Discuss the game’s doings here … share your thoughts, but try and keep ‘em clean. We’ll have more on the site when we return to Denver.
Archive for September, 2007
Broncos-Colts: Fourth-Quarter Notes
September 30th, 2007 - 4:43pm by AndrewOther posts by Andrew
6:28 P.M. EDT: Brutal efficiency for the Colts on their drive as the fourth quarter begins … but Joseph Addai is now slow to rise after being it at the Indy 45-yard-line. He gets up and leaves the field under his own power.
6:33 P.M. EDT: Broncos now need to tighten on defense; Colts have first-and-20 at the Denver 36 … and even with Addai out, the Colts can still pound the football; 22 yards later, and the Colts are back in the Broncos red zone.
6:35 P.M. EDT: Five-of-five for the Colts in the red zone … With 10:56 left, the Broncos trail 35-20.
6:37 P.M. EDT: Indianapolis now has 175 rushing yards and is averaging 7.0 yards per carry as the Broncos run defense continues to be gashed.
6:41 P.M. EDT: Cutler, under pressure, rolls right and heaves a deep pass for Brandon Stokley … but a pair of Colts defenders are there to stop the play.
6:42 P.M. EDT: Henry is back in. So much for my skepticisim. He promptly darts 12 yards for a first down. Broncos are down two scores, but their pace is not panicky.
6:43 P.M. EDT: Third-and-7 from the Denver 35 … Cutler in the shotgun … Selvin Young alongside him … Cutler under pressure, throws it short for Marshall and incomplete. With 8:41 left, the Broncos send the punt team onto the field.
6:44 P.M. EDT: Sauerbrun clobbers a 65-yard punt into the end zone for a touchback. Colts will take over possession with 8:33 left.
6:49 P.M. EDT: Colts again on the move; they are now at the Denver 43-yard-line with 6:50 remaining.
6:51 P.M. EDT: Colts now at the Denver 31 as the clock moves under five minutes … Indianapolis’ ground game is starting to bleed the Broncos’ hopes dry at this point.
6:57 P.M. EDT: Denver forces a stop on downs and uses its timeouts to preserve 2:38 on the clock … but all Adam Vinatieri has to do to put the Colts up three scores is hit a 22-yard field goal, which he does.
7:02 P.M. EDT: Dwight Freeney hits Cutler from behind, jarring the ball loose … The Colts recover at their 43-yard-line, and with the Broncos out of timeouts, the game is effectively done.
Broncos-Colts: Third-Quarter Notes
September 30th, 2007 - 4:23pm by AndrewOther posts by Andrew
5:51 P.M. EDT: The half opens with the Colts turning to Joseph Addai, who moves the Colts to the Denver 44 via a 17-yard run to the right side.
5:52 P.M. EDT: No sign of Marvin Harrison for the Colts, but they keep on moving; they get 12 more yards and are at the Denver 44.
5:53 P.M. EDT: Bryan Fletcher with a 21-yard catch across the middle … Addai then goes for 12 more up the middle. Colts are having a field day in the heart of Denver’s coverage on this drive.
5:54 P.M. EDT: Denver had Addai in its sights for a 3-yard loss in the backfield, but Crowder can’t finish the tackle, leaving Addai room to get to the 1-yard-line … Indy scores one play later, capping a ruthlessly smooth drive that extends their lead to eight points.
5:57 P.M. EDT: Hixon brought down in the open field … Broncos will start at their 15. The field-of-position disparity on drive starts continues to widen.
5:58 P.M. EDT: Jay Cutler looks left for Brandon Marshall and is intercepted by Marlin Jackson. Indianapolis is at the Denver 24 and the Broncos are in some serious trouble with 10:58 left in the third quarter.
6:00 P.M. EDT: Marshall and Head Coach Mike Shanahan are conversing on the Denver sideline.
6:01 P.M. EDT: Nate Webster flagged in the end zone … Colts at the Denver 19 with an automatic first down.
6:04 P.M. EDT: Third-and-goal … touchdown. Indianapolis now 4-of-4 in the red zone this afternoon after Manning and Clark collaborate on a second touchdown of the day.
6:08 P.M. EDT: Broncos need a big drive now … and it does not begin well for them as Cutler fires wide of Tony Scheffler under pressure.
