Still Atop the AFC West
The Broncos didn’t want to head into the bye week on a losing note but at 4-3 and still first place in the AFC West the Broncos know they are still in a pretty good position heading into the second half of the season.
Michael Pittman likes where his team is right now but said he knows they are capable of playing at a higher level.
“Right now we are 4-3 and I think that is a pretty good record right now in the NFL because everybody is good in this league,” he said. “We are at the top of our division right now but we have to play better.”
“We just need to do what is needed to win these football games and eliminate these mistakes that we are making on both sides of the ball,” he continued. “We are going to keep battling as a team and as a unit because we believe in one another. Early in the year we were scoring a lot of points and the defense was doing a good job stopping people. We know we can go out there and do a lot of good things, we just have to go out there and do it.”
Stepping Up to an Opportunity
With news of injuries, Champ Bailey out 4-6 weeks and Boss Bailey possibly done for the year, Broncos players know that they will need to step up their play in their absence.
Elvis Dumervil said losing Champ and Boss is a blow to the Broncos defense but not one that they can’t overcome.
“It is tough,” he said. “Anytime you lose a shutdown corner like that it is huge. He is tough in the run game he is a good tackler. As far as covering the pass defense when you take a guy like Champ out of the game the ball can come out a lot quicker. We just have to step their game up and try and compensate for a guy like Champ.”
Jack Williams knows he will have some big shoes to fill as the replaces Champ Bailey for the next few weeks, but it is a challenge and opportunity that he is looking forward to.
“Nobody can be Champ,” he said. “I am going to be Jack Williams. Whether that is going out there and making plays or not letting plays happen. Whatever my role is that is what I have to do – that is what I will do.”
Moss Hopes to Contribute Even More
Jarvis Moss looks forward to an increased role in the defense, whether that may be as a defensive lineman or due to the injury to Boss Bailey more of a look at the linebacker position, even though he admits he hasn’t studied a lot of linebacker tape.
“I have been playing this game for a long time, since flag football, so anything that the coaches want to coach me up on I’m sure will come pretty quick and pretty natural,” he said. “Whatever my call – that is the type of guy that I am – whatever the coaching staff asks me to do is what I am going to do 110 percent. If that is playing linebacker that is what exactly I am going to do.”
Some Good News on the Injury Front
Even with the slew of bad news as far as injuries go on Wednesday, there was some good news amongst the bad.
Wide receiver Brandon Stokley said, barring an unforeseen setback, he feels he will be ready to play against Miami a week from Sunday.
“I feel a lot better, hopefully I will keep improving,” he said.
He said once he does some cardio later in the week he will know for sure just how ready he is.
With all the injuries the Broncos have faced as of late, Stokley said although it is an obstacle it is a good gauge to see exactly what the team is made of.
“We took some bumps and bruises last week, but that is life in the NFL,” he said. “Now other people need to step up and be ready to play.”
-Jake Grilley, DenverBroncos.com
Tags: Boss Bailey, Brandon Stokley, Champ Bailey, Defense, Elvis Dumervil, Jack Williams, Jake Grilley, Jarvis Moss, Michael Pittman
Blah Blah Blah This team stinks. They can’t get themselves up for one darned game. Fire SLOWik. He sucks. Like where the team is at are you out your mind Pittman. The D-line is horrible absolutley horrible the y couldn’t push over a paper wall. Bly is a BUM. He couldn’t cover a snail. There is no fire or emotion on this team this is scary that every week they get punched in the mouth and embarassed and what do they say oh well we just got to go back to the practice field and work on some things. How about working on getting pissed off that you guys are a bunch of chumps out there.
Emabarrasing as it was, I still love um. But I am disappointed.
Broncosfanatic4, my dear you are a far cry from fantastic.
We all know this team needs to work on things, like every part of their game but they do NOT suck. You’re not a very good supporter of this team if that’s what you think of them. The Chiefs suck, the Raiders suck… we DO NOT suck. We are a talented football team that has got more than enough things for them to work on for the bye week. And like shawn723, said with the limitation of turnovers and stopping the run drastically we can pull this off. I’ll tell you one thing, having the mind set like we can’t win another game for our lives does not help these guys. They know they are good but they also know they can be MUCH BETTER!!!
This season for us could be worse but I don’t think they’re going to let that happen. They have all the power to control their game, its up to them to make it happen - AS A TEAM!!! It’s all about teamwork, simple as that.
GO BRONCOS!!!
