15:00: Hackney to Colbert is incomplete on third down and Prater steps back in to attempt a 31-yard field goal. Paulescu takes the snap, puts down the hold and Prater makes his second FG of the night.
14:52: Slaton is back to return for the Texans. He’s tackled by Clifford Russell at the 22-yard line.
14:47: Woodyard makes a big hit to blow up a run at the line of scrimmage. Kasey Studdard, an offensive lineman for Houston, loses his helmet.
10:19: Glenn Martinez is back to receive the Texans punt after their drive stalls. He catches the ball at the 9 yard line and gains a yard before the defense collapses.
9:39: Samie Parker makes a nine-yard catch on second down, but a false start penalty on the play before leaves the Broncos with a 3rd and 4.
8:59: Michael Pittman makes a catch on the left side and runs for a first down, but a flag is down on the field — an illegal shift penalty for 5 yards. That brings up 3rd and 9.
8:31: Hackney backs up in the pocket and avoids a rush up the middle, scrambles left and launches a spiral to the striding Tony Scheffler for a 38-yard pickup to the Denver 49 yard line.
7:24: Just a run down of who’s in the game right now…Samie Parker and Clifford Russel out wide, Tony Scheffler and Brett Pierce in at tight end, Anthony Alridge in the backfield, Darrell Hackney at QB, and Tyler Polumbus, Dylan Gandy, P.J. Alexander, Kory Lichtensteiger and Mitch Erickson on the offensive line.
7:24: Clifford Russell tries to catch a pass at the three-yard line but gets hit early — pass interference on the Texans.
5:54: On 3rd and goal, the Broncos can’t punch it in but Prater splits the uprights with a 26-yard field goal on 4th down. That capped off an 8 play, 72-yard drive that took 4:29. It ties the game up at 16.
5:42: Slaton takes a 39-yard return up to the 39 yard line for the Texans.
5:00: Jordan Beck stands up Slaton for no gain on second down. A Texan — Rashad Butler — is down on the play. He walks off the field under his own control to applause from the fans.
4:31:The Texans, who are 4 of 10 on third downs, grab a first down on 3rd and 1 when Slaton rushes up the right side for 3 yards.
4:20: Larry Birdine and Jordan Beck close in on Boyd for a five-yard sack on the play.
3:29: The Texans grab a first down at the Denver 27-yard line.
2:39: LaMont Reid makes an open field tackle to stop Slaton after 13 yards. The Texans have a 1st and 10 on the 14.
2:23: Denver calls its final timeout after a Slaton run that puts the Texans at 2nd and 6 with the ball on the 10-yard line.
2:16: Slaton gets 2-yards after Reid halts him. Third down, two-minute warning.
2:00: Pass complete to Jameel Cook for the first down, he is tackled out of bounds by Christian Morton at the 3-yard line.
1:49: Slaton is tackled at the 6 for a three-yard loss by Jordan Beck.
0:27: Houston calls its first timeout — a 30-second timeout. It’s 3rd-and-goal on the 5 yard line.
0:27: Josh Barrett doesn’t fall for Boyd’s footwork, stopping him for a two-yard loss. The Texans call a timeout with 3 seconds to go.
0:03: Kris Brown makes a 25-yard field goal as time expires. The Texans win tonight’s game by the score of 19-16.
-Gray Caldwell, DenverBroncos.com
Tags: Fourth Quarter, Gray Caldwell, Live Blog, Preseason
Ok, maybe we’re warming up a bit. It looks like Woodyard is fighting for that roster spot.
Good to see Prater shake off the early miss too
True, hopefully all these fg’s in-game will help his confidence.
It sounds like Woodyard has a nose for the ball. 2 tackles last I checked, then all of a sudden he’s up to 5. Good work rook!
Hopefully the Broncos are getting all these penalties out of their system tonight.
Somebody please stop the effing penalties
woodyard seems to be a good pick up
Josh barrett isnt doin to bad either with 3 tackels and 3 assists
Yea, we got some youngsters with some hits in em. Good stuff!
Thanks Gray!
Good thing we have the preseason to get some kinks out. We need more TD’s!!!
All the great NFL teams lost today. Don’t stress Denver fans. Gray thanks for all the great coverage!
- Ian
PS- Can I get off the spam list so that I can make comments?
Looking good!…. well better. First team looks good. Good job Jay! I was starting to get worried after losing our first two SLBs, but Woodyard…wow. He wants a look with 8 tackles and I think he’ll get one. I’ve liked Josh Barrett and after tonight I think a lot of people will with 4 tackles and 3 assists. I was surprised to see Selvin under-perform, but he was running to the outside mostly with two young tackles blocking and two of the better ends in the game in front of him… maybe things will pick up.
Woodyard…
Watch out Denver, this Woodyard kid is trying to take Boss Bailey’s job…you know what…he might just do it.
What about Steven Harris…NO playing time?
