Mason's Morsels

9:16 P.M. MDT: Some power for Selvin Young, who doesn’t burrow into the line the way Andre Hall does but really becomes a sack of bricks when he runs into defenders in the open field…

9:17 P.M. MDT: And then, oh, what a move to the left side as Young moves around blocks from Mark Fenton and Glenn Martinez — in addition to leaving a Cardinals defender flat-footed — for the score. There’s 14:09 left, and the rout is on … 21-3.

9:20 P.M. MDT: Todd Sauerbrun clobbers another kickoff 74 yards that Breaston opts to return … and he gets tackled at the 17.

9:24 P.M. MDT: Maybe I’m slow, but after seeing Wesly Mallard make the tackle there, I just realized … Mallard’s a Duck! I know he went to Oregon; I was aware of that for a while, but for some reason, I just put that together. Yeah, I know, I’m a scosh slow. And speaking of Oregon … the pride of Portland, Preston Parsons, is now in for the Broncos.

9:31 P.M. MDT: I’m writing the game recap concurrently, so my entries are a tad sparse right now. Denver’s possession ended after penalties and some struggles forced the Broncos into a third-and-19; the Big Red promptly brought the house, the barn and the garage on Parsons, who had absolutely no place to go and let fly a pass that was deflected incomplete.

9:32 P.M. MDT: USA Today is reporting that the NFL will change its logo to this next year — what do you think?

9:36 P.M. MDT: Praise to Steve Cargile for a shoestring, touchdown-preventing tackle on Arizona’s Steve Baylark.

9:39 P.M. MDT: And Cargile comes through again, with a red-zone interception. Nicely done for the safety, who singlehandedly helps the Broncos keep a three-score lead.

9:48 P.M. MDT: Update as I also write the recap … Parsons’ second drive ends in a punt, which was a howitzer shot from Sauerbrun that sent Michael Spurlock scurrying back to the 2-yard-line to catch it. Sauerbrun has averaged 54.7 yards per punt tonight, and three of his four kickoffs have reached the end zone … Arizona going for it on fourth-and-10 from the Denver 48 with 3:26 left. Why not? It’s the preseason …

9:51 P.M. MDT: The fourth down fails, and Denver takes over in good field position. Broncos lining up in a power-I formation, with Paul Smith in at fullback and Nate Jackson and Tony Scheffler at tight ends. We hit the two-minute warning; and it seems everyone is content to let the clock drain. Unless something radical happens, I’m out from blogland … Been a pleasure, as always; love the comments, love the conversation. Blogging has become my favorite part of the job; talking to y’all is a pleasure. Enjoy the night, everyone … I’m off to the locker room. Until next time, vaya con Dios.

8:40 P.M. MDT: And we’re back for the second half. Quincy Morgan can’t field the kickoff; it sailed through the end zone for a touchback.

8:41 P.M. MDT: Two penalties in the last three minutes of game time for Mark Fenton; he takes a false-start penalty that puts the Broncos back at their 15. Mike Bell lining up at fullback blocking for Selvin Young; Young goes left behind the blocks of Bell and the offensive line, but is swamped for no gain.

8:43 P.M. MDT: Third-and-14, and Darrell Hackney’s pass is behind Brian Clark, forcing a Broncos punt.

8:44 P.M. MDT: Sauerbrun uncorks a 57-yard punt; the net is 53 after the ball is bobbled upon the return.

8:46 P.M. MDT: In at quarterback for Arizona — Lang Campbell. Sounds like the name of a struggling golfer hacking it on the Asian Tour.

8:47 P.M. MDT: Antwon Burton with some extensive action tonight, although he comes out on third down. Jarvis Moss is still rotating into the game in pass-rush situations … Great play by Hamza Abdullah to capitalize on the fact that Campbell lobbed a pass to Michael Spurlock; the toss gave Abdullah time to move across the field and disrupt the play, giving the Broncos defense a three-and-out.

8:52 P.M. MDT: Broncos trying some deception here … an end-around one moment, a fake end-around the next. The Cardinals didn’t bite on the latter, but Chris Cooper decided to turn Andre Hall into a human Tilt-O-Whirl, grabbing his facemask and turning him about 120 degrees. Thankfully, the play drew a 15-yard face mask.

