The last time the Broncos and Chargers were on the same field, loose footballs were at a premium.
Denver forced four fumbles in its 34-23 Week 6 win over San Diego at Qualcomm Stadium. Most crucial of those miscues was a late-third quarter strip by Elvis Dumervil that landed in the hands of Vonnie Holliday.
Leading 24-23, the Broncos converted the turnover into a Matt Prater 50-yard field goal, and the Chargers were held scoreless the rest of the way. Come Sunday at INVESCO Field at Mile High, Mario Haggan sees those types of errors again tipping the balance.
“The game is predicated on mistakes,” Haggan said. “Hopefully on Sunday, they make more mistakes than we do and we come out on top.”
Stripping the ball will be a tough task this week against Chargers running back LaDainian Tomlinson. The nine-year veteran has fumbled only two times in his last 722 carries.
Tomlinson also put his game into a higher gear last week, recording a season-high 96 rushing yards against the Eagles. While the member of the 10,000-yard rushing club has yet to record a 100-yard rushing game in 2009, Brian Dawkins sees no signs of Tomlinson slowing down.
“I know that that is not the truth,” Dawkins said. “I look at him on film and still see him making the same cuts and stopping on the dime and leaving people standing right there in their shoes while he is going the other way. I see those same things happening on the football field from him.”
Since that Oct. 19 game, the Broncos have forced a total of two fumbles in their three losses to the Ravens, Steelers and Redskins. One was recovered by rookie Robert Ayers against Pittsburgh for a 54-yard go-ahead touchdown in the third quarter.
To snap the three-game skid, Haggan said one great play will not be enough to make a difference.
“Other teams just made more plays than we have,” Haggan said. “There’s no rhyme or reason that I can point to as a player. Just that we need to make more plays and that when the clock hits zero, we need to be on top.”
Kyle Orton (ankle) was among five Broncos who did not participate in practice on Wednesday. Josh Barrett (hamstring), Ryan Harris (toe), LaMont Jordan (back) and Brandon Marshall also did not practice. Correll Buckhalter (knee) and Brandon Lloyd (foot) had limited participation in the session.
NOTABLE
The Elias Sports Bureau has credited Dumervil with an extra half-sack in last Sunday’s game against the Redskins. He now has 12 on the season and still leads the league.
Here are some photos from the start of Wednesday’s practice. More to come in a top story that will be posted later this evening.
– Chris Gentilviso, DenverBroncos.com
Tags: Brian Dawkins, Mario Haggan, San Diego Chargers, Week 11
I scream for the broncos every week . I
oops. I want us to win every week. I wear my Bronco coat win or lose every week. I take a ton of crap whene we lose.I BLEAD BLUE & ORANGE. I have a Bronco tatoo. But I knew that we would be killed last year in SD. I think we will lose this week. It does not make me less of a fan. Do you think the Lion fans think they will win every week? They hope for a win. I would love it if we killed SD again , but if we can’t beat the skins we most likely won’t beat the chargers. GO BRONCOS!!
Remember last season when it came down to the last game of the season at SD for the AFC West and they ended up whooping us pretty good? They weren’t a different team then, they still had the same players, they still ran the same offense. They just wanted to win more and limited their mistakes.
Remember last time we played the Chargers in SD and we ended up beating them. They aren’t a different team, they still have the same players, they still run the same offense. We have them in our backyard and its due time we get a huge win. I’m not saying we’ll win but I can garauntee that if we aren’t ready to bring it then we don’t have a chance.
At 3:15 pm on Sunday we’ll see if we are bringing it and at 6:15 pm I guess we’ll know for sure if we brought enough.
Go Broncos!!!!!!!!!
If it’s true Kyle has torn ligs in his ankle. He should not play. This is not the championship game. So we need him to be healthy. I think Simms will be fine.
All HAIL THE HORSEMEN!!!!!! lol It’s mine now.
I’ve taken the afternoon to think about this and I’ve reached my final conclusion/opinion. I want 100% Chris Simms to start!
There is no way Kyle is going to be 100% so I don’t even want him near that field. Chris is MORE than capable of shredding this defense with tons of yards to receivers that are a QB’s dream. Chris knows that!
He also knows, this is his opportunity! I hope Kyle hasn’t taken 1 snap in practice. Give Chris the rock and let’s fire it up! a 3 game losing streak to 1 team we should have killed and 2 other quality football teams that we played HARD for 3 QTRS. We lost because of a lack of offense production. Kyle’s fault? maybe, not necessarily but I know one thing for sure….it wasn’t Chris’s fault at all…..
Please don’t get me wrong. I like Kyle @ 100% he’s earned that spot. BUT HE’S NOT! There is no way you can get me to believe that Kyle Orton @ 70% is better than Chris Simms @ 100%.
Let’s not be stupid! Let’s rally around this guy, show him the love and shake the very ground he’ll be standing on come Sunday!
It’s almost showtime Broncos fans!!!!!!!!!!, and I truely believe Chris Simms is going to be our starting QB come Sunday! Don’t be one bit surprised if he rises to the occasion.
GO GET EM’ BOYS!