With the Broncos’ Week 11 win in the rearview mirror, there are still plenty of intriguing games this week for Broncos fans to keep an eye on.
Oakland Raiders at Minnesota Vikings
Mall of America Field
Sunday, 11 a.m. MST, CBS
The first game of interest features the current AFC West leader — the Raiders — and the Broncos’ Week 13 opponent — the Vikings. The Raiders are coming off a victory in San Diego last Thursday night that propelled them to the top of the division. This will be quarterback Carson Palmer’s fourth game with Oakland, as defensive end Jared Allen and the Vikings hope to get to him and get back on track after Monday night’s loss to the Green Bay Packers. An Oakland loss would mean Denver has at least a share of the division lead entering Week 12.
Buffalo Bills at Miami Dolphins
Sun Life Stadium
Sunday, 11 a.m. MST, CBS
This is another game that features two Broncos 2011 opponents, one of whom the Broncos have already beaten in the Dolphins. Miami is riding a two-game winning streak, and a win over Buffalo would drop the Bills to 5-5 on the year, the same record as the Broncos. It’s also a chance to scout ahead to Week 16, when the Broncos and Bills will square off on Christmas Eve.
San Diego Chargers at Chicago Bears
Soldier Field
Sunday, 2:15 p.m. MST, CBS
This game is of big interest to Broncos fans as it pits two of Denver’s next three opponents head-to-head. The Chargers are looking for a win, having lost four in a row. Meanwhile, the Bears are coming into this game on a four-game winning streak.
Kansas City Chiefs at New England Patriots
Gillette Stadium
Monday, 6:30 p.m. MST, ESPN
This Monday night matchup is a must-watch for Broncos fans. The Chiefs, Denver’s final regular season opponent, are coming into this game without their No. 1 quarterback in Matt Cassel, who was injured in the team’s Week 10 contest against the Broncos. Tyler Palko steps in, hoping to lead Kansas City to an upset over Denver’s Week 15 opponent — New England.
-Kenny Legan
Tags: Games to Watch, Week 11
Their backup is Caleb Hanie
Caleb Hanie will assume the quarterback duties as Cutler recovers.
some bad football right now
UT’s QB (Bray) broke his thumb on his throwing hand this season,he was out for 7 weeks……just saying!
I had that game circled. Even have tickets available if I chose to make a trip.
I’m bummed. Really wanted to boo him…lol
Wanted to see a Von Doom sandwich, with a little Dawk dressing on the side…
I agree with the self proclaimed troll, I’d rather face Cutler.. I was looking forward to that game all season, and with our pass rush it would’ve been fun..
Three including yourself glax. Uh, troll? I pictured you more of the primate variety…hmm. Weird lol
Nicely played!
Cutler out 6 weeks?? … wow … after staying in the game and beating the Chargers – lucky for Broncos?? …
Cruz is doing some serious work for me in fantasy! Pretty sweet the guy I’m playing is tied for first in the division with me so this would be a great win. Five more minutes…
Unless we go into overtime of course
Alright so what do you guys wanna talk about?
You know, I was thinking- lol
Von Miller was benched in the game against SD. Anybody think he wants another chance to go against SD? To make amends? Afterall, the last game they won was against us. A 5 game losing streak since…
Sndvl – that is funny to think about – um…yes….Mr. Rivers – may I introduce you to number 58!!!
…all night long! haha
I am very disappointed that we will not be playing Cutler when the Bears come to town. I was counting on that game to be a real measuring rod for the team.
I think Broncos win the next three and Bay is going to have to change his final 3 prediction again.
Since I’m typing to myself:
I am starting to come up with all kinds of reasons why I think the Broncos could win out the rest of the season. (Lots of Kool Aid – of course)
Looking at the defensive rankings – the Broncos have already made it through the higher ranked defenses. Cincy and the Jets both being top ten defenses. Miami is ranked in the middle. I’m thinking that starting with SD the Broncos are going to begin increasing offensive points. Instead of 10-18 pts. it’s going to start getting into the 21+ range. If Tebow can get that rifle primed – I think we start regularly seeing that 38 Broncs popped the Raiders with.