K2 looked unimpressive (dont know how much time he played). Would like to have seen more of Spencer Larsen.
This Christian Morton and Lamont Reid…Where the hell did they come from? No mention of Jack Williams. But Josh Barrett looks like a stud too! If we could just get Peyton Hillis on the field, I’d be very happy!
Pat Ramsey…WTF dude, 2 INT’s? Those footsteps you hear are not “Bigfoot”, they’re Hackney…he’s on your a** dude.
WR’s were unimpressive, or the QB’s weren’t. Very dissappointed in both WR/RBs.
Would somebody please show Ryan Harris how to stay still. Dude got 3 penalties. Aint going to win a starting job Ryan! Clady looked awesome!!!!!! No QB sacks allowed. That’s a great start!
I was disappointed in Ryan Harris, but pleased with everyone else. Andre Hall did a nice job whenever he toted the rock, while Scheffler made several big catches and Jay did as well as I could have hoped for in the preseason opener. I would like to see the defense force more three and outs as the preseason continues as well.
Eddie Royal and Anthony Aldridge also did a nice job too. Aldridge showed off some of his speed beating a couple of guys to the outside on a couple of his runs.
though it was a loss,,,i was amazed at how the rookies performed…WOW!! Woodyard is here to stay……….another great steal in the draft……..and aldrige was burning the turf……..
hey gray,
any word whether both woodyard or aldridge hav been signed…thanks again for the post…
its feels great to see the boys bakc in action………..
Great to see the guys on the field of play! Clady did a pretty good job aganst Mario Williams and the O-Line as a whole did a good job pass blocking. It was good to see R. Harris get the start and his nerves got the better of him. However , after he made a mistake he took it out on his man an manhandled him. Got to like that in an O-Lineman.Definately need some work on the run blocking. Eddie Royal was outstanding and should start. You would never know he is a rookie.Loved how Shanny used the tight ends, glad to see the best coach in the NFL back to his old tricks again. No linebacker can cover Jackson or Sheffler. Colbert and Parker got open. A. Hall looked good, looks like he put on some weight and was running strong. Quick six will scare the pants of defenses, man is he fast! Hackney impressed me and if he continues to perform in preseason like he did yesterday I vote him as backup to Cutler.
Defensively, the guys already look better than last year. Stopped the run pretty well, still need to work on getting to the QB. M. Thomas looked very good, he will be a force to be reckoned with this year. Macree
Gray: whats the word on boss bailey? is it a serious ankle sprain?
hmm im not gonna lie i thought that the 1st team looked shaky and we couldn’t run the ball and our D didn’t look any better im not having high hopes for this season….
I won’t be able to actually see the game until tonoght on NFL Network as I live in Upper Michigan, so initial comments are based on the game Blog.
Clay had an excellent game, no major gafs that I’m awre of. On the other hand, the Broncos O line has some major problems. Tom Nalen; knee still a problem! I read it that at best he’ll paly sporadically. Wegman is to old to play every down. Maybe it’s time to bite the bullet and play the 2009 starting center, Lichstiener (?) as many downs as possible. Harris flat sucked. One game jitters, or his level of talent? Montrae Holland has fatted himself out of a starting job. Makes me seriously doubt his commitment. Offense short yardage plays sucked as always. A major unsolved problem. Running game in general was sporadic. Offensive penalties; BLEEEHHH!!!! Kicking game: missing a 30 yarder is not the way to build a successful NFL career. However, 3 or 4 is okay. Return coverage was spotty. The 39 yard return by Houston was unacceptable. Offense kick return, not spectacular, but better than last year. Punting game, neither punter had a “I’m your man” game. Coverage was good, definitely better than last year. Shining star: Woodyard, WOW!!!
I’ll put in my second thoughts after I’ve been able to watch the game for myself. Definitely not one of their better games.
Obviously it’s the preseason so there will be some jitters for young guys and some sloppy play for others, but i thought our offense did get it together on that second drive, Jay’s improvisation was phenomenal as well as his quick decision making and energy level, he was finally showing some confidence. He may finally be ready to carry this team and I am a firm believer that the quarterback and defense make the team, ( reference Elway’s years).
Yes Young did disappoint, but I do think it was the nerves of the team because we didn’t start making yards on the ground until after Selvin was benched and then the O line started to warm up, so maybe it was just the uneasy initial play of the line that held him back….
Let us see woodyard play up at second or first team guys before we get our hopes up. I have seen plenty of guys look good on third team that are nothing but crap in the real, like say David Kircus during pre season the guy was a serious stud making every third down catch that came at him but then he gets that catch to make on third and 15 during regular season and whooop no catch. However I do think he hits hard and plays hard that is definetly some good building blocks for a linebacker. I am more than dissapointed that Bob Slowik did not blitz much but maybe he wanted to truly gauge the defensive front four this game on how good they are at creating pressure on their own, and I gotta tell ya all that I am more than scared of the upcoming season I am flat petrified. If our D-line is gonna play like that all season we are up SH@# Creek without a boat forget the dam paddle we forgot the most important thing. We seem to have forgot to balance our defense this year we can now stop the run but we cant get to the QB and if Jarvis Moss has had such a good camp how’s come he was out there with the rooks and third stringers???
