You can bet that when Domonique Foxworth was traded to the Falcons earlier this season, both he and the Broncos had Nov. 16 circled on their calendars.
Foxworth has had a chance to start in Atlanta for the past three games, and the sentiment in the Broncos locker room is that the team is happy for him — they just won’t be happy for him this week.
“I am proud of Foxy — I am glad he has gotten the opportunity to play,” Dre’ Bly said. “He is playing well. We are praying that he doesn’t do as well this week, but I know that he is licking his chops and is looking forward to go against us. I am sure it is going to be an interesting game.”
It might be even more interesting if Foxworth lines up against Brandon Marshall, who he went against in practice plenty of times in Denver.
“That would be fun,” Marshall said. “I think all of us receivers are approaching this game as if we’re playing against any DB, so it will be fun going out there against Fox, someone who I am familiar with and I know.”
Tony Scheffler said that Foxworth is a great person, but he’ll definitely be looking to get the better of him now that he’s no longer a Bronco.
“He was a good guy in the locker room and in the community,” Scheffler said. “He is obviously on the other side, him and (Jason) Elam, at the same time. When that clock is running I am sure every guy in here will be looking to run him over.”
YOUR STARTING TIGHT END, TONY SHEGGLER
Speaking of Scheffler, Atlanta Head Coach Mike Smith said he was impressed with all of the offensive weapons the Broncos have, not to mention the tight end position.
“You can’t discount their tight ends, both those guys have had a nice season up to this point,” Smith said during his Wednesday conference call. “The one — I can’t pronounce his name, Sheggler? — he’s very fast and I think he catches the ball extremely well.”
Scheffler smiled when a reporter mentioned the slip up, and he said the mispronunciation didn’t bother him.
“That is all right,” he said. “Tight end is kind of a position that is lesser-known and doesn’t come with a whole lot of attention or fame. That is the way we like it. We have a pretty good group here and if we can contribute every week like we did last week, we will be happy.”
STRETCHING THE FIELD
During of the second half of last week’s win against the Browns, the Broncos occasionally lined up in a bit of a spread offense, sometimes with five receivers wide on the line.
Obviously the formation worked for the team, as they ended up coming away with the comeback victory. Scheffler said he doesn’t necessarily think that formation is the Broncos at their best — it just came out of necessity.
“It just depends on who you are playing and what kinds of looks you are getting defensively and that sort of thing,” he said. “It is something that we had to do. We were kind of forced into it, and guys’ competitive nature took over and it was survival out there.”
Marshall said the team just did what it had to in order to get the win. He doesn’t believe the team should resort to that all the time — it’s just a reflection on the coaching staff that it was able to work so well against the Browns.
“I just think Coach Shanahan does a great job of creating mismatches and taking advantage of them,” Marshall said. “That’s what he did against Cleveland and I think he’s been known for that since he’s been in the league.”
-Gray Caldwell, DenverBroncos.com
Here are some pictures from Thursday’s practice session.
Tags: Brandon Marshall, Domonique Foxworth, Dre Bly, Gray Caldwell, Tony Scheffler
I miss Fox….a lot. I hope he does well every game of the season except this one of course. Best of luck to Fox and Elam!! Love you guys. Go Broncos!!
Looking forward to seeing Fox and Elam in action. I am hoping that our team’s knowledge of Fox’s style will work to our advantage. This would be a huge win for a team fighting through injuries and just fighting to keep it all together. I love the heart of this team and just can’t wait for them to reach their full potential
I’m glad to see Fox doing well. He was probably one of the best quality guys I can remember. He was always unselfish and put the team first. Better than that, he didn’t just use his professional status as an opportunity to get rich. He put time in with the community and helped out others. I wish we would see this thing more from others. I want Denver to win this game, but I hope Fox makes a good play or two. He deserves it, especially after waiting for his turn behind Champ and Dre. He has talent. I just wish we could have kept him.
Its nice to see Champ back on the field. I hope he’s able to play because Roddy White is having a fabolous season against just about every decent corner he’s faced, but I know CHAMP can put him in his place If he’s healhy. I think people are gonna be shocked at how Peyton Hillis runs the ball. I like his hard nosed running and Tatum just might be the speed compliment we need to throw a screen pass to or run outside the tackles. GOOD luck guys. If we win and San Diego loses like they should against Pittsburg we can take a nice lead in the division to where we might even be abale to rest some players towards the end of the year even with not so good of a record. Let that be an incentive to you guys!!!!
We are one miserable play away from Hackney… OH NOSE!
I was glad to see Foxy get a chance with someone who put him on the field every play. Honestly, he beats Dre Bly hands down. But I hope he has an awful day Sunday. Sadly, thats not likely and we’ll be lucky to beat a team thats healthy and playing at the top of it’s game. Atlanta 38 – Denver 34. We need a d-line more than ever since we no longer have a starting linebacker.
So Happy for Foxworth. Was so sad to see my boy from Maryland leave us but I am so glad he is in Atlanta and gets the opportunity to start. Quality guy and Quality player. I was hoping He would be with us and eventually star for us when Bly retired or something but he was to much of a talent to leave in the nickel.
Glad to see champ suited up. Hope he is ready to play. I believe strongly the reason we lost to dolphins was because we didnt have him. Paymah aint play bad but because of his normal position on the depth chart the defense scheme was for him to play 10-15 yards off every play which wouldnt have happpened with champ.
