This Sunday’s regular-season finale between the Kansas City Chiefs and Denver Broncos pits two division rivals against each other for the second time this season as they ring in the new year.
In any season, that’s enough to get the blood flowing and adrenaline pumping as the players gear up for the contest throughout the week.
Except this time, it means much more.
Not only are the Broncos going against the Chiefs for the 103rd time in the regular season — only the Chargers have played more regular season games against the Broncos with 104 — but they’ll be going against their former starting quarterback from the first half of this season with a playoff spot on the line.
“At the end of the day it comes down to beating the man across from you and us executing well,” Defensive end Robert Ayers said. “That’s about it. He [QB Kyle Orton] does know us, but we feel like we know the Chiefs, too. It’s a division team, and with all the scouting reports and all the stuff that helps us know the other team, that’s what we’re supposed to do.”
But Ayers was quick to play down the hype regarding his former teammate.
“It’s going to be fun as it always is, but I’m not going to think too much into this whole Kyle Orton thing,” Ayers said. “We’re fighting for something that’s big, and we want to go to the playoffs. That’s all I’m focusing on.”
Ayers’ current teammates have also downplayed any notion that Orton and the Chiefs have an advantage because of his time in Denver and familiarity with the offense playbook and defensive players. A lot has changed since the Broncos waived the veteran quarterback, and any insights Orton can give the Chiefs will be negated by the fact the Broncos defense went against him — in practice every day — more than anybody this year.
“(Orton’s possible advantage) is about as equal as it will be for our defense having practiced against Kyle.,” Head Coach John Fox said.
In the end, the game will be played by more than just one person. As Fox and the players have been saying all week, it’ll come down to the Denver Broncos against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Several Broncos players might catch up with their former teammate on the field before the game, but once the clock starts, the Broncos will be focused on winning and making the playoffs.
“You can know everybody all you want, but once you get hit in the mouth on the first play, all that goes out the window,” Elvis Dumervil said.
CHAMP BAILEY NAMED RECIPIENT OF GOOD GUY AWARD
One day after being named to the Pro Bowl, cornerback Champ Bailey received another honor, as he was named the fifth-annual Darrent Williams Good Guy Award recipient.
The award is named after Williams, a former Bronco, who passed away on Jan. 1, 2007 after completing his second year with the team. The recipient is chosen by members of the local media, who give the award to the person that best exemplifies Williams’ enthusiasm, cooperation and honesty while dealing with members of the press.
Bailey will receive the award after Thursday’s practice. Previous award winners are: Mario Haggan (2010), Elvis Dumervil (2009), Ebenezer Ekuban (2008) and John Lynch (2007).
STATISTICAL CHANGE FROM SUNDAY’S GAME
The NFL announced a statistical change on quarterback Tim Tebow’s second interception that was returned for a touchdown Sunday by Bills defensive end Spencer Johnson.
At the time, the play that occurred with 7:55 left in the fourth quarter was ruled as an interception. However, it has now been changed to a sack-fumble.
INJURY REPORT
Here is Wednesday’s injury report.
For the Broncos:
DID NOT PRACTICE: Safety Brian Dawkins (neck).
LIMITED: Safety David Bruton (Achilles), cornerback Chris Harris (neck).
FULL: Safety Quinton Carter (hip), linebacker Von Miller (thumb).
For the Chiefs:
DID NOT PRACTICE: Running back Jackie Battle (foot).
LIMITED: Safety John McGraw (ankle).
Below are some photos from Wednesday’s practice.
-Kenny Legan
Tags: Kansas City Chiefs, Kyle Orton, Week 17
sorry i got this going but someone brought up hockey, its a different animal as how teamates are together[7 game road trips]. I just hope that he interacts with the guys out of football. That will go along way.
Wanna see that cast eat greedy… We need Mays and Haggan to step it up too, we got to stay fresh on D, which comes back to Tebow… Once opon a time the kid would milk the clock and drive the ball down the field, now we’re only throwing bombs… How long have i been asleep?? Lol
Somehow I don’t see Tebow’s leadership so much looking like Tebow as one of the guys. He definitely doesn’t come off as having a superiority complex. And yet…
He’s usually the first one in…and the last out.
