With a three-game lead in the AFC West and just three games to go, you might think it’d be hard to stay on task and keep yourself from looking ahead to the playoffs.
Thinking that would be a mistake.
“The job’s not done yet,” Brandon Marshall said in his press conference today. “It’s really easy for us to stay focused. We need one more win to get in. We’re not worried about San Diego losing — we’re trying to control our own destiny.”
They’ll get their shot at that one win and control of their own destiny Sunday in Carolina.
“It seems like when our back is against the wall we play better. I think this game is going to show us where we are at as a team. The Panthers are a Super Bowl caliber team, they have great coaches, great players and they are doing a great job. It is going to be an exciting atmosphere to play in.”
TALK ABOUT A “FREAK”
During his press conference, Marshall refered to Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith as “a freak.”
He didn’t mean it in any sort of derogatory sense but rather that he is a freakish athlete, and when Eddie Royal was asked about it, he agreed with that assessment, saying Smith’s mindset makes him the good player he is.
“You can tell every time he touches the ball he wants to score. He makes the tough catch and he’s also a great blocker.”
During his time at Virginia Tech, Royal said he watched film of Smith, and since the two are similar in stature, it’s easy to see why.
“I’ve learned a lot,” Royal said. “When I was in college, I watched film on him, just taking little things away from his game. He’s an aggressive runner, especially yards after the catch, he does that real well. I’ll definitely talk to him and try to pick his brain a little bit.”
INJURY REPORT
For the Broncos, Spencer Larsen is the only player who did not participate today as he still recovers from a groin injury. Brandon Stokley participated on a limited basis, a positive change from sitting out yesterday. Champ Bailey and Karl Paymah were both limited as well with groin injuries. Both Mario Haggan and Chad Mustard participated fully after being limited yesterday.
For the Panthers, only linebacker Adam Seward and defensive end Hilee Taylor were on the injury report, and neither have participated in practice yet this week.
– Adam Zinser, DenverBroncos.com
And now for some photos, courtesy of Gray Caldwell…
Tags: Adam Zinser, Brandon Marshall, carolina panthers, Eddie Royal, Uncategorized
Everybody is always laughing and Nate Jackson is always eating in these updates.
It will be great to start getting some of the veterans back; that will go a long way to helping to finish strong in the push to the finish.
im interested to see how the defense will do with dj and champ back
Whats going to happen to Woodyard now that Williams is back? He is a future star and should be starting. I dont think he is better than williams yet. Hopefully he will take over on the other side for Winborn. Or, maybe he can take the middle from webster. Who knows, all i know is that he should be starting somewhere, our defense has improved dramatically with him in there. Hope Champ can run full speed, well need it to cover smith.
D.J. Williams, middle linebacker?
I’m not saying it’s going to happen. Then again, I’m not saying it’s not. All we can say right now is this: Wesley Woodyard is going to play, even when Williams returns from knee problems.
Woodyard may not get any team MVP votes from his teammates, but at the very least, he’s one of the Broncos’ unsung heroes. Barely a month ago, Champ Bailey was quoted as saying the defense’s “attitude stinks.” Since then, the Broncos have played their best defense of the season, and it’s no coincidence that the improvement has come with Woodyard in the lineup.
The undrafted rookie out of Kentucky “is a beast,” says Broncos defensive tackle Kenny Peterson. Not only has he been a tackling machine, Woodyard has provided a vital intangible to the mix. At a time when the defense was feeling beleaguered, he stepped in and gave his teammates a major jolt of enthusiasm.
Question is, what happens when Williams returns?
Williams is going to play, make no doubt. But Mike Shanahan, when asked about Woodyard Monday, said “We’ll try to keep him out there as much as we can. He’s fun to watch, both on defense and special teams.”
Williams switched to middle linebacker last season before being moved back to his natural position on the weak side. Now, you have to wonder if he’ll move back to the middle, where Nate Webster has been inconsistent, to make room for Woodyard.
At any rate, it’s very clear the Broncos’ three best linebackers are Williams, Woodyard and Jamie Winborn. And you know what Shanahan likes to say. That’s right. The best players play.