Man I cannot believe people are falling off the bandwgon after the initial preseason game….That is totally unnacceptable…Must we remember that most of these games are just overglorified scrimmages. There is not even a real “game plan” put in until the third game. What you do have to take from the game is that they did look better than they did at this point last year. You are simply looking at the basics. THey did not allow the Texans to gash them in the run game. The starting corners were not there and the secondary still played well. And let us not forget that Kubiak always does a good job against his mentor. If you look at it our THIRD TEAM did not punch the ball in in the red zone, that will not have an effect on us during the regular season. The FIRST TEAM was able to score in the red zone on a THIRD DOWN and LONG. Fairweather fans get ready to eat your words when we win eleven games this year.
Jay looked great. He showed much more poise I thought in the pocket. You can definitely tell he’s gotten rid of his happy feet, he looked really relaxed against a stiff rush from the Texans first D. I would have liked to seen more from our Defensive Line, on the play when Rosenfels had all day to throw and hit that big 40 yard strike down the side line our D line just didn’t generate any pressure. We need more pressure on the qb. I thought Jarvis Moss (our 1st round pick last year) was average, nothing really impressed me about him, he needs to step it up. Andre Hall and Selvin Young should split carries this year and I hope they do. They are both speed burning young guys and if you rotate them in every 4th or 5th play our running game is going to be legit! Over all good game, not great just good. Too many darn penalties but I’m sure that was all nerves. Can’t wait to watch em play at home for the first time this year! Go Broncs!
AHMEN to that VABroncoguy…………i couldnt agree with you more…
question…whats the status of Boss???
My Grades:
1st Team Offense – B+
Cutler Looked GREAT but I would of liked to see more from the WR’s and RB’s. The TE’s looked solid too, and our O-line could use some help but that’s just the unexperience.
1st Team Deffense – A-
Yes, we didn’t do amaizing in the pass rush and Schaub’s COMP% was like 96, but thats without Champ, without Abdulah, and without Boss Bailey. I was happy with Foxy and I think the pass rush will develope.
Speacial teams – B-
Hoping for more from Royal and I think Pratter could be a little better on Kick-Off’s, but I am not at all questioning releasing Elam.
2nd Team Offense – C
Unhappy with Ramsey, 2 INT’s? And i also see no depth with the line. I was impressed with Hall, but he didn’t get enough snaps to be sure.
2nd/3rd Team Deffense – A++
We have alot of young guys right behind the starters but I was impressed with the overall talent of them. And Woodyard, that’s the way to Play!!!
3rd Team Offense – A- They didn’t take many shots down field but #4 looked good, (Sorry, I can’t remmber your name) and Aldrige is just a beast. He’ll Probably get moved up to the 2nd team with some plays on the 1st.
Overall Offense – A
Say what you want but I’m happy with them!
Overall Deffense – A+
Alot of depth and a talented 1st Team.
Overall Team – A-
I would say A but the team chemestry is shakey
Another horrible season awaits us in 2008 with Shanahan
Now that I’ve had a change to watch the tape of the game, I’ve changed my views on a few things and had them reinforced on others.
Penalties: 12 Inexcusible!!!!!
Offense: Way to many totally inexcusable errors. Not only did it cost the Broncos 54 yards in gains, it wiped out any rythem they had. What’s worse is that most were committed by the first team! You’ll never be a contender if all you do is run up and down the field between the 20 yard lines.
Defense: A favorite Bronco offonsive paly is the bootleg, yet the Broncos are almost unable to stop it. I’m sure all their regular season opponents took note of this.
Short Yardage, offense: Broncos were 1 for 1 in 3rd and 3 or less.
Short yardage, defense, Broncos stopped Houston on 3 of 5 3rd/4th and 3 or less. Great job!!
Kicking: Missing a 30 chip short isn’t good, but Prater did redeem himself.
Punting: only 2 punts, so nothing really learned here.
Kickoff return: Average field position 25 yard line. Minimal improvement over last year.
Kickoff coverage: Average Houston field position 30 yard line. BLEEHH!!!
When the game was on the line, return coverage allowed a 39 yard return. Double BLEHH!!
Pass rush: Essentially nonexistant. It doesn’t matter who’s playing the deep coverage if the other QB has all day.
Running game: Spotty at best. First team couldn’t run for squat.
Bright spots: Grady Clay. He was outpalyed, but not by much. This bosed well for the Broncos.
Woodyard. Excellent pecial teams play and good pursuit on defense. Broncos once had an underrated LB from a KY university, Tom Jackson. Hope he turns out the same.
Friday night will be interesting as the Broncos face a team much better than the Texans.