6:09 P.M. EDT: Cutler hands to Travis Henry, who promptly gains 11 yards up the left side for a first down.
6:10 P.M. EDT: Are the Broncos in four-down territory so early? They have third-and-1 at their 41 … but we won’t find out about the four-down thing now, because Cutler rolls left and finds a wide-open Cecil Sapp off the playfake for 10 yards and a first down at the Colts 49.
6:11 P.M. EDT: Cutler starting to look a little more comfortable on this drive, particularly on rollouts.
6:12 P.M. EDT: Travis Henry is down and being treated on the field.
6:14 P.M. EDT: Henry rises and leaves under his own power, but walked very slowly as he departed the field.
6:15 P.M. EDT: Cutler relying on Daniel Graham on this drive; he makes the catch to keep the drive alive. Selvin Young now in at running back.
6:18 P.M. EDT: Young gets going and now has the Broncos at the Indianapolis 2-yard-line, as he slams his way through the Indy defense.
6:19 P.M. EDT: Flags aplenty as the Broncos run a second-and-1 play from the Indy 2-yard-line … No wonder, the Colts had too many men on the field, leaving the Broncos in second-and-a-microscopic-yard, about 40 inches from the end zone.
6:20 P.M. EDT: The Broncos basically had a potential seven plays to score … and they only needed one as Cutler slams forward for the touchdown to cap a 14-play, 79-yard drive.
6:21 P.M. EDT: Henry is listed as questionable to return with a right ankle sprain, but the way he looked as he left the field, I’d be shocked if he returned.
6:23 P.M. EDT: Steve Cargile makes an outstanding tackle on the kickoff return, finally forcing the Colts to start from somewhat dubious field position, at their 17-yard-line.
Broncos-Colts: Second-Quarter Notes
September 30th, 2007 - 3:16pm by AndrewOther posts by Andrew
4:49 P.M. EDT: Peyton Manning finds a wide-open Reggie Wayne as the Colts move to the Denver 14 .. Manning taking the fairways-and-greens approach as the flashbulbs pop around the dome.
4:50 P.M. EDT: Joseph Addai slices through the heart of Denver’s defense, bouncing off tacklers for the score. Denver’s lead is now 10-7.
4:51 P.M. EDT: Colts celebrate the touchdown with Bang the Drum All Day by Todd Rundgren. I feel like I’m at a Packers game.
4:53 P.M. EDT: Hixon gets hit at the 16, loses his balance and falls to the ground at the 20 after a 21-yard return.
4:55 P.M. EDT: I utterly despise the post-kickoff return timeout. Nothing demolishes the flow of a game in quite the same way. It’s like going to a basketball game where the two TV timeouts come within 30 seconds because there were no appropriate stoppages immediately after the 16:00 mark of the first half.
4:57 P.M. EDT: Broncos now at their 39 as they take timeout … lots of creative work by Denver … taking the Brandons — Marshall and Stokley — out of the huddle and replacing them with a timeouts just before a play.
4:59 P.M. EDT: I’ve seen ads for Hardee’s on the matrix boards and mullets on fans both here at the game and in downtown Indianapolis. I feel like I’m back home.
5 P.M. EDT: Twenty-four yards as Cutler throws across his body for Nate Jackson and moves the Broncos to the Indy 37. Jim Fassel is sitting down now. “Duff Gardens — hurrah.”
5:01 P.M. EDT: Broncos now with third-and-3 at the Indy 29 … Crowd at its loudest so far today … Graham at fullback, makes a block for Henry, and the tailback follows his escort for four yards and the first down.
5:02 P.M. EDT: Henry scoots right into a thicket of pads and helmets for 2 yards.
5:03 P.M. EDT: On the next play Cutler finds Brandon Stokley, who gains 12 yards and gets booed. Here’s the problem … you don’t boo a guy who did not leave of his own volition. The Colts didn’t want him back. Boo the Colts for letting him go, yes, but don’t boo the man. He loved the Colts. He loved Colts fans. Give No. 14 a little respect and love, okay?
5:04 P.M. EDT: Broncos now in third-and-8 from the 10 after Cutler had no chance to throw on second down, just barely getting rid of the football under pressure … crowd now at its noise apex so far today.