So DJ MLB, Woody WLB, Winborn SLB. interesting
So funny to see all the players laughing and just having a good time… nice to know their the ones relaxed!! I’m relaxed but this game makes me nervous. I just want this team to get to the playoffs so bad and just prove themselves worthy of that shot - it makes me nervous.
Well anyhoo, I really really do hope this is the weekend Champ comes back. I hope he’s ready because I know I am. I don’t want him to cause more pain to his injury or anything like that but this is going to be a huge test for this team. We’ve done real well on the road but it has never been easy. And especially with us playing a really good Carolina team… that makes me even more nervous. But the big reminder here is we beat the Jets on the road… we gotta have faith knowing that we made that win happen. We fought hard for that win, we can do the same in Carolina.
I’ve got all my faith in this team that they’ll pull through this game for themselves and also us adoring fans!!!
Crush the kitties!!!!
GO BRONCOS!!!!
well, im not sure how woodyard would do at middle linebacker, but if he can pull it off then even better! i just didnt like DJ at middle linebacker, he wasnt playing instinctive football. but i suppose thats something the coaches will have to look at this week. i also hope champ can get back this week…. but only if he is at 100%. the last thing we need is him to get injured again this close to the playoffs.
what i think is even more important is our running game! with hillis out, we need someone to step up… again! i was watching clips of boyd on youtube, and some of it was pretty impressive, but i hope can be a powerfull runner in addition to a fleet footed dancing type back. i would like him to be a bit heavier but what do you do? I did however see one monster hit he laid on some LB, i actually thought for a minute that he may have killed him! lol
so im going to say it again, if our running game is going, we WILL win this weekend!
GO BRONCOS!!
What number is Boyd wearing… It better not be 30… It made me so mad when Mike Bell wore that number… Nobody else deserves to wear it because it belongs to Terrell Davis
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO… You have got to be kidding me… He is wearing number 30. How could they let this happen. Please, somebody fix this. There have to be other numbers available like 37 because they just let Lowry go… Give the rookie that number
Damn at least Mike Bell asked TD for the number but this is redick!!!
Man, you guys sure missed the memo about Boyd wearing #30 over on Jim’s blog. I started quite a frenzy about this very thing over there. Believe me guys, I’m right there with ya. That is one number that is just absolutely sacred to this franchise and its just so simple and obvious that #30 is one of those numbers that should never be worn again in the Mile High City by another player. And unless Terrell wants to or does come back, which is the most obvious NO, #30 should be off limits.
Dtmac3 - wow, I said that very thing to myself when I first heard/read Boyd was going to end up wearing #30 (that number only belongs to TD and it should remain that way).
You two (Dtmac3 and samoanbronco) should head over to Jim’s blog - I’m sure the party about this very subject isn’t done over there. I’m still livid that that number is still out there for someone else to put on their back. I hope that gets fixed too, its starting to really tick me off that certain numbers that did huge historic things for this team/franchise are still floating out there for other people to wear. Well, there ya go, I’ve already put in my 2 cents about this, here’s 2 more!
GO BRONCOS!!!!!
We should start a petition or something to have him change is number and more importantly have TD’s number retired so that nobody else, especially no name guys can wear it. Boyd, show some respect and choose a different number.
It is only a number gents. How many of you cared about the number 30 before TD the MAN made it famous. Honestly the team probably gave him the number. I am sure that Boyd didn’t ask the team for the number unless it was his college number and if it was maybe he likes TD and wants to be like TD if that is the case then I am all for it either way.
u know what i’m tripping on… we won’t get a home game if we win our division?
i think we trade pittman, young, and hall in the preseason and get what we can.
and then have hillis, aldridge, and torain as the new 3-headed monster.
WhidbeyBronco- If we win our division we will host a wild card game against either the #5 or #6 team depending on which seed we finish #3 or #4. There are so many numbers that had great years here, if we take all of them out of circulation there won’t be any left. Shannon Sharpe, Rod Smith, Eddie Mac, Al Wilson, and Steve Atwater are just a few. Who is more important than the others and should have their number taken off the list of available numbers? Lets go out there and win this week BRONCOS and give us something else to talk about.