8:54 P.M. MDT: Hall shows no ill effects, pumping his legs for a 7-yard gain on the next play.

8:55 P.M. MDT: You’ve got to love Darrell Hackney trying to make an impression of John Elway with the run to the right on third down … if he gets hit the right way, he’s helicoptering. Instead, he just has the first down.

8:56 P.M. MDT: We have a Marquay McDaniel sighting … 18 yards on the pass from Hackney, and a trip into the red zone for the Broncos at the Arizona 15 … Paul Smith blocking for Andre Hall now, and he helps the running back get six yards.

8:58 P.M. MDT: Hall running, as Ted Sundquist likes to say, “with authority.” He’s pounded the Broncos to the 2… and then burrows his way behind the left side of the offensive line for his second touchdown of the night.

9:01 P.M. MDT: Sauerbrun’s first kickoff to NOT make it to the end zone comes about three yards short. Arizona will take over at its 23 after the return.

9:06 P.M. MDT: Denver’s defense playing with a two-score lead for the first time this month … It has Arizona in third-and-7 at the Cardinals 39 … Plenty of defenders there to force an incompletion, with Jeff Shoate leaving the way.

9:09 P.M. MDT: Nice 21-yard punt return by Glenn Martinez, who tightroped the sideline for some extra yardage. Martinez has struggled with injuries this summer, but when he’s in the lineup, he has nice body control for a player of his lanky build. An intriguing prospect … especially since he found fifth gear pretty quickly on that return.

9:10 P.M. MDT: Third time for the end-around to Hixon, and this time it goes for a 1-yard loss.

9:11 P.M. MDT: More props for Martinez, the pride of Auburndale High School … nice comeback to get 10 yards on the third-and-9 pass from Hackney. By the way, Auburndale’s nickname is the Bloodhounds, and one of their rivals in Polk County, Fla. is Lakeland, whose nickname is the Dreadnaughts. Gotta love Polk County football … some of the best in what is, in my opinion, the best football state. (Sorry, Texas, but I’ve got to represent my former home.)

9:13 P.M. MDT: Now it’s Nate Jackson’s turn to get one of Hackney’s tosses for a third-down conversion. The first-year quarterback is looking more comfortable as the game progresses. Quarter’s over … more coming in the fourth-quarter entry.

7:44 P.M. MDT: Stephen Alexander’s movements are quite labored over on the near sideline; he’s attempting to walk, but is struggling to get anything more than a tepid gait going.

7:45 P.M. MDT: Nice dart from Darrell Hackney to Brian Clark for 11 yards up the middle, moving the Broncos to first-and-goal at the 2.

7:45 P.M. MDT: Touchdown, Andre Hall, right up the middle … he keeps the ball; it’s his first pro touchdown. (He had plenty back at South Florida, as some of our Tampa visitors to the blog are aware!) It’s 7-3, Broncos, after the PAT is good.

7:47 P.M. MDT: I reported in the first quarter that Alexander was favoring his right leg … but now, it looks like team medical personnel is looking at the tight end’s left leg. If we hear anything definitive, we’ll pass it on.

7:48 P.M. MDT: And here’s the update … Alexander has a bruised lower left leg and will not return tonight.

7:49 P.M. MDT: Paul Smith with the big hit after Steve Breaston returned Todd Sauerbrun’s kickoff 25 yards to the Arizona 20 … Smith rockin’ the black cleats. I like it. Old-school. My kind of guy.

7:50 P.M. MDT: Kurt Warner out; Shane Boyd in at quarterback for the Cardinals. Starting to see some different numbers in for the boys in blue; John Browning and Kenny Peterson are at the ends; T.J. Hollowell’s getting some time at outside linebacker.

7:53 P.M. MDT: Arizona on the move to its 45, now headed backwards after a holding infraction against Tim Euhus. (By the way, is it bad that I have to look at the flipcard to see who some of these guys on Arizona are? I know the Broncos by heart, but now that we’re on the third and fourth rung of the Cardinals roster, I’m having trouble with the instant recall.)

7:56 P.M. MDT: Domenik Hixon makes a fair catch of the punt at the Denver 8 … a few wanna-be coaches in the stands boo, asserting that he should have let that one go.

8:00 P.M. MDT: Kind of a balky series there as Denver goes three-and-out; Selvin Young gets four yards on a third-and-9, leaving the Broncos at their 13 as Sauerbrun comes onto the field.