He isn’t messing around when it’s time to study the game, the opponent. or his position.
And when it comes to workouts – he scares his linemen. Physically TT has prepped himself.
I think he has set the standard high and the team responds to that.
I think the team can see more potential through the weaknesses than we do. I think that is what cannot be erased by the losses.
I will be completely honest, Tebows quote “If you believe, unbelievable things can sometimes be possible”, has had a profound and positive effect in my life. I remind myself of that on a daily basis! Football is only a game, life isn’t. And life is so much better when you are positive, optimistic and happy…
Though, a playoff berth would make many of us a little happier
GO BRONCOS!!!!!!!!
BRONCOS 24
no playoff team 17
when is the last time we had a game that we knew we were going to win in the 4th[big lead] pleaseplease
I’m headed to bed gents! Have a great blog!!! I’ll catch up with you sometime! Looking for the Bad News Broncos!!!
Where’s Strand?- is it Sunday yet? LOL
db friendship off the field goes along way. everyone goes out with a work buddy after work
BTW sorry lanche fans wpg jets kicked your ass nite nite
This article is from NFL.com
I have decided to post it in two segments. You’ll understand why after reading the second!!!
On Sunday, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Kyle Orton will face the team that cut him and the man who replaced him in Denver. But Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow isn’t buying into the hype of a grudge match against his former teammate.
Tebow downplayed the significance of Orton’s return to Denver , saying Wednesday the game was bigger than a showdown of two quarterbacks.
“Ultimately, this is the Denver Broncos versus the Kansas City Chiefs,” Tebow said. “It’s going to be a great atmosphere, Two teams going against each other, not just two players.”
Tebow has led Denver within one win of an AFC West title since taking over for Orton during October. A win over the Chiefs would put the Broncos in the playoffs for the first time since 2005.
Tebow said he hadn’t spoken much with Orton since he landed in Kansas City, but he’s happy to see his former teammate succeed — even with a division rival.
“I’m happy for him that he has another opportunity, that he’s playing and doing well,” Tebow said “(I) wish him nothing but the best.”
Broncos executive vice president of football operations John Elway said Monday he had no regrets about releasing Orton, a move that paved the way to Tebow’s role as the undisputed starting quarterback in Denver.
Orton didn’t have any interest in adding fuel to the storyline, avoiding it altogether when asked about his old team, according to the Chiefs’ official website .
Orton still has the respect of many of his former teammates, including free safety Rahim Moore .
“Orton, man, you give that dude time to throw, he has all the capability in the world,” Moore said.
But not every Broncos player was as congratulatory.
“Hopefully we can get there and get there in a bad mood,” linebacker Von Miller said.
This whole Orton thing is a joke.
He won “somewhere” in the neighborhood of 6 of his last 30 games as the Broncos QB.
I truly believe this will be a complete team win by the Broncos and one that won’t cause a heart attack for a change.
Also, there is a handful of talented receivers entering the draft this season (Blackmon-O.K. State, Floyd-Notre Dame) who will go in the 1st round but I have a sleeper for ya, Phillip Payne for the hapless UNLV football team.
I’m a season ticket holder and he’s the best receiver in UNLV’s history and if he had any type of a QB or team, everyone would know about him.
He’s a guy that’s gonna go in the late rounds who goes up like Moss, has hands like Cris Carter and is a team player that would fit right in on this team.
GO BRONCOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Score could be anything this week. My money is on the Chargers beating the Raiders, but we need the win to give us confidence and a chance against the Pits.
So;
Broncos 23
Chiefs 16
snvl posted the first part of Tebow’s statement but I personally like what comes after the dash lol. On facing former Bronco Kyle Orton, Tebow said: “I’m happy for him that he has another opportunity. And I’m glad that he’s playing and doing well. I wish him nothing but the best — but maybe not too good on Sunday.”