I love um also, I hope they can bounce back. It’s a shame that this team has so much talent but yet can’t seem to bring it all together on game day. I hope the coaches can bring everyone together again and get people fired up. Even though the defense is struggling somewhat, I still think the offense has the firepower to overcome those issues. When we won back to back superbowls, we had a pretty awful secondary. Ray Crockett, Darrien Gordon, and an aging Atwater allowed opposing teams to but up big numbers against us. The coaches combated this by controlling the time of possession so we could keep the other offense off the field. We know we can throw the ball, I think it is time that we work on running it again and become committed to the run. It will also relieve some of the pressure on Cutler so he won’t have the mentality that he has to win the game all by himself. We have an amazing O line and three bad ass half backs, lets put these guys to work.
Boss out is key but hes always hurt time to let Woodyard show how good he is. Champ out will hurt us bad but if we can stop the run and stop fumbling we can do this. and if the pass rush gets good too we can do this.. and bring up barrett now plz.. just have to believe guys all yall gotta do is have some faith in this team. we’ll see what there made of week 9..
07 elway i agree. just have to play as a TEAM. this is a team game play with your best 11 players on the field.. i have a feeling we will get this funk stragihtened out. i wanna see shanny start running like the godo ol days. we’ll see guys………
Turn overs are at least half the problem. Hopefully they can be eliminated and take some of the burden off the defense. Maybe some blitzing can help during Champ’s down time.
Mr. Broncosfanatic4,
I live in San Diego and well you sound like a “wishy washy charger fan” rather than a Broncos fan. One week they love em, the next they don’t. I see it day in and day out. You need to think about the things you say before you label yourself “anything fanatic”. You are nothing short of a pathetic excuse for a broncos fan. Do yourself some good, take some time to evaluate your passion and dedication to the DENVER BRONCOS…. as of right now you far short of true fan.
WE, are broncos fans. We stand strong and true to our team through thick and thin.
This team WILL bounce back. One thing I have learned about true Broncos fans and other fans throughout the NFL, living in a few different.
WE STAND, WE FIGHT, WE ARE LOUD AND PROUD. WIN OR LOSE. If you want to be a “nay sayer” or “bandwagon” fan. Its best you find a different team.
We will bounce back. Shanny will get it going again.
My fellow ASU sun devil Ryan Torain will contribute to the run attack and our defense will sync up. I agree with r8r h8rdude…. BRING BACK THE RUN GAME!
It’s official, we signed WR Chad Jackson.
yes, bring back the run game and for the love of pete STOP TURNING THE BALL OVER. turnovers are the reason we have 3 losses. that in combination with a better pass rush would fix a lot of things. get to work.
Actions speak louder than words. These players that say it’s time for them to step up, I want to see it. As for those that are saying the season is over because of 1 player, your kidding yourselves. This is a team sport and they all need to contribute. Stop the turnovers and play better D….oh and stop the stupid penalties. Other than that we are good and on our way to win the West
I continue to say it…. sign Lynch and to think that we got rid of Foxworthy b/c we had surplus. Come to think of it we got rid of Colbert b/c we had depth at wide receiver, he is not as bad as Martinez as a wide receiver. Lesson to be learned….. depth is a blessing not to be played with.
I can’t believe what I am hearing on all the blogs. Everyone wants to bring Lynch back. Everyone wants to bring Abdulah back. Come on guys. This is rediculous. Lynch is not a better option. Are we forgetting the overwhelming response by these same fans to get rid of Lynch. He just isn’t as good in his old age. Let it go. It wouldn’t help us.
This team needs to start thinking about long term scenarios on defense. We can’t afford to keep changing our defensive coordinator. We can’t keep swapping players back and forth. We need a plan, and it doesn’t appear that we have one. We bounce back and forth between a 3-4 and 4-3. One week we rush 3 the entire game, then next 4, the next we blitz. We need an identity. Do you remember the New Orleans game? We rushed 3 virtually the entire game and gave Brees all day to throw. Sadly, the coaching staff didn’t adjust. We did this in other games as well.
Look at the games so far. Other than the New England game, our defense has done a good job in the first half. We have done a good job at limiting offenses early. The problem we have is 2nd half adjustments. We shut down San Diego most of the 1st half. We did the same to most of our opponents. So why do we suck so bad in the 2nd half? It has to be a lack of adjustments. We are being out coached. This isn’t Shanny’s fault alone. The whole staff is to blame. In most of our games, the offense and defense have been good in the 1st half and bad in the 2nd. We aren’t changing it up. We’re predictable. Sure, playing conservative defense and rushing 3 works occassionally, but you still have to change it up and blitz more. At least the last 2 weeks we have done that. That is the one positive. For the first time, we aren’t just sitting back and letting teams slowly drive the field on us.