I’m assuming that the defense can continue to put pressure on QB’s and that as that develops – man we could use a great DT – we are going to see some more defensive pts. Can the defense contain Brady? Not too worried about Rivers, Ponder, and CHI backup – Hanie.
Anyhow – I’m thinking several of these game that I had contemplated as being unwinnable, have suddenly become winnable. All we need is just a little more Tebow magic!!
That’s a valid point guys. Miller will be looking for redemption. And I agree that Cutler would have been a good test. And competitors want to compete against the best, so I’m sure the broncos will be a bit dissapointed as well.
I, for one, am ok with not playing against Cutler..I think the Bears are gunna be real tough. Them not having Cutler improves our chances so much!
Actually I was agreeing with sndvl, who probably did think of it because of you, but if you hadn’t said anything someone would have. And yes I check all previous postings.
Actually it was daddybroncs post I was piggy backing on, not sndvl. My mistake.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWRzN8YCsqQ Check this out. This is Tebow passing a lot during the Sugar Bowl. I’m not a quarterback expert, but it looks to me that once Tim’s footwork looks better here than I’ve really seen it in the NFL. He certainly is throwing them on a rope in this video. I think if you couple that with the article Bay posted about Zeke, maybe Tim’s still struggling mentally with the NFL game. Once reading defenses and making decisions in NFL time becomes more second nature to him, he will be much more accurate.
Elway had Schotenheimers (sp?) number.
Rivers has the Broncos number.
Chargers 27-23.
NGNG!!!
With Culter out 6-8 weeks the question I have is will he sit on the sidelines and pout like he did last time he was hurt or will he be there giving advice? Will he be ME, ME Culter or will he be a team player? Which way he goes will go a long way to determining whether or not his teammates have any respect for his. Will he do whatever it takes for his team to win (Like TT does)? Big question!!!
Ok, back to Earth from planet Glasnax.
Starting taking SD score predictions now, first valid one being oldsouth, the ones made during the weekend will have to be made again since I warned multiple times I would be off the clock until today.
As usual taking them through Saturday midnight blog time, no exception, no picks on game day, ever.
Broncos back to work today too.
Cutler being out for our game against the Bears definitely changes the complexion of that game but I still think 3-3 is kosher since bad things could happen either in Minnesota or Buffalo on Christmas eve, 3-3 is still a valid guess to me for the remaining games.
And by the way, Cutler’s replacement Caleb Hanie used to be the former Colorado State star.
He played well when he came in for Cutler last year as I remember.
Legwold being his realistic old self as usual, the most neutral realistic writer at the DP by the way, brought that with him from the defunct Rocky Mountain News:
I asked several NFL defensive coaches, including a handful of coordinators, how the Broncos have been able to make an option-powered offense work.
The answers:
Defenses in the league aren’t disciplined enough to stop the Tim Tebow-led offense. At least not yet. Eventually, they will be.
Options plays are Tebow’s comfort zone. The more defenses that see Denver’s offense, the more aggressive they will be in playing against it.
It’s only three games. In the minds of the defensive coaches, the Broncos’ option offense has been the game plan against the Raiders, Chiefs and Jets. After five games, look for defensive adjustments to start showing up.
Tebow’s health. Punishing the quarterback will be the goal of defenses the longer the Broncos use an option offense in which the passing game isn’t much of a threat.
And that last point is the one I always talk about, Tebow’s health, hence it will be hard for Elway to put all his eggs in the Tebow basket and not draft another QB high in the next draft. Even so nearly everyone says that’s absurd I honestly think that’s the best way to go.