5:05 P.M. EDT: Bob Sanders stops Selvin Young two yards short of the necessary yardage … Denver opts for the field goal. It’s a long two yards … might even be closer to three, frankly … Elam drills the 22-yarder and the Broncos’ lead is 13-7.
5:07 P.M. EDT: Statistical guru Patrick Smyth informs me that Elam is now the fastest player to 1,700 points, making the milestone in just 224 games. Elam now has 29 points so far this season, leaving him on pace to pad his bulbous tally of consecutive 100-point seasons to open his career, which is now at 14.
5:08 P.M. EDT: I guess blocking-in-the-back isn’t what it used to be; looks like the guys in black-and-white stripes missed that one on T.J. Rushing’s 34-yard kickoff return.
5:11 P.M. EDT: Colts beginning to exert some will on the ground … while continuing to accelerate the game’s pace. Indy is three yards past midfield, and now at the Denver 40 after Addai runs into D.J. Williams following a 7-yard run.
5:12 P.M. EDT: Addai bounced off Williams as though it were a video game and not a real football contest … Indy now at the 36.
5:14 P.M. EDT: Two missed tackles as Reggie Wayne works his way upfield … one by Dre’ Bly; the other by Nate Webster. Indy now at the Denver 13.
5:15 P.M. EDT: Elvis Dumervil and Jarvis Moss get into the backfield on first-and-10 from the Denver 13; Dumervil gets a fingertip on the pass.
5:16 P.M. EDT: Third-and-6 from the Denver 9. This is the play that could illuminate the difference in this game … and it is, as Manning finds Dallas Clark in the back of the end zone. Indy is two-for-two in the red zone; Denver is one-for-three. That’s why the Broncos will be behind by one point assuming Adam Vinatieri makes the extra point.
5:18 P.M. EDT: And he does. The players often speak of getting better in the red zone … right now, the Broncos are just seeing red, down 14-13.
5:20 P.M. EDT: Broncos at the 20 after the touchback … The crowd seems to be growing louder with each Broncos possession … Broncos now have second-and-5 at their 25.
5:21 P.M. EDT: Gargantuan third-and-2 forthcoming … Broncos in the jumbo package, with three tight ends … Henry goes right and slams into Freddie Keihao … Broncos will punt on fourth-and-1 from the 29.
5:26 P.M. EDT: Colts now at their 26 to begin the drive … hold your breath, fasten your seatbelts, pull up your stockings … whatever.
5:27 P.M. EDT: Anthony Gonzalez makes Jeff Shoate miss; that turns a 4-yard-play into a 19-yard gain. Colts at their 45 with 1:23 left.
5:28 P.M. EDT: Manning for Gonzalez on third-and-5 from midfield is incomplete … but there’s offsetting penalties. Denver’s is an offsides against Elvis Dumervil. Can’t give No. 18 another chance like that.
5:29 P.M. EDT: Ian Gold, however, forces an incompletion with a timely hit … The Colts will punt with 58 seconds left before halftime … and Denver will start at its 8-yard-line after an illegal-use-of-the-hands infraction during the punt, which was fair-caught by Domenik Hixon. The Colts still have three timeouts, so Denver cannot simply run a couple of carries off-tackle and call it a half.
5:31 P.M. EDT: Travis Henry is over 100 yards (101) after gaining six yards on first-and-10 … The game stops as Colts linebacker Rob Morris is treated for injury on the field.
5:35 P.M. EDT: As the crowd rises to a standing ovation, a cart takes Morris from the field …. Back in the game, Henry goes five yards for a first down on the next play, and the Colts make no attempt to stop the clock. The teams will head to intermission with the Broncos down, 14-13.
Broncos-Colts: First-Quarter Notes
September 30th, 2007 - 2:40pm by AndrewOther posts by Andrew
3:56 P.M. EDT: Regarding sitting John Lynch and Javon Walker …
As I just told my mom, who is set to watch from Florida, you have to think big picture. Better to sacrifice one or two games now to ensure full health for the balance of the season rather than play hurt, aggravate the injury and turn a one-, two- or three-week problem into a season-ending game. It makes life tough for the Broncos today, but as everyone in the locker room likes to say, “it’s a 16-round fight.” This is Round 4, and when did you ever see Rocky Balboa not go the distance? (At least when he wasn’t facing Clubber Lang?)