It isn’t just the coaching staff. Players are missing tackles, missing assignments, and plain sucking it up. This has gone on for too long. Stop with the excuses. If someone is messing up in a game, get him out. We need stability, so the quicker we decide that these things are unacceptable, the quicker we will have a defense that can be consistent. If we are going to trade, then lets trade. Like I said before, we need to think of long term goals for this defense. We aren’t going to win the superbowl this year guys. We just need to improve. The offense has done that despite the poor showings recently. Injuries have a lot to do with that. We need long term options. It is time to decide on a plan and stick to it. We have plenty of 09 picks, so why don’t we use some to get proven players on the defensive line and possibly at safety. Our corners are good enough and so are the line backers. We just need guys in there that do their job.
The injuries are going to hurt us and set us bacc alot. the injury to champ in my opinon is the worst are defense already is not performing up to potential and now with champ out thats going to open the other side of the field for opposing offensives cause when champ was there nobody was throwing to his side. im kind of disgusted of some of the blogs thinking that firing slovik is going to correct are defense all of a sudden, thats been are problem going through to many d-corrdinators over the past couple years things are getting changed up every year where i think if we stayed with one we might have a shot to improve. the talent on the D is there were just not doing a good job of executing, missed tackles, blown coverages among the things. Offensive has to get bacc on tracc even though the past 2 weeks cutler hasent had some of his weapons which caused him to force to marshall. Cutler is a GREAT Qb but he needs to learn to take what the D gives him not trying to score every drive on one play with a bomb. overall im optimistic about this team i see the good but i see alot of things we need to work on. hopefully dnver going to turn it around. STILL 1ST IN THE WEST !
Adam Scheffter is reporting that the Patriots will possibly bring back John Lynch because of Rodney Harrisons season ending injury. My question is, if Belicheck thinks Lynch is good enough then why don’t we? I’m not saying I think we should sign Lynch, but it sure is interesting to think about. I disagree with benching McCree for Lowery. Thats just dumb! The bottom line is the front 4 aint getting it done; We only have 1 or 2 good LBs; and our secondary is . . . . . . . . . . well. . . . . . . . . not good. The ONLY chance we have to win is by pressuring the QB. Mr. Slowik, you have your work cut out for you.
Broncosfanatic4, is just that specifically. A Bronco’s Fanatic for exactly 4 SECONDS!!!!!
I hate that after a loss like this all the so called “fans” come out of their butt holes and add their 2 cents they collected with the 2 brain cells they have to rub together! I’m not going to tear into him though, my girlfriend 07elway has already done that for me!
I have to say that at first I was unimpressed with Slowik, but our D has gotten progressively better each week, and are working out the kinks they had. They will continue to progress, and as I said before we need consistency at it needs to start with our D cordinator! We haven’t given any of them recently a fair shake to finish what they started. Let him keep going and we will keep getting better!
DON’T JUMP SHIP PEOPLE JUST BECAUSE CHAMP IS DOWN! If the damn Pats can go 3-2 then 4-2 against our terrible performance without Brady, I AM SURE WE CAN GO THAT SAME AMMOUNT OF GAMES WITHOUT CHAMP! What we need to do to help the loss of champ is DO A BETTER JOB OF DISGUISING OUR DEFENSE!
Lynch would be an interesting addition despite what you said rustycletis! He is an on the field vocal leader that will get in your face after a misque and that’s what we need right now. I think bringing him back as a safeties coach would be good! And I love the idea of Al Wilson as a LB’s coach, he was the best at maintaining his gap, that’s where we are giving up the big plays, the cut back because someone didn’t hold that gap down!
Keep working out the kinks guys, HOLD ONTO THE BALL, and keep the faith fans!
i agree broncos fanatic.
well i sure as hell hope we are optimistic because the only way to go is up.
it would be kinda hard to get worse.
This will be a shocker… my shortest comment EVER!!
2champ4pickSIX, you’re hilarious. I got a good laugh
But giving him credit for 4 seconds, I think is giving him/her too much credit. By his comment alone, he/she was never a Bronco fan
GO BRONCOS!!
Every team is gonna get the crap beat out of them every once in a while thats just how it is in the NFL. The Broncos dont look to good right now but Im sure they will get better as the season goes on the rest of the schedule is pretty cherry the rest of the season. They show signs of being a really good team and they will finish out the season strong I have no doubt.
