Against the Chicago Bears in Week 14, Brian Dawkins injured his neck.
Since then, the veteran safety has missed three games — including last week’s 29-23 win in the Wild Card round of the playoffs — and was absent from the majority of a fourth game when he left the Buffalo contest in Week 16 in the first quarter.
But Head Coach John Fox said Wednesday that there is some positive news.
“He’s way further along this week than he was last week, and we’ll play it by ear,” Fox said of Dawkins. “When he gets cleared medically, we’ll have him out there.”
Dawkins (neck) did not participate in Wednesday’s practice, and neither did Eric Decker (knee) and Lonie Paxton (personal).
David Bruton (Achilles), Daniel Fells (ankle) and Elvis Dumervil (ankle) had limited participation, and Von Miller (thumb) participated fully in the session, which was moved indoors due to snow.
Fox was asked about those players’ injuries after practice.
“As the head coach, they all concern you, and hopefully we’ll be 100 percent healthy come Saturday,” he said. “We’ll have to be day-to-day, and we’ll see.”
If Decker can’t play in this weekend’s Divisional round matchup with the New England Patriots, Fox said he’s confident in his fellow receivers to step up, including Matthew Willis — who has “made big plays in big spots all season” — and D’Andre Goodwin, who was signed to the active roster from the practice squad on Tuesday.
“He’s got outstanding deep speed,” Fox said of Goodwin. “He has good quickness in and out of breaks. We thought enough of him to bring him back, albeit on the practice squad. I don’t like calling it the practice squad. It’s more of a developmental squad. He has shown good development.”
Needless to say, the head coach is confident in his club no matter who is able to take the field on Saturday.
“We’ve been next-man-up all season regardless of the position,” he said. “That’s no different for our preparation for New England.”
TALENTED TIGHT END TANDEM
When the Patriots defeated the Broncos in Week 15, New England’s tight end duo of Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez combined to grab 13 receptions for 182 yards and a touchdown.
“I think we’ve got to have a better plan of who our matchups are, where those matchups are and how we’re going to defend them,” Defensive Coordinator Dennis Allen said Wednesday.
He called Gronkowski a “big, physical matchup issue,” and described Hernandez as “really like a wide receiver.”
Part of the reason the two are such tough matchups — in addition to their skill — is the way the Patriots utilize them.
New England thrives by forcing the defense’s hand with different personnel packages.
“I think it puts a lot of pressure on all of us,” Allen said. “They really make you work as far as how are you going to match up with the different players. You can’t take that for granted because you don’t want to get in situation where you get mismatches, because when you do, they take advantage of it. We had a few of those in the game the last time, but a few of those happened because we made mistakes. That’s part of the issue when you try to get the perfect matchup, sometimes the guys get out of position. They are not sure where exactly they’re supposed to be or who they are supposed to be covering. We have to clean a lot of that stuff up, and if we do, I think we’ll have a chance in this game.”
Allen knows slowing down the tight ends will go a long way toward Denver’s success in the Divisional round.
“We’ve got a good plan for how we’re going to handle it, and we’ll see how it plays out on Saturday night,” he said.
QUICK HITS
“At the end of the day, we could have gone outside, but I don’t know that our focus would have been as good as it was in that dome today,” Fox said. “That’s why we decided to go there instead of outdoors.”
But that doesn’t mean the Broncos can’t carry momentum from their thrilling, 29-23 victory last Sunday into this weekend’s contest in New England.
“We had a good week of practice last week, and then went into the Pittsburgh game and had a good team effort,” he said. “You saw the results that we got, so now we have to build off of that. It’s going to be the same philosophy as every week. Just continue to get better. The best team at the end wins it.”
“I think it’s him being more comfortable with us now since he’s been playing with us for a while,” said Thomas, who caught four passes for 204 yards and the game-winning touchdown against Pittsburgh. “He’s just throwing the ball on time and getting a chance to make plays. I feel like every ball I caught in the game was on point. It was in my stride. I feel like he’s getting more comfortable and not worrying about who’s in what spot and where people are supposed to be.”
NEW ENGLAND INJURY REPORT
The Broncos’ injury report was detailed above. Here is the full report from the Patroits’ practice on Wednesday.