3:57 P.M. EDT:“Twelfth man, are you ready?” asks the overcaffeinated public-address announcer as we are now 19 minutes from kickoff. With those words, the music starts … and I know that nothing gets a crowd more pumped for a game than Girlfriend by Avril Lavigne … unless they’re going to follow this with Church of the Poison Mind by Culture Club.
3:58 P.M. EDT: I’m always disappointed in how there is such scant evidence of this franchise’s Baltimore seasons in here. Only the years “1975-79″ next to Ted Marchibroda’s name on the facade of the upper deck in the end zone provide any clue that this club had a history before the Mayflower vans steamed through the snow out of Owings Mills, Md. some 23 years ago.
4:01 P.M. EDT: I’ve never seen so many people in a crowd wearing jerseys. It looks like everyone’s wearing the same thing. I feel like I’m at a Sun Myung Moon rally or something.
4:07 P.M. EDT: You really can’t go wrong with having your team enter to The Who. Well done, Colts.
4:12 P.M. EDT: Jay Cutler calls tails … and the Broncos win the coin toss and will receive. Jason Elam is again the special-teams captain.
4:13 P.M. EDT: Domenik Hixon is back deep to field the kickoff … Tim Crowder is on the kickoff team as a blocker, making his NFL debut.
4:15 P.M. EDT: I’m not sure how much of this game I’m going to see. Jim Fassel, doing a national radio broadcast, is in front of me and WILL … NOT … SIT … DOWN.
4:15 P.M. EDT: Hixon gets his biggest kickoff return of the year so far … 35 yards to the Denver 36.
4:16 P.M. EDT: Brandon Stokley gets the start at wide receiver with Javon Walker out … Travis Henry scoots 10 yards on the game’s opening play and then gashes the Colts for 5 yards one play later to move Denver past midfield.
4:17 P.M. EDT: Travis Henry makes Marlin Jackson miss in the backfield and uses that boost to sprint 14 yards to the Indy 35 … then goes right for the first time on this drive and sprints 15 yards to the Indy 20.
4:18 P.M. EDT: Rob Morris finally puts a halt to the Henry charge, slamming into him with a crunching hit at the Indy 17. One play later, Jay Cutler misfires on his first pro pass in his home state, overshooting an open Brandon Marshall in the left flat.
4:19 P.M. EDT: Third-and-7 … Glenn Martinez in … Cutler with his receivers covered, makes a rather optimistic pass in Marshall’s direction, which goes out of bounds.
4:20 P.M. EDT: Elam drills it from 35 yards away … 3-0, Broncos.
4:22 P.M. EDT: Colts at their 30 after the kickoff … Jarvis Moss (!) and Tim Crowder start at the tackles, with Moss playing from a stand-up alignment … Simeon Rice at right end, Elvis Dumervil at left end … Domonique Foxworth at free safety in place of Lynch … Colts quickly get 16 yards and are on the move.
4:24 P.M. EDT: Great open-field tackle by Nick Ferguson forces the Colts into third-and-2 at the Denver 45 … Moss gets into the backfield from the stand-up slot … Joseph Addai gains two yards for the first down, in spite of the best, most stubborn efforts of Ian Gold and D.J. Williams … or maybe he didn’t get the first down; a measurement is forthcoming.
4:25 P.M. EDT: Addai got the first down … Next play sees Moss, still working from the stand-up, moving outside of Dumervil on the left side.
4:27 P.M. EDT: Sam Adams is standing in front of the defensive coaches as they make the signals on the sideline … Jarvis Moss nearly jumped on the play, but came back before the snap … Manning’s pass is low and incomplete on third-and-6.
4:28 P.M. EDT: Denver takes possession at its 13 after Hixon’s fair catch of Hunter Smith’s 25-yard punt … Somebody tell the press-box P.A. guy that it’s “Domenik” Hixon, not “Dominique.”
4:31 P.M. EDT: What makes Marshall work … he doesn’t go down at the first contact and he makes people miss. Thirteen yards for No. 15, and the Broncos are on the move … and now at the Denver 39 after Henry goes for 13 to the right side.
4:32 P.M. EDT: Henry is just lacerating the Colts defense so far today … Now Selvin Young ets a shot … Denver already has 74 yards, and it becomes 79 after Young goes for six more.