Go Broncos!!!!!!
we will be ok i am sure Jack Williams will fill CHAMPS shoeS he had an awesome pre season and who ever said we suck is not a true fan true fans pull for their team when times are good and times are bad remenber the 3 super bowl losses with ELWAY WE STAYED WITH EM AND WE EVENTUALLY GOT OUR RING so got get em BRONCOS i m will yeah ALL READY
If we weren’t done after the NE game.. losing Champ is the final nail in the coffin.. Start looking forward to next year.. if you haven’t already **sigh**
words of a wise man, samoanbronco.
My fellow Broncos fans (and I use that term loosely for that Broncos “fanatic” loser who posted first), I think that our friend and Bronco alum Tom Jackson surmised it best on Monday when he said that turnovers are the one issue that cripples this team more than anything else. We survived close calls against San Diego and New Orleans primarily because we were careful with the football. When this offense doesn’t turn the ball over and is at full strength, it’s already proven to be more potent than any unit in the league. Of course, there will probably be shootouts we have to win but the defense can make improvements. I think Woodyard and Williams can do a good job in the lineup. Let’s see what happens. Give them a shot Shanny!
Ryan Torain will change this team I think… He’ll be a breathe of fresh air to our running game because Pittman can’t run all by himself and Hall can’t hold on to the football. Torain is a big play RB and he gives me hope… And should give all of you guys hope too.
Not having Champ for a month or so will hurt, but he will be back!!! This is still a playoff team I believe because of our offense, they will come out of the bye firing on all cylinders.
The fact you guys are already counting out this team is just plain stupid, the season isnt even half over.
GO BRONCOS!!!
Broncosfanatic4…YOURE the bum!! you dont even know what it is to be a fan…i bet your parents beat you with an extension cord and youre just pissed…haha…go cry somewhere else…this place is for legit fans! GO BRONCS!!!
C2 — putting pressure on the QB only helps if they are throwing the ball. We can’t overlooked the run just to put pressure on the QB. We put pressure on Cassel all night on Monday (Six sacks is unbelievable!) and they still killed us. The only way to win games is to put up points.
Broncosfanatic4 must not have been a fan in the ’80’s - have some heart, dude, its only week 8. Seriously though, is it time to start rethinking our strategy of having a small, fast defensive line? They don’t look so fast when opposing running backs are breaking tackles and running right past them. Why the hell don’t we get Lynch back?!?!? Does he cost too much, has he burned his Bronco bridges, or is he just finished playing football? We could probably improve our defensive statistics by simply sitting Lynch on a lawn chair in the backfield.
Urgh.. im tryn to stay optimistic about the whole thing. buh its hard. so much stuff is goin wrong. wen i tell u this its no lie Jay Cutler is my favorite football player second only to John elway of course. buh he didnt even look like his normal self. the whole game was sloppy! it was terrible. And not only tht but our defense is terrible as it is and come to find out both baileys are out! This sucks so bad! the only good news for me right now is tht i just ordered some pizza, stokley nd schefflier are comin back to the offense, nd the broncs are thinkin bout puttin jarvis moss at linebacker because of baileys injury. i mean seriously how awesome would moss’ big ass be as a lb. nd he’s quick i think the lb position if he learns it could fit him nicely. buh wit all tht said wuh the hell are we gonna do on defense. champs out! Bly was the worse acquisition ever! hes terrible. Marquand Manual sucks, nd if they puh jack williams in one more time im gonna puke! he is the worse excuse for a db ive ever seen. hopefully our secondary magically gets better over this next week or were gonna be in deep trouble. cuh the chargers make suck just as bad buh remember they still have lt. nd there only a game behind us now. o and another thing FIRE SLOWIK !! wuh is he doin. i love our team buh im sick of all these scrubs playin in our secondary lettin every worthless excuse of a wr run a muck on us. Our d-line has looked better than evr yet our secondary sucks butt!! get it together D. Nd cut Andre hall he fumbles more than he carries the ball i cant stand it. Hopefully well have some fire power wen stokley nd scheffler return, cuh pittman is gonna cause quite the diversion for some defenses. Im still optimistic bout the playoffs! But u can thnk Jay Cutler nd Shanahan the great for that. otherwise id be a lil scared right now. Lets get it done the rest of the way. GO BRONCS
Does anyone agree that our defense needs an identity? We need stable reliable players and more leadership. We have talent at positions, but it isn’t working. We need a proven defensive tackle or 2. Dumerville and Ekuban are fine, but we are pathetic inside. All I know is we need to make changes that are well thought out, and not just panic moves. Firing the coach isn’t the solution. I like the Slowik has finally started sending pressure. It is about time. Hopefully that will continue. If we learn to stay in our gaps, we have a decent chance of being OK on defense. That being said, the D has a lot of work to do. Please Shanny, don’t fire Slowik at the end of the year. It is just as much your responsibilty to make sure the personel is performing and suited for the system. Use our 09 picks and get a proven player at defensive tackle. PLEASE. No more building through the draft for defensive lineman. How many have we had and all have been mediocre at best other than Dumerville. We need to trade for players that already been solid players. We don’t need stars, we just need role players.