Legwold goes on about the health risks involved with Tebow’s style of playing:
The Broncos have cut down significantly on sacks allowed by reducing the number of times Tebow drops back to pass. But the hits he takes in the running game will add up and eventually take a toll. Quarterbacks don’t stop throwing the ball because of the hits they take in the pocket, but they stop running because of the hits they take running the ball.
Also, quarterback hits in the running game have more potential to create an injury. The league’s rule book limits the hits that a quarterback can take in the pocket to the torso area. Hits to a quarterback’s head and neck in the pocket are penalized, as are hits below the waist. When a quarterback is a runner, none of that protection exists.
You’re fair game!
And a little update on Dareus, the guy I thought we should of drafted but obviously it is impossible for me to argue with Elway’s choice of Von Miller, the best defensive pick hands down in this last draft:
Dareus, 6-foot-3 and 340 pounds, went No. 3 to Buffalo. He has been a starter for the Bills all season and has a team-high 3-1/2 sacks, a significant number for a DT. He will be the foundation of the Bills’ defensive front for years to come.
No slouch either is my point, the Bills did very well to pick him right after us.
Without a star QB, Shanny keeps on sliding away, seting all the wrong kinds of records, should of stayed on vacation permanently:
LANDOVER, Md. — All Mike Shanahan wanted to talk about Sunday after the Washington Redskins’ sixth consecutive loss — his longest slide as an NFL head coach and the franchise’s worst run under owner Dan Snyder — was the “poise” and “effort” of his players.
That’s why we love Allen so much:
“I’ve said all along, what we do is always going to be partly about scheme,” Allen said. “But a lot of it is our mentality, how we go about doing what we do. And we want to be fast. We want to be violent, aggressive, within the rules and we want to hit you as hard as we can. And we want to pressure your quarterback. We want to bring those pressures, make those guys uncomfortable back there.
“And, obviously, Elvis and Von are a big part of that.”
Kick arse!
I was so hoping that VONDOOM could greet Cutler properly, but I guess that will have to wait a bit.
Bay, which 3 games are you looking for us not to do well in?
Definitely Sunday at SD will be extremely difficult them basically in a do or die situation, and the Pats at home I see a loss too since Belicheck is starting to get his young D to come together and I had the one against the Bears as a loss also but now without Cutler we might have a shot at it however we could easily be derailed in Minnesota with crazy Jared Allen, and at Buffalo on Christmas eve will be no cake walk no matterr how bad they have gotten, bottom line only game I would conservatively put in the win column is KC home at this stage, but we could win all 6, that’s why they play the game, haha..
I just hope my 6-10 doesn’t come true, even so we’re at 5-5 now, it kind of eerily reminds me of 2009 when I had 8-8 and we were 6-0 and I thought no way on Earth can we go 8-8 now and we did just exactly that, Let’s hope history doesn’t repeat itself, because with a 1-5 finish no way Tebow will be starting next year. It will be mostly up to the D to not let it happen since I’m afraid teams will start being on top of Tebow ball rather sooner than later, like Legwold was talking about through talking to team representatives throughout the league. It will be interesting to say the least, exciting stuff, no Orton material there, LOL.
Good Morning Broncomaniacs!
Hope everyone had a great weekend……….it’s good to be back on the blog!
This game coming up in SD will be very interesting……..and a statement game for our team. Coming out with a W will certainly solidify our position in the chase for the division crown. It will also put us above .500 for the first time since I don’t know when.
Neither the bolts or the raiders have an easy schedule remaining so it’s up to the broncos to make the best of it.
While Rivers seems to have our number, he hasn’t faced this D in its current state. I’m sure they’ll play much better and more aggresive then the first time around. You have to know that he’s getting frustrated and hopefully that’ll impact thier play. I also don’t think thier D is anything special and we should be able to move the ball on them…….
I think this one comes down to special teams and field position……..
Not ready to post my prediction yet……..still mulling a few possibilities…….but I think our boys have a shot in this one, more so then the first time around.
Over 500 would be the first time since Deember 27, 2009 when we were 8-7.
insert c, haha.
