex Ryan might be hurting New York Jets, more - Jerome Bettis

CBS - Prisco Grades: Week 3

Poll

How many regular season games do you think the Broncos will win this year? (Please look at the schedule before you respond)

7 or fewer

44 votes

8 or 9

243 votes

10 or 11

272 votes

12 or more

21 votes

580 votes | Poll has closed

Warner Nearly Perfect as the Arizona Cardinals Beat Jacksonville 31-17

Pyromnc — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 11:00:43 -0000

More photos » by Phil Coale - AP

3 months ago: Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, left, dives for a third quarter touchdown as Jacksonville Jaguars safety Sean Considine tries to make the stop during an NFL football game, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2009, in Jacksonville, Fla. Arizona won 31-17. (AP Photo/Phil Coale)

Browse more photos »

One week after losing an important home division game to the San Francisco 49ers the Cardinals dominate the Jacksonville Jaguars for most of the game. The offense was in sync for the first time this year and looked even better than the 2008 offense. As for the defense, they again looked good and were able to hold the Jags to two touchdowns and one field goal. Overall the team looked very good and definitely alleviated some of the worries most of the Cardinals fans had after the week one loss.

The Good:

Kurt Warner: In week 1 Warner was starting to look like the 38 year old quarterback that most 38 year old quarterbacks look like. Not very good. In week two Warner did a complete and flip flop and decided to break the NFL record for completion percentage in a game (minimum 20 attempts). Warner completed 24 of 26 passes (92.3 %) beating out the old record held by Vinny Testaverde who had completed 21 of 23 passes (91.3) in 1993. To add to that, Warner tied the team record for most consecutive completions with 15, a record originally held by Jake Plummer who made that record in 1998. Warner's final numbers were 243 passing yards and 2 touchdown passes.
Tim Hightower: Hightower followed up his 12 receptions for 121 yards in week 1 with another good game carrying the ball 15 times for 72 yards (4.8 ypc) and 1 touchdown. This week the Cardinals offensive line opened up some holes allowing HIghtower to rumble for several long runs with his longest being 17, meaning that he was pretty consistent on each carry. Hightower also had 3 catches for 12 yards.
The Offensive Line: Compared to last week this line looked much improved. They gave Warner time and opened up holes for the run game, but they still had some penalties, though not as much. Levi Brown added to his resume another false start and Deuce Lutui had another holding. Those were the only two penalties that were really the offensive line's fault. Overall this unit was much more productive and if they continue to play that well the offense shouldn't have any trouble putting points on the board this year.
The defense (through the first 3 quarters): The defense again looked solid holding Jacksonville to just 17 points,10 through the first 3 quarters. They were able to get pressure on the David Garrard and if Garrard weren't so mobile and strong they probably would have come away with eight to ten sacks. They ended up only getting four sacks but that is not bad at all and is proving to be a lot better than people gave them credit for. They were also able to force four fumbles, recovering two. This unit is continuing where it left off last week and is not looking like they are going to slow down any time soon.
Special Teams: In week one the special teams was probably the most solid unit, pinning the opponent down to bad field positions, making all their field goals, and giving the Cardinals good field position. For the most part that was true for week two also. They didn't allow anything on kick returns and punt returns while LaRod Stephens-Howling made smart decisions on his kick returns and averages 25 yards per return. They also blocked a field goal that was returned by Antrel Rolle for a touchdown, giving the Cards a 17-3 lead. All that good made up for the sloppiness that happened for this unit. Antrel Rolle again is not looking good as the punt returner, not knowing when to run up and catch the ball or to just let it go by him. This indecision caused two fumbles and could have drastically changed the game if either of those had ended up mattering. Neil Rackers also missed a field goal but that happens sometime.

The Bad:

Chris Wells: Beanie actually had a pretty good game, carrying the ball 7 times for 44 yards (6.3 ypc). His problem was that he could not hold onto the ball and fumbled the ball twice. Now the first time they got lucky and the tight end, Anthony Becht, was there to recover the ball on the one yard line. The second fumble though, he was not so lucky as it was recovered by Rashean Mathis. Luckily for Beanie, the Cards defense didn't allow the Jags to do anything with that turnover.
Penalties: The penalties were not nearly as bad as they were in week one but they still were a problem. The Cards racked up another 8 penalties for 50 yards. They are definitely down from the 12 from last week but that is still too much and is something they will have to continue to work on.

The Ugly:

Fourth Quarter Defense: First, in the effort of full disclosure Whiz was subbing in some of the second string defense towards the end of the third quarter and into the fourth but their performance still has to be graded at the same level. The defense only allowed seven points to the Jags in the fourth but they were lucky that it wasn't more. There was several dropped passes by the Jags that would have gone for long yardage and one of them would have gone for a touchdown bringing the game within seven points. They also missed tackles, one of them by Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie allowing the receiver to go in for the touchdown. The defense has played well in the first three quarters in the first two weeks of the season but has also played bad, or not as good, in the fourth quarter in that same time frame. This has got to get better as the better teams will take advantage of this.
Turnovers, or possible turnovers: This was already covered earlier but it is very important that it stops. There was a total of five fumbles on offense. That is way too many and the Cardinals got lucky that only 2 of them were recovered by the Jags. This has got to stop if they want to be an elite or top 10 team.