DID NOT PARTICIPATE: DL Kyle Love (not injury related)
LIMITED: CB Kyle Arrington (foot), S Patrick Chung (foot), C Dan Connolly (groin), WR Julian Edelman (back), LB Dane Fletcher (thumb), S James Ihedigbo (shoulder), T Matt Light (ankle), G Logan Mankins (knee), CB Devin McCourty (shoulder), LB Rob Ninkovich (hip), WR Matthew Slater (shoulder), LB Brandon Spikes (knee), OT Sebastian Vollmer (back/foot), WR Wes Welker (knee) and LB Tracy White (abdomen)
FULL: QB Tom Brady (left shoulder)
Below are photos from Wednesday’s practice.
-Gray Caldwell
Tags: Aaron Hernandez, Brian Dawkins, D'Andre Goodwin, Defensive Coordinator Dennis Allen, Demaryius Thomas, Divisional Round, Head Coach John Fox, Matthew Willis, New England Patriots, Offensive coordinator Mike McCoy, Rob Gronkowski, Tim Tebow
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGWbVHU_Rmg
This one is about DT. Tell me what you think. I like the quote at the end. It can be a reference to experts and fans who didnt believe. I dont like the Optimus Prime nickname. He should be named Demaryius Prime!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljic3_THGz0
This one is about Tebow. Let me know what yu think. neither of these vids were made by me.
@greatness007 that tebow video was awsome i think a lot of analysts look like idiots saying some of the stuff they said. our team believes they can win every game and its the guys in that locker room who matter not the fools who are on the outside. our team is mentaly tuff for being able to shun away all the negitive crap being said. go broncos stay hungry and play like winners.
looks like the players and coaches are having a good time in practice.
Thanks Millerqbkiller. Yeah the pressure is off. I think thats why its gonna be a different game.
I love Allen:
Jan. 11, 2012 5:00 p.m. – Broncos to throw ‘garbage disposal’ at Patriots?
Denver varied its fronts with two-to-four down linemen and blitzes from different angles vs. Pittsburgh. Some players said DC Dennis Allen ‘threw the kitchen sink’ at the Steelers. So how do the Broncos follow that up vs. New England? “Garbage disposal,” Allen replied. “Whatever else we can come up with.”
Nice videos greatness!
Hey Greatness… Someone on here saw the nickname ‘Op-Thomas Prime’ somewhere on the internet… I like it..
dennis allen is the man i love the sharpie in that hat always to. lol
Was Skip Bayless referring to the Steelers game when he said Denver had no chance? And if so, anyone hear what he said Monday??
man i cant wait till 5 to watch nfl replay on nfl network
it was the steelers skip was referring to i believe. he doesnt think denver will win this week also. skip loves timmy but he also loves tommy i think he chose the pats early on to win superbowl so he will be going against denver one more time. dumb on his part. lol
I was sad to hear skip say they have no chance in this game … he gave up on his boy … well mayb enot his boy per se but the whole broncos team … this movie HAS to end with a superbowl … it has to lol. Thx for the vids. Optimus Prime was pretty cool.
Glad dawk is back. Dont play him till he is 100 percent. Bruton has done well so far. Its not about the best team … its about the best team for 60 minutes. Good luck fellas.
I BELIEVE!
EAT GREEDY!!
GO BRONCOS!!!
TRB
skip hedges his bets alot to though to make him sound right either way.
i think dennis allen wants nothing more then to ruff up tom brady in this game i think he has a great plan in store to do just that. remember what qb he faced in his superbowl victory that qb was pretty good as well and allens defense won the game for the saints.
I’m surprised, and a little disappointed, that the ex Broncos media talking heads haven’t backed this team for the most part.. When are they gonna pile on???
Naw TRB he didn’t give up on Tebow. He gave up on the Coaching staff. It was reports all week that Brady Quinn was gonna come in. He was getting half the snaps. That’s what the reports were saying. Plus Tebow was going against the #1 D. So he thought Tim would start off slow and they would bench him. Tim did start off slow but they didn’t bench him. He did tweet Tim on friday or Saturday to play mad. I didn’t think it home to Tim till Decker went down. I really think Tim thought it was his fault. It was a high pass and Decker couldn’t get down and protect his self. Hence the fired up Tebow on the sidelines.
Thanks Royalbroncofan. When I get this sent to me I have to share. I thought The DT one could have been way better. The Tebow one looks like a real movie trailer. I just hope the dont do Elway wrong and hire Gary Busey to play him. lol
most analyst are dumb and they dont want to be the one guy who picks denver. its like that saying all the cool people are doing it. its a popularity thing if most go against denver then i think nobody is bold enough to put there name on it. instead they consistantly eat crow and make excuses everytime we win like devine intervention and dumb crap like that .