–GO BRONCOS–
Champ has been saying he is coming back for a long time now and in a sense i am tired of hearing that….If champ doesnt come back for this game…that we seriously need him for…then he should sit out the rest of the year and get all the rest he needs for the playoffs because after the panthers we really don’t need him again until playoffs so he doesn’t play and re-injure himself against insignificants (no offense to remaing teams or champ in this paragraph)….same goes for DJ.
I like when this team plays as the underdogs….they tend to excell. Im looking forward to that BRONCO STAMPEDE THROUGH CAROLINA. LETS DOMINATE!!!
I hope this sundays game turns into a shootout because otherwise Carolina will be able to control the clock. Also no quarterback in the leauge is capabable of winning a shootout against Cutler.
And to all the people angry about Boyds number…People were upset John Elway took Craig Morton’s number. But look what Elway did. Ive seen Cory Boyd do some pretty freakish things on the field and I think he’ll make everybody respect #30 again!!!
YES! Champ and D.J. were practicing so perhaps this is a good portent for them playing against the Panthers. Cory Boyd will do well in his return to the Carolinas and once again Jay Cutler will outclass the other quarterback, in this case Jake Delhomme. I’m not going to predict a final score but at 5:15 MST Sunday evening the Broncos will have nine wins. This will be a tough game, but we can do it. GO BRONCOS!!!
I thought Pope had a fairly respectable game against Atlanta. Does anyone know why we haven’t seen him since?
Look, I understand everyone being a little touchy about #30, but it’s time to move on. TD is in the Ring of Fame, where’s the outrage that a backup, 3rd string OLB is wearing #53? Exactly! Woodyard should be starting, where is the question. I don’t think he’s got the bulk to play middle, but I’m guessing he’ll play the strong side soon. Either way he CANNOT replace DJ on the weakside, everyone seems to forget that with all the troubles on the defense he’s still the guy around the ball 9 outa 10 times. Come on Champ, we need you now more than we have all season. It’s this simple, ONE WIN AND YER IN!
Champ Bailey i hope to God your reading these
we seriously can’t have Bly on Smith the whole game i mean he can cover Smith no doubt but Smith is alot like Chad Johnson in the way of small manuevers at the line of Scrimmage and Champ is the only guy in this league that can cover Ocho Cinco. I havnt seen Champ play Steve to many times at all but i have seen Bly on him in the Pro Bowl and Regular season. Bly is a hall of famer no doubt but Steve Smith demands precision and Champ can deliver against any guy in the league the only other guy that can cover Smith is Nambdi or w/e but thats becus he is so *Fn aggresive at the 5yd mark. Wesley is indeed special and can indeed start but get this guys. Boss Bailey wasnt doing bad at the start of the seaon he did get 42 tackles before he was injured he only played 6 games.
Jamie Winborn may be showing some star power now but he hasnt his whole career alot like Nate Webster he wasnt really all that good till he got the start last season over Koutivides. im sure Mike will sub guys in and out and really give this defense a versatile approach and as for trading Selvin Young …..NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
he is still extremely explosive and he has the intangibles to be a star in this league. He doesnt fumble all that much unlike hall, and bell. im am however ready to see Boyd play and Selvin Young is that starter back for the game against the Panthers!!!!!!!!!
NOW WE CAN GIVE DEANGELO AND STEWART A RUN FOR THEIR MONEY !
we could especially do that if we hadnt lost Hillis.
Hillis is a complete superstar modest though he may be
Can’t wait to see Champ back in action, but we must keep Woodyard on the field, we have been much better with him playing. I say lets win out the remaining games and try to avoid the Colts in the playoffs.
I agree with Broncosfan1 and Dr. Doom. We all love TD but we can retire the number of every good player. We wouldn’t have anything let! Maybe this will give Boyd a sense of the need to fill some really big shoes!
I cant wait to LT cri after we win the west!!
go broncos
ok… first off, a number is just a number, i am a 3rd gen broncos fan, and as much as i love TD, what im thinkin about right now is a superbowl win in jan 2010, not 1997!! we def need champ back, and i think DJ would be a boon as well, but im not convinced that the majority of our current D should not be starting!! my main concern is our run offense! i dont care who plays, but we need someone to step up and run with toughness!! we need the D to stop the run, and we need to move the ball well on the ground to win this game. GO BRONCOS