Lastly, how long are we going to continue to have such a poor defense. We have been really bad for a while. We either suck against the pass, the rush, or both as we do now. Quit firing coaches and take responsibility. Do something about it. TRADE.
the game in ne was terrible
the turnovers
the defense
i think denver can play at a higher level
COME ON DENVER!
lets go to the playoffs
we will win ne and win the superbowl
yikes. We lead the division. Hope sure is easy to find… not easy to feel warm and fuzzy about though.
Just a note to so many of the weak fans here…
I live in the Seattle area where the Mariners truly suck, they just lost the Sonics forever and the SEAHAWKS… Yikes.
It’s GOOD to love the Broncos (even tho it hurts)
2champ4pickSIX - I tell ya, you sure know how to make someone laugh. And you think I was speechless before… HA. I’m starting to scare myself with these short comments. I’m not liking very much.
You’re a funny guy, mister. Keep it coming!
And all of you that still have doubt, stop it… this talented team WILL pull through this rough patch.
GO BRONCOS!!!!
I love my Broncos……and it’s been tough the past few weeks. But I know they’ll pull out of this funk for the better.
I seriously think Bly has to go. He is one of the worst corners I’ve seen in a broncos uniform. He just gets burned time and time again. Has he just lost something in his game? Denver’s 3rd down Defense has me cursing at my tv every year! Why can’t they get it right?
I think the O feels they need to put up huge points otherwise the game is over…..they can’t trust the D to win a game for them. That makes Cutler try too much and end up making bad plays. And yeah, where is the running game….for the Broncos? Cause I see it every week from the other teams in the amount of over 100 yards in the first half!
Let’s go Broncos!
I’m am a true fan regardless of anyones opinion. When I screw up, when I fail I’m upset. I consider my self a part of the team. When they screw up and fail it hurts and the game on Monday hurt about as much as the San Diego Game. All this “its okay we’ll get them next time” is insane. Its one thing to be optimistic quite another to be naïve. I’m worried about this team the team I support 100%. I believe they could turn it around. Eventhough the playoffs are a ways away, they’re slipping. We need to get a firm grip on this division now. The defense is strugguling, lossing keep players is not a good thing. Jack is no Champ. Our defense is porous from the line to the secondry. Its easy to point out flaws but they’re easy to point out. GO BRONCOS no and forever
well well well, I think Broncofanatic actually said it how it is and if you are a true Bronco fan then you should be able to handle the truth, just look at the defense stats and our offense has been like a plane flying with one engine, getting rid of lynch left us leaderless on Defense so that is our own fault. Unless someone steps up and lights that fire again we will burn out. It’s like the guys accept how they are playing. they are riding on that 4-3 record but what they need to remember is if it weren’t for Gramatica missing a field goal and a blown call against sandiego we would be 2-5 not to mention the barely win against Tampa. So wake up Broncos and Broncos fans it’s panic time…………………………get rid of the defensive coordinator
I am sick and tired of people referencing to the blown call and the missed field goal. We still would have had plenty of time to score on that saints game, we played a great game there, so people should shut up. If we lost a game with our kicker missing a couple field goals, people would talk about it for the next ten games. We won those games and if the teams we play can’t play a complete game and beat us, then kudos to us for winning, a win is a win, a loss is a loss. All of our division lost now while we are on a bye, and we have players coming back from injuries, my only huge question mark is what are we gonna do without champ? Lets see what this bye does for us. we are still in a good position to win the division, and we still have time to step it up.
With the talk of movie Moss to linebacker, I’m curious to know why there has been so little mention of Niko, given that he was thought to be competing for a starting job in the off-season?
Anyone know why he’s never discussed?
No Clue, but he’s got to be something right…He’s on the pro-bowl ballot as a special teamer