Tom Jackson is backing Tim even when he is critical. Romo is backing Tim!!! Mark is mad that people boo him and he brought rings here. lmao He will be ok though. The other have dug in on that Tim is not the guy. Shannon took a drink after the Jets game. He is out numbered in the studio. He would look like Skip if he keeps fighting. When Tim comes thru he credits him for it though. Shannon had the whole CBS staff Tebowing on the post game show.
Bill romanoski said that Denver is gonna win!!!
Maybe you’re right.. I know they have to come across as unbiased, otherwise they loose all credibility..
I think the dime will be our friend against the pats this week as well … and if dawk plays … isntead of Bush … it can be both Dawk Bruton and Carter.
THx for the explanation Greatness. Dont really think it was Tebows … fault. Just very unfortunate. It was kinda high tho i suppose.
skip bayless although i find that guy anoying at times i love that he has stuck to his guns and backed tebow his whole career he looks mush smarter then a lot of retards on first take i cant stand watching guys like john ritchie and stephen a smith and even eric mangini they all say stuff that turns out to blow up in there face. skip must get so tired of fighting a losing battle of trying to sway people to hop aboard the skiptebowbandwagon.
Just saw the “the drive” highlights on ESPN.. Wow! Elway looked like a gazelle out there!!!
Amonte Toomer on NBC sports talk just gave the Broncos his vote of confidence.Started on sayin’ he was “on the fence” then said,”nah I think Broncos win”.That’s not verbatim but close.
i dont think anybody will try and argue with romo that man has a screw loose.lol
I just got the funniest vid ever.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcs8BFyKsFU
Say what you want about Stephen A. This is too funny!!!!!!
that is funny
Sounds from the game during this replay is HILAROIUS … Tim and McCoy so excited that DMT finally got the “scramble drill” right LOL.
Funniest quote so far:
After DMT Sideline Catch:
Big Ben: “Who was that? is that a TE”
Other guy: “No i think it was a reciever. Whatever he is he’s big”
Big Ben: “Yea”
Other guy: “I think he is supposed to be the next Calvin Johnson or something”
LOL
Darn Straight. Op-Thomas is in the building lol.
TRB
Which video is that TRB?
Ay TRB thats Byron Leftwitch. lol He just out of shape!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TXWs_9eXas
Travis Porter put out a new Tebow Tribute. lol
Cool vid @greatness, thx
Try this.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMK9FKMG3Nc
Skip was talking about the broncos when he said they dont have a chance, he said it the following monday morning. I do also like the way he stuck with Tebow through the 3 game skid but i hate the way every game we played during our 6 game streak Skip always said the other team should beat the broncos on every pick even the vikings
@milehigh… Not to worry bro. They beat us in wk 15, the “pundits” don’t give us a chance. Right where we want them. We own the series and THEY know that. No turnovers, tackle smart, and Prater booms the win. I’ll love it when the plan comes together.
Denverscott u r correct sir, the fact is,NO TEAM HAS OWNED BRADY AND BELICHIC LIKE THE BRONCOS!! THOSE RINGS ARE ONLY 3 WINS AWAY IT CAN BE DONE, GREENBAY didn’t even win their division last year look where they went. WIN OR LOSE THAT STEELER GAME WAS ONE FOR THE AGES CERTAINLY THE BEST IN THESE PLAYOFFS SO FAR SO WHY CAN’T WE WIN? I KNOW IT’S NOTGOING TO BE BECAUSE OF TOM BRADY, GO BRONCOS BEAT THESE GUYS AGAIN!!! BRONCOS 34 PATS 28
oh and dnvrscott that link was off da hook bro!
I hope dawkins is able to go this week, having 2 rookies back there against Brady will b huge.Iam not to worried about our offense against the pats defense as long as we hold on to the ball unlike the first match up.Von and ELVIS need to get to Brady as much as possible, Lets go DEFENSE we will need u more then ever this week
GO BRONCOS
The anti Christ media tried to crucify Tebow last game ,because they Pridefuly thought not even God could Help him against this Steelers D-fence against the Pass ,Tebow throws 40 yard passes like there 10 yard passes,Hes a GIANT at the long Ball ALL YEAR.gET HIM A COUPLE MORE FAST recievers who can beat there defender down field ,he will make a Living on droping the A-BOMBS.
Tebow needs a Randy Moss kind of Guy to playside bye side with number 88 which is your record this season 8-8 ,this would compliment Tebows natural Tallent to throw the 40 yard pass like its a 10 yard pass.Put this is your Christmas List,will Help Against many of the touch apponents next year.