4:34 P.M. EDT: Cutler and Stokley not on the same page on second-and-4 … Third down; Young, Martinez and Nate Jackson ehcek in … and Young gets the football, coming around from the right side to left end on the end-around for 32 … Cutler, Matt Lepsis, Daniel Graham, Glenn Martinez and Chris Myers with the key blocks … Denver has first-and-goal at the 9.
4:36 P.M. EDT: Drive breaking down in the red zone … Now with third-and-goal at the 7 after Henry has the ball stripped by Dwight Freeney.
4:37 P.M. EDT: Cutler finds Marshall on the short pass … five guys running into the secondary, and Marshall catches it even though he’s in tight coverage … Broncos lead 10-0, and this crowd seems a tad stunned.
4:39 P.M. EDT: How to make a bad play worse … hit the kick returner after he’s well out of bounds. Now the Colts begin their possession at the Denver 47.
4:42 P.M. EDT: John Engelberger in at left end; Marcus Thomas at tackle … Broncos generate some pressure, but Manning still gets the completion for 6 yards … now it’ll be third-and-1 after Addai goes right for three yards.
4:43 P.M. EDT: Marvin Harrison is down and holding his knee …
4:44 P.M. EDT: He is now up and is walking to the sidelines under his own power, albeit somewhat gingerly in spots.
4:46 P.M. EDT: Broncos with a five-man front … it does not keep Addai from getting the one yard he needed, plus two more. Colts now at the Broncos 35, and the crowd is getting back into it.
4:47 P.M. EDT: Harrison now back in, and he makes an 8-yard reception with a defender draped over him … Addai runs up to the Denver 22 as the quarter concludes.
Walker, Lynch Inactive for Game
September 30th, 2007 - 1:09pm by AndrewOther posts by Andrew
Neither Javon Walker nor John Lynch will play for the Broncos today.
Both were listed among the Broncos’ eight game-day inactives, which were announced before the balance of the team took the field for warmups in the RCA Dome.
Joining Walker and Lynch in sweats will be safety Hamza Abdullah and running back/fullback Mike Bell — each of whom was ruled out during the week — and four others: offensive tackle Ryan Harris, tight end Stephen Alexander and defensive tackles Amon Gordon and Sam Adams.
Both Gordon and Adams had practiced throughout the week, with Adams only missing Wednesday’s session, as has been the normal throughout the season. They were listed as the first-team tackles, with Alvin McKinley and Marcus Thomas shown as the backups. Should Thomas open the game on the field, it would mark the first NFL start for the rookie.
The moves also mean that running back Andre Hall and defensive end Tim Crowder will make their NFL debuts, while wide receiver Glenn Martinez — promoted to the 53-man roster on Saturday from the practice squad — will make his Broncos debut.
Broncos-Colts: Early Pregame Notes
September 30th, 2007 - 12:24pm by AndrewOther posts by Andrew
It’s a glorious afternoon in Indianapolis, and on a day like this next year, we’ll be able to peel back the roof at Lucas Oil Stadium and play this thing under God’s warming sunshine and blue skies. Instead, we’re under the white roof in the RCA Dome, where the air-conditioning makes this place feel more like McMurdo Station than a football stadium.
We’re waiting on the inactives, which should be coming within the next 60 minutes. For now, I’ll turn this thing over to you guys. I’ll have more questions and answers in the entries to come — and of course, the Tuesday question-and-answer session will bring some extensive responses to many queries. (Click here to send a question if you don’t want to post it below and get in on the mayhem.)
For now, a quick game-day Q&A:
From vegasbronco:
I have a question about yesterday’s roster moves. First of all, I am fired up about Cargile getting called up. I don’t know what it is, but the little bit we saw of him in the preseason, he seems to have that special something the best safeties have. Keeping my fingers crossed … Can you give us some insight into why Brian Clark was waived? From the limited preseason I was able to watch, he seemed to be the most consistently hard worker on the field, and everything we read and heard said he was impressing everyone on the field. Hixon has been underwhelming up until now, so does the Clark move come as a surprise to you? Thanks.
Agreed on Cargile … he’s also a valuable special-teamer, as he proved late last season, and with the Broncos’ kickoff-coverage units struggling so far this season, I expect he could provide a boost.