8:01 P.M. MDT: Sauerbrun’s 51-yard punt was a line drive tht Steve Breaston returned 11 yards; he might have gotten more on the runback, but T.J. Hollowell helped guide him to the sideline, minimizing the return damage. Still, you’ll take a net of 40 yards on a punt, and the Cardinals will take over at their 47 with 7:41 left in the quarter.

8:04 P.M. MDT: Not good … after Karl Paymah made the tackle on that second-and-7 play, Hamza Abdullah and Jeff Shoate frantically signaled for help from the sidelines. Paymah lowered his helmet, and Steve Baylark’s knee collided with Paymah’s head.

8:06 P.M. MDT: Paymah is still being treated on the field as a phalanx of medical personnel huddles around him. A cart with a stretcher has made its way to within a few yards of the cornerback, who remains on the ground.

8:07 P.M. MDT: The silence in the stadium right now is eerie and haunting. Antwon Burton has his left arm draped around the shoulders of Abdullah, who teammed with Paymah at Washington State and roomed with him there and in Denver two years ago.

8:10 P.M. MDT: Paymah has left the field; he was lifted onto a stretcher and carted away. From my angle, I could not tell whether Paymah was moving any extremities. As soon as I hear any information, I will pass it along.

8:11 P.M. MDT: KOA-AM 850 reports that Paymah gave a thumb’s up to fans as he went into the tunnel.

8:12 P.M. MDT: Just announced — Paymah suffered a concussion and will be taken to the hospital as a precaution.

8:12 P.M. MDT: Oh, by the way, there’s a game going on … Arizona has moved to the Denver 20. Hard to get back in the mood for the game after seeing both Alexander and Paymah leave the game with injuries already tonight.

8:14 P.M. MDT: Jarvis Moss was looking a little labored after a play, but he stays in the game … good open-field tackle by Louis Green on Baylark pushes Arizona into third-and-12 from the Denver 18.

8:15 P.M. MDT: The third-down draw worked again … Shane Boyd runs for 10 yards on third-and-12. Edgerrin James got 11 yards on a first-quarter, third-and-10 draw. It’s the two-minute warning now, and Arizona will decide whether to go for it on fourth-and-2 from the 8.

8:17 P.M. MDT: Arizona going for it … goal-line formation … Boyd with the playfake … throws into traffic … ball bounces off Hollowell … eventually falls incomplete.

8:19 P.M. MDT: Mike Bell still at fullback … Andre Hall running behind Hall and tight end Tony Scheffler, but the runner didn’t have much place to go before getting slammed at the sidelined by Monty Beisel. Denver now has third-and-8 at the 10.

8:21 P.M. MDT: A great run by Hall on third-and-3 (after a Cardinals penalty), on which he showed some fine quickness into the open field … but it goes for naught, as a Mark Fenton holding penalty (which really didn’t impact the run all that much, frankly), moves the Broncos back to their 8 with third-and-10. Hackney then gets sacked as Chris Cooper sprinted through the right side of the Broncos line for a five-yard sack.

8:24 P.M. MDT: Great punt by Sauerbrun (52 yards) and some solid downfield coverage by Mike Leach and Nate Jackson, among others, who took advantage of Steve Breaston’s dancing upon fielding the punt. A net of 49 is what Denver needed there.

8:26 P.M. MDT: Arizona moves 19 yards … enough to set Neil Rackers up for a 50-yard field-goal attempt that sails wide left. Halftime, and Denver leads 7-3.

7:01 P.M. MDT: The Sound of the Rockies, our national anthem singers tonight, have departed the field. Quarterbacks Darrell Hackney and Preston Parsons are warming up. I presume Hackney will start, given his place on the depth chart, one notch ahead of Parsons. The Broncos have a much more robust corps of running backs tonight than last week, with Selvin Young, Mike Bell, Cecil Sapp and Andre Hall all in uniform and in pads. Now we await the coin toss.

7:05 P.M. MDT: Arizona wins the coin toss by calling tails. Denver’s captains are Jason Elam, Curome Cox and Darrell Hackney.

7:07 P.M. MDT: Todd Sauerbrun clobbers the opening kickoff seven yards deep into the end zone. Arizona opens with its first-string offense agaist Denver’s No. 2 defense … and Edgerrin James promptly darts 13 yards up the middle on the game’s first play.