I am still trying to figure out how I have an ilk?
I like how people credit Tebow with the performance of the defense…simply because he hasn’t “turned the ball over”. I remember when Orton was playing that people CONSTANTLY complained about the 3 and outs that he had. Claiming that was “wearing the D down” causing their bad play. With Tebow under center/in the gun…we lead the free world in three and outs. Actually, you can set your clock to them. Denver gets the ball…3 plays…punt…(check the stats)….but still Tebow gets credit for “making them play harder”.
As far as the discussion on if the team would win those games with Orton at QB….just remember…when Mike Nolan was DC and the defense was ranked in the top 5 in the league our record WITH ORTON was 6-0.
But it was all a mirage, remember.
I can honestly say that you are like the lone one left to mention and defend Orton anymore, sndvl has been pretty low key about it,Wiemin seems to be moving on, you are just about an Orton relic now, LOL.
I am not sure I am defending Orton…as much as I am saying that the quarterback of this team isn’t actually on this team…what is funny to me is…if the Broncos for some reason opened up their roster to the entire NFL and told them they could have any of our qbs….I believe many more teams would take Orton than would take Tebow…
Those are the cards we were dealt though, and Orton had ample chance to prove his worth, so we’re just going to the next guy, it’s not that unbelievable to fathom.
I agree with Carnage to a certain degree…..it’s still frustrating watching a 3-and-out fest game in and game out……….and luckily the D has kept us in the games, regardless of being out on the field way too much.
But the ability to take the game on his shoulder in crunch time and make things happen is something Orton was never able to do………..and as ugly as it is sometimes, TT wins, and that’s about all you can say about it at this point. Orton would never sieze those moments in a game and would become his usual choke artist.
TT still has a helluva ways to go to be a great QB in this league, but it’s becoming increasingly hard to keep knocking a guy whose taken this team from a joke to some actual relevance since taking the reins.
But it is indeed strange to have a QB like no other ever in the NFL, it’s a novelty sort of thing and kind of exciting in a year where I never thought we had a shot at anything anyway. Ill take it and ride it til the wheels come off if indeed they do and I’ll enjoy the ride, to each his own..
And btw, nobody wanted Orton, haha.
Bay! Morning…
Den 27
SD 16
Let’s make a pact not to say the ‘O’ word here anymore…
Carnage… I respect your persistence but have to question your intelligence…
Do you watch the games or just watch the highlights on ESPN and try to repeat what the talking heads get paid to do? Just curious…
McD, I fought tooth and nail along with you against him for two years, Tebow just does not instill that in me at all, not a destructive force to the Broncos whatsoever, just the best next guy up considering our options, and Elway is monitoring the situation big time I’m certain of that, so either way everything will fall into place without me losing any sleep over it. With McD I lost my sanity, with Tebow I gained hope when all seemed lost, big difference.
I know one thing……….the better TT becomes with his accuracy and timing with receivers, LOOK OUT! Getting all this experience this season will go a hell of a long ways in that department.
I’m really excited to see how the playcalling will unfold in SD. Will they call more passing plays for TT? I think they’re starting to try and instill more balance.
Turtle, good to see you came back with your prediction, and trust me Carnage is intelligent, more so than most bloggers here, however he does have a bit of a stubborn streak, like when he kept telling us in 2009 at 6-0 that we were a bad team while everyone thought we were onto something even made the cover of SI about it, so no he does not follow what others say, to the contrary, he is a man of his own mind and I respect that, just have to say that when I see foklks here who have just recently joined saying what you just said and really have no clue as to who he is, other than a guy who doesn’t believe in Tebow, which is totally his right, and he may yet be proven right, like in 2009, just saying..
Bronco_Turtle…stick to your guns..Carnage is a Tebow basher..BTW,I disagree with more teams wanting Orton than Tebow,we tried to get rid of Orton,nobody wanted him but Miami!!!!!!