As for Clark … maybe this is one of those moves where they had to release a guy in order to make room for another on the roster. In this case, the key move would be the promotion of Glenn Martinez from the practice squad; I would be surprised if they promoted Martinez just to sit him among the eight game-day inactive players, e.g. the Weeks 1 and 2 signings of Chad Mustard. Martinez has kick-return experience from the Lions; maybe he gets a look today?
From BroncoFan1018:
Hey Andrew, do you know if the rumour by Adam Schefter of NFL Network is true about Javon being ruled out for the game tomorrow? Or is it still a game-time decision?
It looks to still be a game-time decision … upon which we’re waiting as we speak.
From our good friend and Man United supporter mikebirty:
It’d be tough to find a sports fan that hasn’t had a nightmare about missing a match despite trying to their hardest to get there. Last time I had that dream, I ended up trying to scale a ladder made of flubber.I think during my twenty-plus years of season ticket holding at Manchester United, every time I missed kick off — they lost. And if that isn’t enough to get you in early I don’t know what is.
P.S. Elano looked good yesterday. Could be bargain of the year.
The thing is, I’m paranoid about certain things … like tickets. When I was 12 years old, my dad and I left our Buccaneers tickets for a Week 3 game with the Phoenix Cardinals on the counter at home. We drove home, walked into the house past my stupefied mother, picked up the tickets and zipped back to Tampa Stadium. Never had I seen my father drive so fast before or since. Fortunately, when we walked into the stadium late, it was still 0-0. The Bucs lost, but we didn’t attribute that to our tardiness; they lost no matter what happened in those days.
As for Elano, I was initially skeptical about him, but from what limited clips I finally managed to see this morning, I’m learning not to doubt Sven’s scouting work. Just like he did with those Italian sides, he’s making the most of the transfer market … even with the pickups that are head-scratchers at the time. Seems like there’s a new blue hero every match. I’d become so used to a desultory brand of soccer that I simply can’t believe what I’m watching with City right now. This is a pretty magical start to the season and I’m enjoying every second of it.
A nickname suggestion from ocrush4ever:
A nickname such as ‘Andrew Missin’?
That is the choice of both you and Kyle Sonneman, fellow Web guru here in Broncoland. It’s the leader in the clubhouse unless anyone else has any suggestions.
From Broncosmontana:
That begs a question though — have any “players” ever missed the plane/bus out of town and have to come up with their own spur-of-the-moment travel plans?
There have — not recently, but in the days when players could make their own travel arrangements to the airport, it did happen — but I’m not going to out those guys in a public forum.
From TheSportsGuru:
You know, if the Broncos win tomorrow, you’ll have to miss a flight every week!!!
If that happens, I simply hope they’ll merely ask me to get my Quarter Pounder with Cheese, fries and a diet Coke at McDonald’s.
I’m lovin’ it … and I’m lovin’ the fact that game time is drawing closer. Back with more later; until then, vaya con Dios.
When You Think You’re Right … and You’re So Very Wrong
September 29th, 2007 - 2:25pm by AndrewOther posts by Andrew
Looking back, all the signs were in place. Heeding one of them could have made my day drastically different.
As I got through a fitful five hours of slumber this morning, I dreamt about a road trip for which Lucifer was the travel agent. My car broke down en route to the facility; I missed the plane; I couldn’t book a flight to make it to the game on time unless I was willing to connect in Caracas; I rented a car to drive 18 hours to the game — I’m not sure where it was — and it broke down in some unidentifiable stretch of prairie; I walked to the nearest town 17 miles away to watch the game, but found all the televisions tuned to a Canadian Football League game between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and the British Columbia Lions. Instead of watching Jay Cutler and Daniel Graham, I had Jarious Jackson and Matt Dominguez. I shrugged at the futility of it all, walked into a convenience store and asked for a Mountain Dew, only to find out they solely stocked Mountain Lightning, the Wal-Mart equivalent.
Then I awoke. The alarm clock read, “8:15.” Perfect. Beelzebub’s itinerary is quickly forgotten, replaced by a trip to the laptop to check out the result of Manchester City’s early-morning match with Newcastle United. News of the 3-1 win brings a smile, but I quickly leave it behind as I scurry about my home office, noting items on the checklist … computer … radio … audio recorder … credential … extra pair of underwear. I manage to send a couple of graphics to a fellow Web maven and work on an e-mail newsletter for about 25 minutes. Everything’s in order. I’m still on schedule, right?