Haha Tebow couldn’t help it, although it was tounge in cheek, he really wants to go out there and show and prove. That’s what I was waiting to hear outta Tebow, that competitive edge starting to surface in his statements like he was in college.
And Von, the rookie, has no sugar coating. I want to meet him in the backfield in a bad mood lol I’m loving it! The Dream had a nighmare before Chistmas so he’s more reserved I hope he does his talking on the field. But let’s hope we go out there and “Hit em in the mouth.” Doom!
-Royalty
The part every Bronco fan says won’t matter because our D knows Orton just as well:
Orton knows the Denver audibles, including the ones Tebow was using before Orton was waived Nov. 22. He knows the Broncos’ personnel groupings. He knows the plays offensive coordinator Mike McCoy likes to call. Orton knows the plays Tebow doesn’t like to see in the game plan. Orton knows the strengths and weaknesses of most of the players on the Denver roster.
Chiefs interim coach Romeo Crennel was asked about Orton’s impact on Sunday’s game.
“I’m sure Kyle has a good idea about the (Denver) defensive personnel, a good idea about the offensive personnel and what they’re capable of,” Crennel said. “But Kyle is one type of quarterback and Tebow is a different type quarterback. Some of the things they might do with Kyle, some of the checks, they might not do with Tebow. I think the best help (Orton) will be is from the personnel standpoint, being able to tell us some strong points and some weak points (about the Broncos).”
Obviously, the Broncos can change their audibles and change some of the things they do on offense and defense. But most of the players the Broncos have are the players they had when Orton was on their roster. And there is plenty of value in that information.
And everybody in the organization so far too has said all that won’t matter because it’s canceled out by how well we know Orton.
I hope everyone knows what they are talking about.
Good Morning Broncos Country.
“The Colts claimed returner Quan Cosby off waivers from Denver. He had an inexcusable fumble on a punt late in the first half against New England in Week 15″.
Source: BW @ ESPN
Legwold doing his best to let all the new Bronco players know what not finishing a season strong looks like:
Two years ago, the Broncos were 8-7 and hoping to sneak into the playoffs. They played the Kansas City Chiefs in Denver to complete the regular season.
The Broncos are 8-7 again going into Sunday’s regular-season finale against Kansas City in Denver. And they’re trying to sneak into the playoffs again.
Kyle Orton was the Broncos’ quarterback in that game against the Chiefs two years ago. He will be the Chiefs’ quarterback Sunday.
Orton couldn’t get the 2009 Broncos into the playoffs. He threw three interceptions — linebacker Derrick Johnson had interception returns of 45 and 60 yards for Kansas City touchdowns — and the Chiefs won 44-24, ending Denver’s season.
It shouldn’t have come as a surprise. The Broncos are only 9-19 in regular-season December and January games since their last trip to the playoffs in 2005. They started the 2009 season 6-0 but closed that season with a four-game losing streak and finished 8-8. They closed the 2008 season with a three-game losing streak, capped by a 52-21 loss at San Diego. They closed the 2007 season by going 2-4 down the stretch and closed the 2006 season by going 2-5 down the stretch.
So going into Sunday’s game against the Chiefs, the Broncos know they need to finish strong.
“That’s the lesson,” said 11-time Pro Bowl cornerback Champ Bailey . “When you have a chance to close a game out, somebody has to make a play to make that happen. You have to score, to get a turnover, a sack, something to finish it off. You let a team hang around in this league long enough and they’ll have enough time to figure out how to beat you.”
Bruton the Brute ready to go, and thank the lord Moore can sit, I hope, Bruton SS with Carter back to his natural FS position, Moore on the bench:
“It’s definitely tough to get into a rhythm when you’re constantly a backup or looked over. You just have to keep your head down and keep preparing,” Bruton said. “If I get the chance to be in the flow of the game, I feel like it will not only bode well for myself, but also for the team.”
Should a neck injury again keep Dawkins sidelined in the regular-season finale Sunday against Kansas City, Bruton could make the fourth start of his NFL career. Bruton replaced Dawkins at strong safety for the final three quarters of last week’s game against Buffalo.