Overall, the Cardinals played very well this Sunday and they made it tough to really find anything negative to say about their play. The one negative that was pointed out though that needs to be fixed is Beanie Wells. The kid looks very good and fluid in his cuts when running but he needs to get the ball secured better. This is something a lot of rookie backs need to learn, so it is not a big concern but it is something that needs to be pointed out and fixed. The other position that needs to be addressed is the punt return situation. Rolle has either got to learn how to field those punts or find someone else more reliable, this may be a tough task but it has got to happen. Next week this team will travel back home to play the Indianapolis Colts for the Sunday night game and after this game they should have the motivation and confidence to play well in that game.

I Hate Every Bronco I See, from Champ Bailey to Norris Weese

Johnny Peel (DKSB) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 07:28:41 -0000

"Banks, I hate-respect you" - Jack Donaghy

I've hated the Denver Broncos for a quarter century. Aside from my family, I've never had any sort of connection to another person for that long, and frankly, I know the Broncos better than I know most of my relatives. I hated their barf-orange old unis, and I hate their "modern" nike clothes. I hated John Elway in the 80s and 90s, and I hate Champ Bailey today. I hated Mike Shanahan's smug ratface. I hated Dan Reeve's suits. I hated every player who ever suited up for the Orange Crush. Hell, I still hate the soda Orange Crush.

But... I also (grudgingly) respect them. Why?

Even as the Broncos kicked in our skulls year after year, they also were what we aspired to be: a team from a (non-California) western town that beat back the NFL Establishment and East Coast Bias to become an annual Super Bowl contender. For the entire span of the Seahawks' existence, we saw our Colorado rivals take on NFL Superpowers from Pittsburgh to Oakland and win... until the games had Roman Numerals. Then it was loss after blowout loss.

I reveled in those losses, and mercilessly taunted my Denver-rooting classmates after each one... But still, I could see that we had something in common, and after the Broncos broke through and won two championships in the late 90s I hoped it would inspire my Seahawks to do likewise.

No such luck yet, huh?

For all the various grievances and grudges us Twelves have against the Broncos from our days as divisional rivals, my biggest source of enduring hatred is the 2005 AFC Championship Game.

I love alternate history. What if the Cuban Missile Crisis had gone another way? What if the Japanese had never bombed Pearl Harbor? and so on... But what if the Broncos had defeated Pittsburgh that day back in January 2006?

XL would have been a "normal" Super Bowl. The city of Detroit wouldn't have gone into uber-swoon mode over Jerome Bettis' "homecoming" for two weeks, and the crowd wouldn't have been a mass of yellow-hankie waving Yinzers, intimidating Bill Leavy and his band of cowards and incompetents. The usual Supe crowd would have been there in Detroit: Some Seahawks fans, some Broncos fans, and an ass-ton of distracted VIPs. It would have most likely been a boring blowout that the country would have turned off by the middle of the 3rd quarter...

But there would be a Vince Lombardi Trophy in the lobby at the VMAC right now.

The Broncos had not lost a home game yet in 2005, and a week before had knocked off the defending champion Patriots at Mile High. There was every reason to think they would defeat 6th-seeded Pittsburgh and advance to XL, but Denver decided to hand the Steelers four turnovers, including two "I have regressed to my Arizona Cardinals form" interceptions from Jake Plummer and his mustache of doom.

Pittsburgh won 34-17, and we know how the 3rd act of that movie goes...

The football gods have handed us a chance at revenge, however. His name is Josh McDaniels, and his incompetence is a gift to Seattle on the level of a stack of Glenn Garry leads... If I didn't know better, I would think he was trying to bring down the Denver organization from the inside. Beyond the Cutler and Marshall affairs, there is his mind-boggling decision to trade Denver's 2010 first round pick to us last April.

That is why I am here, Field Gulls faithful. Every week I will bring you news and analysis of Denver's inexorable collapse, and the glorious, precious high draft pick that they will then be sending our way.

Yeah, I know they won this week, but one incredibly lucky bounce created by boundless Bengal stupidty doesn't automatically vault them out of the NFL's compost heap. They will still be entertainingly awful, and could still be the 2001 Carolina Panthers.

Current Position of Seattle Pick from Denver: 17th-32nd

Players Likely Available at that Spot: Jevan Snead, QB (Ole Miss), Trent Williams, OT (Oklahoma), Jahvid Best, RB (California)

Feel free to mosey over to my home blog, Dave Krieg's Strike Beard, for more Seahawks coverage.