By 9:30, I am ready to depart. I need to be at the facility at 10:15 a.m., and I’ve given myself a nice cushion to run an errand and waltz into the facility in time for check-in. My doctor girlfriend, hip-deep in notecards as she crams for her board-certification exam, looks up and says, “Nice outfit; I like the shoes.” They are black Skechers, soothingly comfortable footwear that is nonetheless too casual to be worn on the team plane. I inform her that I will have to change into my dress shoes after arriving at team headquarters. The conversation takes five minutes. I think little of the time consumed before turning for the door, but I’m on time, right?
At 9:42 the phone rings. I tend not to answer my phone when I’m driving in heavy traffic unless the same person calls two or three times, which in my family’s cell-phone ethos represents a dire emergency. So I let it ring without knowing who it was, and moments later I find that they did not leave a message. So it couldn’t have been that important, right?
It was a fellow member of the traveling party. Perhaps he was wondering where I was. But what does it matter, since I’ll still make it in time, right?
By 10 a.m., I’m on Arapahoe Road. BBC World Service is spitting soccer scores from England into my ears. I don’t have to be at the facility until 10:15, so I pull into the convenience store for a caffeinated beverage and a newspaper. An apologetic attendant fumbles with the cash register as he attempts to feed receipt ribbon into it. It takes about three minutes, but I think little of it; just two and a half minutes of drive separate me from the facility, so I’ll still be there in a timely fashion, right?
A few taps of the brake and mashes of the accelerator later, I arrive at the facility.
Gracious, there’s a lot of cars here.
But I think little of it. The trip is more crowded than usual, or so I’ve heard. More corporate guests, I reckon. I spend four minutes fishing through my back seat for a pair of shoes, then check my bags to make sure I have everything. It’s 10:10 when I begin doing this, which is no problem, since I’m on time, right?
I walk into the lobby in which the trophies reside. It’s empty. It usually is on a weekend morning — even as a road trip beckons. I walk through the building and my phone rings. Not driving, I answer it.
“Where are you?”
“I’m in the building, why?”
“We’re leaving.”
Instantly, my mind races, but my pace does not quicken.
Why are they leaving early?
The answer is clear.
Because you’re a dumbass, right?
Yes, I have somehow managed to confuse the start of the check-in with the closing. The mental engine, operating a few pistons shy of a V-6, had read the travel itinerary wrong. It is suggested over the phone that I call the team’s travel agent to make another arrangement.
No way. You screwed up; you fix this yourself, right?
Right.
I wasn’t going to compound the error by attempting to catch up with the bus along the road or otherwise engage in some idiotic show of desperation that would only make this day all the more frustrating. I turned, walked back inside the headquarters building, turned on the laptop and made a reservation for a one-way ticket to Indianapolis.
Which is how I find myself sitting in Terminal A at Denver International Airport, waiting for a flight which leaves at 3 p.m. MDT.
The fact that I am here shows that not much of the nightmare has come to pass. I wasn’t sent through Caracas; the flight is a straight shot. I didn’t have to rent a car; I called a cab, and even picked the right way to go, opting for the Parker Road/I-225 route that shaved about $12 off the fare which was still a bulbous $75, including tip. I made my seat choice while booking the flight on-line, so if it’s overbooked, I hopefully won’t be the one left helpless at the airline counter while everyone else giddily boards.
Oh, and I was able to eat at McDonald’s.
There was a time when I dined at the Golden Arch restaurant here at Denver International Airport on bi-weekly basis. We used to walk through the terminal to reach our waiting plane, which meant going through the security screening at the airport, riding on the subterranean trains and all the usual hulabaloo that accompanies airline travel in the 21st Century.
Not to put too much on McDonald’s, but when the Broncos last won at Indianapolis, I was able to indulge with my usual order — quarter pounder with cheese, fries and a diet Coke. (Two weeks later, looking for something healthier and with a smaller queue, I opted for the nearby French café — and the Broncos lost 41-10.)
In 2005, when the Broncos went 13-3, I was able to partake of McDonald’s on every road trip. Last year, the team moved its security screening to the facility — meaning no burgers and fries before takeoff — and finished out of the playoffs.
So, if there’s a gleam, as Marty Schottenheimer might say, it’s in the return of an old friend that was largely good luck for the season at hand.