“I made some assignment mistakes, a missed tackle in the first seven or eight plays I played,” Bruton said. “But once I settled in … I’m not going to say it was perfect, but everything went a lot smoother and I felt a lot more confident. It was like when I was back in college.”
Party pooper. Kansas City interim coach Romeo Crennel said on a conference call with Denver-area reporters that he won’t allow his players to talk about a duel between Chiefs quarterback Kyle Orton and the Broncos’ Tim Tebow.
And that’s that!
Good news for Clady:
Offensive tackle Ryan Clady, a first alternate at his position, likely will be going to the Pro Bowl too because Miami put Jake Long on season-ending injured reserve Wednesday.
Latest moves:
The Broncos made moves on their practice squad, signing tight end Cornelius Ingram and waiving fullback Will Ta’ufo’ou. Tebow and Ingram, a fifth-round draft pick by Philadelphia in 2009, were college teammates at Florida.
With Sylvester back, no more need for the guy with an impossible name to pronounce.
And we can always use another TE which we’ll never use, Fox has a nice collection of those.
C’mon Romeo…. join in the fun! It’s the last game of the season….lol.
Need to come up with a billing name for this one bay!
Cigar Shop Wooden Statue vs Super Tim !!! LOL!
Now this is the key guy to this game if anybody wants my opinion:
Denver is 4-1 this season when McGahee gets 20 or more carries.
“I need to be in there,” he said Wednesday. “I will be in there.”
He said he felt great during Wednesday’s practice and expects to have a big workload Sunday against the Chiefs.
“That’s the game plan. That’s how I’m approaching it,” McGahee said. “I think I’m a big part of the offense. And when I’m not in the game, the offense is not the same.”
McGahee said the Broncos “need to get back to playing Denver football.” In other words, run, run and, when in doubt, run some more.
“That’s what we were doing three, four, five weeks ago,” McGahee said. “That’s the thing about us. Let’s don’t get into all this hype, and just settle down and just play our game of football.”
“It’s time to grow up,” McGahee said when asked what he tells younger players about handling the pressure. “Regardless of who you are or where you’re from, everybody has to step up and do what they need to do.”
And Tebow seems to agree with me, LOL:
Tebow also talked Wednesday about the necessity of establishing the running game Sunday. In their past two games, the Broncos fell far behind and were forced into throwing the ball.
“I think it’s very important to keep (Kansas City’s defense) off balance and make it a physical game, to show our physicality,” Tebow said. “From a motivational standpoint and what we preach, we always want to be a physical team. That’s Coach (John) Fox’s mentality. That’s how we play.”
I hope McGahee is not all talk this week, that he indeed has the body to handle a twenty carries load, something he hasn’t done in our losses.
If we lose this game Fox will have an entire off season to think about his lack of commitment to bringing more and better backs to Denver. Moreno and Ball are just not that and JJ is just scratching the surface. Always said Fox blew it then and I hope it doesn’t blow in his face now.
The cigar shop wooden indian statue is going to get smoked!
You know how they put a sign on these statues that says “don’t touch, it will keel over”. Well, in the NFL the sign is the equivalent of the red jersey for this particular Ortonesque statue, and it will be finally removed for this game, so watch out, put a finger on him and he’ll go down, promise, and no one will get in trouble for it, LOL.
If we can`t sack a wooden statue then we don`t deserve going to the playoffs. LOL
Can already picture that sign on him ….lol!!
Morning to you also Royal.
Press here to tip over. LOL
Tebow offering us a little insight into his thinking world:
“I feel I can let stuff go, but at the same time I don’t know that you want to,” he said Wednesday. “Part of being motivated is learning from mistakes, learning from past failures and also learning from losses and having that feeling of disappointment drive you.
“I don’t know if you want to always just let everything go and continue to be the same person. I think you need to let it eat it at you a little bit, because I think it can make you better.”
