It’s just about time to conclude a typically busy game day, but before we go sleep this one off, a smidgen of notes …
… Rod Smith said Thursday that he didn’t want records, he wanted wins. His desires didn’t come true, as the Broncos lost, but it’s nevertheless worth noting that he caught three passes Sunday to become the first undrafted player to ever make it to 800 receptions.
He’s on pace to achieve even more than that soon. Smith is just 160 yards away from the franchise’s combined yardage record (receiving, rushing, returns), poised to break a standard that Floyd Little established when he amassed 12,173 yards from 1967-75. Smith has held the team’s yards-from-scrimmage record since 2003, surpassing the previous high established by Terrell Davis from 1995-2002. (That nugget comes to us courtesy of Patrick Smyth in media relations — a man also burning the overnight oil here at Dove Valley.) …
… Head Coach Mike Shanahan was asked at his postgame press conference (watch video) about whether there’d be people calling for a switch at quarterback from Jake Plummer to Jay Cutler after Plummer threw three interceptions Sunday.
“I’m sure they will. It’s the nature of the profession,” Shanahan said. “If you can’t take it, you won’t last very long. We have people calling for a new head coach; if you can’t take that, you won’t be in this business very long.”
Plummer’s response to a nearly identical question was similarly philosophical.
“I’m sure they will,” Plummer said. “They’ve been calling for him since he got drafted. Three interceptions, I’m sure they’re going to want him to start. They don’t make the calls. Mike Shanahan makes the calls.”
Added John Lynch: “Denver’s always been a tough place to play quarterback. We love Jake and he’s a fighter. He fought out there today… Everyone has to rally around him and everyone’s got to take a good look at themselves and come out and play better next week.”
A few other notes:
- Paul Ernster hit two of his three kickoffs to the end zone, averaging 70.3 yards per kick. He notched a net average of 37.5 yards on four punts with a gross average of 42.5 yards.
- Jake Plummer’s passer rating of 26.3 was his lowest for a single game since a 21.7 mark during his Broncos debut, a 30-10 win over Cincinnati three years ago. Back then, Plummer promptly rebounded with three games in which his rating was over 116 each time (129.5, 128.5, 116.9). All were wins. “I have to make better decisions,” Plummer said of his performance Sunday. “It’s Game 1. If we play like this for the next three or four weeks, then we have issues, but I truly believe we will bounce back and be just fine next week.”
- Gerard Warren was credited with five total tackles Sunday, matching his output in the AFC Championship (two solo stops, three assists that day).
- A sign you’ve been up too long: NFL Network’s 90-minute postgame wrap-up show, NFL GameDay, is beginning its fourth airing as I write this entry. Rich Eisen broke out the bad Chicago accent to say “Bernard Berrian,” and having heard this show so many times as I work, I can now hear this Saturday Night Live-style impression of an exaggerated Chicago accent — which I have only heard once in my life from an actual Chicagoan, I might add — in my subconscious. Time to go.
Shanahan’s press conference is at 1:30 p.m. MDT, and we’ll have video from it and from the Broncos’ locker room later today.
Good night from Dove Valley.
Post comments below, or send an e-mail to Andrew by clicking here or here.
Tags: St. Louis
Tough one to swallow. I’d be curious to to know your take, or if you could ask the question and get someone’s take on the Training camp/pre-season regimen that Shanahan enlists, and if that could be a cause for the slow starts two years in a row.
We know he give the vets off 1 of the two practices during training camp, and his starters play very little in the pre-season, and more importantly, not at all the 4th game. They didn’t look very good against the Texans, then sat out the game in Arizona.
Several of the top-tier teams had similar struggles(Seattle) while a team like Pittsburgh, who’se backup QB got most of the reps, then was forced into action, plpayed very well.
I don’t know, just a theory, but one worth investigating I think….
TSG
http://www.milehighreport.com
You Probably want my opinion.
Cut Plummer.
Get Van Pelt back to backup Cutler.
Why?????????????????
Because both Cutler and Van Pelt have something that Plummer lacks.
ATTITUDE
Well, the Broncos have had the same kind of regimen for training camp the last several years, and until these last two seasons had won four season openers in a row — including two against defending conference champions and another against a Chiefs team coming off a 13-3 season, so I’m not sure there’s any connection between preseason playing time and Week 1 results. LaDainian Tomlinson looked pretty good Monday night and he didn’t play at all in the preseason, so while it’s an intriguing theory, there’s probably no connection. But the weeks to come will determine the true result of whether the team’s preseason plan was a success or not.
Granted, but Plummer saw alot more action early in his tenure becuase he was new in the system. I guess my point was more angled at Plummer and his receivers. I think the QB/WR/TE conenction is highly reliant on timing.
Defensively, the results don’t lie, and those guys were ready, but Jake seems to be a guy that needs a lot of reps to be sharp.
Appreciate the response! And L.T. did look pretty sweet!
Hey Andrew:
Thanks for noting Rod’s feat of reaching 800 receptions. And true, it’s the ‘win’ he’s about vs. his personal stats.
As usual, no televised Bronco game SUnday in Arkansas. But I was able to catch the game live at a friend’s that has the NFL ticket. (So I didn’t get to follow your game blog)
Thx for keeping us updated!