7:10 P.M. MDT: Denver’s starting defense: Ends Tim Crowder and Jarvis Moss … tackles Marcus Thomas and Antwon Burton … outside linebackers Cameron Vaughn and Louis Green … middle linebacker Nate Webster … safeties Curome Cox and Hamza Abdullah … cornerbacks Karl Paymah and Jeff Shoate.

7:11 P.M. MDT: Ouch for Denver’s second-team defense … having forced the Cardinals into third-and-10 from the the Arizona 38, James promptly skips left on a draw and gets 11 yards to revive the possession.

7:12 P.M. MDT: Two plays later, James gives way to Marcel Shipp, who proves just as successful as the starter darting 22 yards to the left side and moving Arizona to the Denver 24. One play later, Curome Cox nearly intercepted a Matt Leinart pass towards Anquan Boldin.

7:14 P.M. MDT: It’s not so much third downs as runs that are killing the Broncos on this drive. Shipp and James each have a pair of double-digit-yardage carries as the Cardinals are now at the Denver 10 with second-and-8.

7:15 P.M. MDT: Not a good moment for Jarvis Moss on the second-and-8 play; he slipped while chasing after Leinart, leaving the quarterback enough room to look beyond the lanky first-round defensive end and find tight end Leonard Pope for a connection that set up first-and-goal at the Denver 2.

7:17 P.M. MDT: Nice play by D.D. Lewis in the back of the end zone to break up a Leinart lob for Pope. Arizona takes timeout and has third-and-goal forthcoming after the respite.

7:18 P.M. MDT: Arizona’s Web site refers to their head coach, Ken Wisenhunt, simply as “Whiz.” With this kind of official confirmation, I feel secure providing this link.

7:20 P.M. MDT: Great play by Bill Alford to close on Larry Fitzgerald on third-and-goal, although it made no difference because Fitzgerald was out of bounds. Alford was slow in rising after the play; it appeared Fitzgerald inadvertently got a foot into the cornerback’s gut, but he is now walking off the field.

7:21 P.M. MDT: 3-0 Arizona after Neil Rackers’ field goal.7:26 P.M. MDT: Andre Hall drops the opening kickoff in the end zone as he fields it for a touchback … Darrell Hackney starts at quarterback. Cecil Sapp is at fullback with Selvin Young at tailback. The wide receivers are Brian Clark and Domenik Hixon, with Stephen Alexander at tight end. The right tackle is Chad Mustard; the left tackle is Chris Kuper; the right guard is Emmanuel Akah; the left guard is Mark Fenton; and the center is Greg Eslinger. Meanwhile, Hackney notched a 10-yard run on third-and-5 for a first down.

7:26 P.M. MDT: Some nice blocking from Nate Jackson helps spring Young outside for an 8-yard run, moving Denver to its 43. The Broncos now face third-and-2 … and Young’s carry will leave the Broncos about a half-yard short.

7:28 P.M. MDT: Looks like the Broncos might go for it; they huddled and will now call timeout. As Dan Fouts might say, “Last game of the preseason; can’t hold anything back.”

7:30 P.M. MDT: So much for that; Broncos are now punting.

7:32 P.M. MDT: I’m watching Andre Hall closely, since it’s his first preseason game after injuring his hamstring … so far, he’s dropped a kickoff but also made a fine special-teams tackle, beating all his teammates to Cardinals punt returner Steve Breaston just now. Kurt Warner and the Arizona understudies are now in the game.

7:34 P.M. MDT: So that’s what John Lynch is talking about … he speaks with admiration about Hamza Abdullah’s potential, and he just made an outstanding open-field tackle on Arizona tailback J.J. Arrington for a three-yard loss. Denver now has Arizona in third-and-8 from the Big Red 25.

7:35 P.M. MDT: A third-down stop, as Kurt Warner overshoots Breaston. Arizona punter Mike Barr sends one out of bounds … but not until it first went 50 yards, forcing the Broncos to start at their 25.