“The thing that was disappointing (against Buffalo) was it was a pretty good game, but you have a handful of plays, four or five plays, that aren’t good ones, that are really bad, then it makes the whole game not too good,” Tebow said. “You can’t have 60 (good plays) and five bad ones, or at least your bad ones can’t have very big mistakes on them. … But it’s exciting (to be in this position). We’re a very motivated team … This is what you play for.”
I think Tebow is getting a bit carried away here, LOL.
The way I will remember most of his first season is the other way around, 60 bad plays per game and 5 good ones, or 55 bad minutes of football and 5 good ones.
The game must look very different when you are on the field, LMAO!
Morning strand ! …. good one strand… press here to tip over..LOL!!
Well Bay im sure when he said 5 really bad plays he was refering to his turnovers and the special teams giving up a TD … everything else wasn’t stellar but they woulda been closer. That right there is what truely made the loss really ugly.
I still believe. Von wants to crush Orton (no surprise being a big Tebow supporter). Doom wants to knock him in the mouth. Sounds like our rushers are fired up. I still wanna see Haggan in there more. Maybe just on the first 2 downs and let Miller do his rushing thing.
Either way im really looking forward to this game. hopefully its not the last of the season. I can never have enough broncos football.
Seems like just yesterday we were trapped in the holdout and all of us were pissed and releasing any new news that could possibly spell the end of the lock out. Time flies.
TRB
Great news for #78 Ryan Clady!
TRB – I was remembering Haggan that had a great game vs. the Chiefs last year with a few sacks and causing a fumble that Hunter picked up and ran back.
How about an encore Haggan?
haha. A few blogs back Bay wanted a rebuttal to that KC is ready blog by Dumervil. He has obliged, more or less:
“You can know everybody all you want, but once you get hit in the mouth on the first play, all that goes out the window,” Elvis Dumervil said.
What about Haggan this year in his only start when they benched Von and his ensuing pick 6 and multiple great plays…
Thanks for clarifying TRB, just joking, I think we all know what Tebow meant.
Yeah, posted that yesterday.
Now, an off the wall question:
All you guys who are posting all day long while at work are working for the government, right?
That was a good encore vs Vikes for Haggan. Hope he has an opportunity to contribute on Sunday.
Same for Hunter who’s been pretty quite it seems.
It’s kind of a sad depth situation when bloggers here say play half a man Von Miller no matter what….
sndvl, thought you would like this:
My wife went shopping yesterday, result of a gift certificate I gave her for Macy’s and she comes back with my growler, which I had no clue she took in the first place, filled with Golden Monkey! 64 ozs of that nektar of the Gods, usually like $6 for a 10 oz glass, nearly 10% alc. The bartender told her you must really like your husband, to which my wife simply responded, no, LOL.
Anyway, going to have half of that for New Year’s Eve and the other half the next day for the Bronco game, how sweet is that!
It’s amazing this run of events. 4 times in the last five years we go into the last game of the season in a win and your in type situation.
I mean, the streak has to end, so the rule of averages demands we should win this now and break this anomalous streak. But on the flip side, a trend is a trend, and this is a very bad trend.
Kind of funny that we can still back in to the playoffs with a Raiders loss. I pick the chargers to win that game, so that’s would be some breathing room. But how depressing would it be to get in on a three game losing streak.
But, if we made it in that way, and won the wildcard round …
Morning all!
There’s a poll on CNN.com about Tebow, Halfway down the page on the right. Let’s show our support!
http://www.cnn.com/
I think different, the Raiders put everything into winning right now when they brought in Palmer at such an expensive price and their coach said as much publicly, they should easily win Sunday, the Chargers are in total disarray.
Win we’re in, lose we’re out, my take anyway.
CNN yuk!
And that’s the stupid poll I posted here yesterday about him being our neighbor, you must of missed that.
I work for a company who handles govt contracts … close enough lol. TRB
31-6
That’s the picks so far
31 Broncos win
6 Chiefs win
I figured that much, LOL.
My bad if u posted that already, just trying to make sure we look good in all the polls…
I frankly don’t think that sort of poll makes anyone look good, LOL.