‘Joe’ Haggan
Mario Haggan may have bounced around the Broncos defensive formation in 2010, but his impact remained constant.
After a career season, the eighth-year linebacker has earned a spot on USA Today’s 19th-annual All-Joe team, a group of 53 players who have never earned a Pro Bowl selection but deserve recognition for their unsung contributions.
Lloyd Named All-Pro
Brandon Lloyd can add All-Pro recognition to his growing list of 2010 accomplishments.
The wide receiver, already in Hawaii for his first Pro Bowl after a career season, has been named a second-team All-Pro by the Associated Press.
Vote for Lloyd
After a season in which he became the first Bronco to lead the league in receiving yards and earned his first Pro Bowl selection, Brandon Lloyd has a chance to add to his list of accolades — with help from fans.
The wide receiver is one of five finalists for the fourth-annual Vizio Top Value Performer award. Fans can vote for Lloyd through midnight on Sunday.
Lloyd enjoyed a breakout season in 2010, finishing with 77 catches for 1,448 yards and 11 touchdowns. He also led the NFL by averaging 18.8 yards per catch. Those totals were all career single-season bests for the eight-year veteran.
Learning Curve
As Tim Tebow continues to grow from his first few games as an NFL starting quarterback, Offensive Coordinator Mike McCoy said he’s learning right along with the rookie.
McCoy, who assumed playcalling duties three games ago, said he and the offensive staff have appreciated the chance to pick up added responsibility down the stretch this season.
“It’s a great opportunity to learn because there’s something that comes up every week,” McCoy said. “You’re never going to call a perfect game. There’s always going to be something that you want to call, or you want back that you called, and you learn from it.”
Making a Stand
In their last two fourth quarters coming into Sunday’s game against Houston, the Broncos had been outscored 40-13. Denver reversed that trend in a 24-23 win by coming up with the contest’s final 14 points to complete the comeback.
A day later, Interim Head Coach Eric Studesville pointed to his defense’s ability to get off the field with key third-down stops as one of the big factors in helping to complete the come-from-behind win.
Houston went just 1-for-8 on third-down conversion attempts in the game with quarterback Matt Schaub tossing an incompletion on the Texans’ only fourth-quarter attempt. That play forced the punt that led to Tim Tebow’s go-ahead touchdown run.
‘A Tremendous Relief’
A pair of knee injuries have forced Brian Dawkins to miss a total of five games in his 15th NFL season.
That meant five Sundays of watching as the Broncos took the field without him. Adding to that frustration, his team lost all five of those games.
Dawkins, who missed all three games on the team’s recently completed road trip, hopes to return to the field on Sunday against Houston at INVESCO Field at Mile High. The veteran safety wants to help his team complete a strong finish to an otherwise disappointing season.
“Sitting back and watching my guys out there going through what they’re going through and not being in it with them, it is a tough, tough pill to swallow,” Dawkins said. “So, being out there with them again is a relief for me — a tremendous relief.”
Tebow to Start
Tim Tebow will start at quarterback on Sunday against Houston at INVESCO Field at Mile High, Interim Head Coach Eric Studesville said in a Monday press conference.
Tebow made his first career start in Sunday’s 39-23 loss in Oakland, finishing 8-of-16 passing for 138 yards and a touchdown. The 2010 first-round pick’s 100.5 passer rating marked the highest-ever for a Denver rookie quarterback in a starting debut.
He also added seven rushes for 78 yards, including a 40-yard first-quarter rushing touchdown.
The performance earned positive reviews from Studesville and Tebow’s teammates in the minutes after the loss. With Kyle Orton still rehabbing a rib injury, Studesville said a day later that Tebow earned the chance to make his first home start.
Opportunity Under Center
For most of his rookie season, Tim Tebow has had to rely on mental reps during the practice week with Kyle Orton taking a majority of the real snaps with the first-team offense.
That changed Wednesday with Orton limited in practice by injured ribs. Interim Head Coach Eric Studesville said Tebow took the majority of the first-team reps as he and Brady Quinn helped get the offense ready for Sunday’s game in Oakland.
“I think just getting more opportunities out there — more reps — that’s a lot of fun for me,” Tebow said. “That’s a chance to really work and improve and learn this offense even more. If I get an opportunity on Sunday, that’ll be exciting as well.”
Still the Starter
On Monday, Interim Head Coach Eric Studesville said Kyle Orton will start Sunday in Oakland.
Studesville went on to say that he and the coaching staff would continue to examine a variety of factors to decide which mix of players across the roster will give his team the best chance to beat the Raiders.
“We’re going to look at everything today,” Studesville said. “We have two days to gameplan and look and talk as an organization about what we want to do. If that’s the direction that we decide to go and we feel is best for us, then we’ll make that decision. Right now, we still have to look at everything and get ready and go from there.”
Broncos at Cardinals: Second Half Blog*INJURY UPDATE* Kyle McCarthy is out for the second half with a knee injury. Kevin Alexander, whose return from an ankle injury had been questionable, is now out.
Q3 15:00: LaRod Stephens-Howling returned the second half’s opening kickoff out to the Arizona 23-yard line. On the first play of the new half, John Skelton hit Larry Fitzgerald for a 12-yard gain. Tim Hightower gained 9 yards on his first-down carry. He picked up a yard and a first down with a second-down carry.
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