So maybe it wasn’t a complete foul-up. It was, in computer-programmer’s parlance, “a recoverable error,” and the only harm was done to myself — and specifically, my wallet, which by day’s end will be approximately $325 lighter for the experience — air fare, cab fare in Denver and Indianapolis and the afore-mentioned junk food.
Of course, I will never live this down. Knowing Kyle Sonneman, he’s probably got a wise-assed nickname already concocted. If he doesn’t, then Steve Harbula — a.k.a. “admin” from the message board — almost certainly does.
Now, everything seems settled. I’ll soon step onto the plane, where I can find my window seat and take a nap. All that bothers me now is a terrific headache. Perhaps my girlfriend’s prediction that I would give myself a stroke wasn’t too far off.
I seem to have been taking a lot of pain relievers for headaches lately.
Maybe I need to get my head examined, right?
Hamilton Out for Year; Lynch, Walker Limited at Practice
September 28th, 2007 - 2:12pm by AndrewOther posts by Andrew
The answer on Ben Hamilton came Friday … and although it was necessary, it was one neither the guard nor the Broncos wanted — placement on the injured reserve list, summarily ending the starting left guard’s season without as much as a preseason snap.
“I just felt if it was my son, and he was Ben, there’s no way I’d want him to play with what he’s going through,” Head Coach Mike Shanahan said following Friday afternoon’s practice. “Even though Ben didn’t really want to go on I.R. — because he was hoping any week the symptoms would clear up — it would still take him a month to get back in football shape, and I think that he was putting undue pressure on himself to get back too quickly.”
The decision came after a conversation Shanahan had with Hamilton and his wife regarding his situation, which had not improved in the weeks since he suffered the concussion during training camp.
“After talking to both of them for a while, we came to the conclusion that Ben is going to go on IR this season. We thought it was in Ben’s best interest.
“He’s been struggling for the last six or seven weeks and there’s a big question mark if he’d be ready for the remainder of the season. We felt it was not in his best interest to try to come back.”
Shanahan said that he didn’t expect to see Hamilton much at Broncos headquarters over the coming months, mainly because his problems don’t require medical treatment, just rest.
“I just think he needs a little time away for the symptoms to clear up a little bit,” Shanahan said. “Most people when they go on I.R., usually they don’t hang around the facility very much.
“We think it’s in his best interest to stay away and get better.”
Shanahan added that he expects Hamilton to return at “full speed” in 2008.
In other injury news, both John Lynch and Javon Walker were at practice Friday, but their participation was limited. Both are listed as questionable for Sunday’s game at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, as is tight end Stephen Alexander.
Walker Update; Mike Bell Out for Sunday
September 27th, 2007 - 4:10pm by AndrewOther posts by Andrew
On a balmy 72-degree Thursday afternoon at Dove Valley, Javon Walker was dressed for temperatures at least 20 degrees cooler, walking about the practice field in sweats as he sat out for a second consecutive day.
But Walker emphasized that his two-day absence from the practice field — which came about because of inflammation in his right knee — was precautionary in nature.
“It’s nothing to be concerned about,” he said. “It’s not the ACL. It’s nothing that got repaired. This is just something that is football.”
Walker underwent an MRI examination earlier this week which revealed the knee inflammation.
Head Coach Mike Shanahan said that both Walker and safety John Lynch will give it a go at Friday afternoon’s session, and that would help determine whether they play in spite of their injuries.
“They’ll both try to practice (Friday) and we’ll evaluate them at that time,” he said. “I would guess even after (Friday) it will be a game-time decision. We’ll see how much they recover over the next couple of days.”
Lynch said he has improved throughout the week, and doesn’t feel like sitting out the last two days will leave him at a disadvantage.
“Practice is always big, but if I don’t practice, I spend extra time preparing mentally,” he said. “I’ve done it many times in my career, and I’ve had some of my best games doing it.”
In other injury news, the Broncos ruled fullback/running back Mike Bell out for Sunday’s game. He did not practice on Wednesday or Thursday because of the lingering effects from a concussion. Bell joins guard Ben Hamilton and safety Hamza Abdullah as players ruled out for Sunday.
Defensive tackle Sam Adams, who did not practice Wednesday, had the words “not listed” shown by his name on the Broncos’ injury report and went through the full practice Thursday, as he has for each of the Thursday sessions in the regular season.