With Champ and Sheffler Back…we on our way to the post season. I really think our lack of Scheffler was why we were losing, and when he came back at like 75% he changed the game in so many ways. GO CHAMP, GO SHEFF, GO TATUM, GO BRONCOS!
I miss Foxy D too and I’m extremely happy for him but I still wish he was with us. I am happy for him though that he’s still getting to play football. He’s a good guy… he deserves the best. And the same goes for Elam – can’t imagine how awkward it would be to play against a team you had been with for 15 years. I wish the two of them ALL the best.
As for football, we will have to fight for this win and any others this season. Every game from now on will be a challenge because of how poorly we played in our losses and some of our wins. If we want to win this TEAM will have to do nothing but play as a TEAM. If that doesn’t happen kiss that W goodbye. However, I know this TEAM can win all the remaining games we have. We are so capable of winning even against a team like the Jets (a game coming up in a couple of weeks). We have all the talent, we have all the weapons we need – we just have to use all that in a TEAM effort and we can walk out of that stadium with our heads held high. We have to play smart, that’s all there is to it.
And I REALLY hope Champ comes back sooner than I’m thinking. We need his leadership and talent back so bad – we need a veteran’s touch on our D and he IS the guy to do it. I’m also looking forward to Scheffler coming back, he is one of Cutler’s biggest weapons. I’m getting all excited now… come on Orange & Blue – play smart, play as a TEAM and win!!!
I’ll always have faith…
GO BRONCOS!!!!!
oh id like champ to play Matt Ryans young id like to see him try and throw champs way lol what a mistake that would be
Fox is the man…..just wish it was dre bly we were going agaisnt instead of fox….hope we pressure matt ryan…and make him look foolish!! im more worried about turner kickin our buts…
boy, wouldn’t it be nice to have Foxy right now…
foxy is awesome but he cant cover marshall guys get real, we can put up numbers on pro bowl cornerbacks. he learned a lot from chamo i like that he wears 24 in atlanta. remember he is a free agent next year he could be back. and the prediction is backwards peterg we win 38 34 . who predicts the team to lose>”? not me.jack still gonna get a pick 6 this year but we need champ and dj back
ummmm….Champ practiced, yet no specifics of the how much and his injury status? Gee, thanks a LOT for the great info
Like most of you , I appreciated Foxy when he was here. He’s a fine young man and deserves a chance to get burned by Marshall, Royal and the rest of the gang. Go Broncos!
we should have traded paymah instead of foxie….. at least champ is back and our offense is playing wit heart. GO BRONCOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
wow,,,so happy to hear champ bein bak on the field…
have faith guys,,Woodyard and Winborn are there to slow down Tuner, and I think Bly will do well against Roddy White considering his previous games againts Ginn and Braylon Edwards…if i’m correct 1 catch each?
very excited for Sunday, knowing that a lot of the fans there will be Bronco fans,considering that a lot of the broncos are SEC or grew up in the area (south)
Champ had limited participation, I would not count on him playing on Sunday. I think our D is getting a little better. If you noticed in the second half of the Cleavland game, they switched to man coverage and we caused the Browns to have 3, 3 and outs in a row. I hope we can slow down the run and get our offense going and we should have a good shot. I hope to see Tatum make a statement in this game and rush for 115 yards. Should be a great game.
Is Champ really back? I just hope he is healthy and there are no set backs with his injury. Any status on Scheffler? If we have Champ back I will relax a little. Let’s face it, he is not just any CB, rather a complete football player. Atlanta is doing well this year, and we need the team as a whole to step up. I would really hate to see Elam kick a game winner in this one. I would also hate to see Fox get an INT. He can play well against any other team, just not the Broncos. GO BRONCOS, Stomp the Falcons!!!!!!
I love Fox. He always responded to my comments on these message boards and I wish he and Elam lots of success after November 16. I know the Falcons are really good but we’re better. If it turns out to be a shootout, Cutler can best “Matty Ice” any day. The Falcons are heading in the right direction but the Broncos win here.
I sure hope that Tatum can come in an make an impact right away. He did well for us in the past, and even though maybe me is not quite in football shape, but I still think he can make some plays.
Woodyard is going to have a stormer, go Broncos!
I miss Foxworth as well. As mentioned above, he was active in the community and had a blog on this website and did a great job of keeping the fans up to date. I was very surprised and sad to see him leave, but can’t say I blame him as he was ready to be a starter with us, if not elsewhere I guess. Best wishes to Foxy, but not this weekend !!
GO BRONCOS – take out the dirty birds!!
I can’t wait for this weeks game and i do hope to see Fox lined up on Marshall i think it will definatly be interesting to watch. Also with Fox on thier team if he does cover Marshall it will be cool to see if cutler will stay towards him or go to someone else and try and stay away from Fox. Hope he does good everyweek but this week i hope he can’t make any plays.
I’m hoping that Champ plays as well. He is my sons favorite player and, living here in Atlanta, we don’t get many opportunities to see our guys play in person. I’m glad to see that Scheffler is going to play. We could really use all the weapons that we have. I would love more than anything to see Champ pick one from pretty boy Ryan. I’ll be shouting louder than normal!! GOOD LUCK GUYS and I’ll see you Sunday. Have a great game!
HEY GRAY,
Can you give us just a quick update on Tatum? I know he has the knowledge to play the game at a high level, but what’s his conditioning like.
GO GET EM’ BOYS