7:38 P.M. MDT: Denver opens its second drive with Mike Bell lining up at fullback in front of Andre Hall. Interesting …

7:41 P.M. MDT: Very nice pass to Brian Clark on third-and-7 … and now, an excellent end-around handoff to Domenik Hixon, who made some excellent moves — and followed a block by Glenn Martinez — to get downfield and into the red zone. But some bad news on the play, as Stephen Alexander is injured back near midfield. He looked like he could barely put any weight on his right leg and was helped off the field.

7:42 P.M. MDT: The quarter ends with the Broncos set for third-and-9 at the Arizona 13.

6:07 P.M. MDT: Just now, I was handed a sheet of paper bearing the header “Gameday Roster & Lineup Changes.” Besides indicating that tackles Adam Meadows and Ryan Harris would remain sidelined, it offered one sentence that summed up the night perfectly:

“There will be numerous changes to the Denver Broncos’ starting lineups tonight.”

6:25 P.M. MDT: As the Broncos’ units go through their pre-game paces, many starters already are sans pads. Position-by-position, they include:

QUARTERBACKS: Jay Cutler, Patrick Ramsey
RUNNING BACK: Travis Henry
FULLBACK: Kyle Johnson
WIDE RECEIVERS: Brandon Marshall, Brandon Stokley, Javon Walker
OFFENSIVE LINEMEN: Ben Hamilton (who was not in uniform at practice this week), Montrae Holland, Matt Lepsis, Tom Nalen, Erik Pears
DEFENSIVE LINEMEN: Sam Adams, Elvis Dumervil, John Engelberger, Amon Gordon
LINEBACKERS: Ian Gold, Nate Webster, D.J. Williams
CORNERBACKS: Champ Bailey, Dre’ Bly, Domonique Foxworth
SAFETIES: Nick Ferguson, John Lynch

Counting Harris and Meadows, that’s 26 players who will sit out tonight.

6:31 P.M. MDT: If you visited our site last year — and we hope you did — you might remember the byline of Don Schwartz, one of our season-long interns. I’m giving him a shout-out now because of a missive from him that landed in my e-mail box just now, reminding me that this is the first Broncos-Cardinals game in their last three meetings without his presence.

Schwartz is now the community-relations coordinator for the Wayne Gretzky-owned Phoenix Coyotes, meaning that he closes each of his e-mails with the sign-off, “Have a Great One!”

You, too, have a great one, Don … and get thyself a username and password so you can post your puns here in blog-land.

6:47 P.M. MDT: Since tonight will probably see its share of irrelevant references befitting the less-than-weighty value of the game, I’m taking a food interlude to discuss tonight’s press box meal — salad, hamburgers and fried chicken. The salad was solid, but the meat on the burgers tasted a little funny; perhaps it was the fetid juice in which it lay in the steam tray. But the fried chicken … I don’t know if the caterers broke into Col. Harland Sanders’ vault and stole his vaunted recipe of 11 herbs and spices, but the stuff tasted exactly like what you get at KFC, which is not a bad thing at all.

6:48 P.M. MDT: At the insistence of season-long media-relations interns Zach Williams and Jason Taylor, I’m mentioning the fact that tonight’s game is just the second pro football game Williams has ever witnessed and the first for Taylor, who had to miss last week’s game. I have urged Taylor not to judge the NFL based on tonight’s proceedings.

6:58 P.M. MDT: National anthem time. First-quarter blog going on-line momentarily.

Seven days ago, the Broncos concluded a full game week of preparation that mimicked the regular season. Tonight, the Broncos head into the preseason finale against Arizona with starters on the bench, only two days of practice instead of the normal three and the emphasis back on evaluation rather than a regular-season-like schedule.

To that end, assistant head coach/defense Jim Bates said that he’ll take things back to the basics. He said earlier in the preseason that base schemes allow him and his defensive coaches to better gauge the players on the field. With the starters on the sideline and some roster positions still for the taking, evaluation has again become the priority.

“What we want to see is progress,” Bates said. “We still have some roster spots available. Defense and special teams — it’s going to come down to this game for a lot of guys, because they’re still close.”

This is a curious week at Dove Valley, as two separate but vital tasks overlap. For the reserves and those on the roster bubble, Thursday night’s game could represent one of the most crucial evenings of their professional lives. For the starters and those whose place on the team is assured, their minds are on the Buffalo Bills.

“We aren’t at full-game week planning,” Bates said, “but as far as getting a feel for Buffalo does, we’re well into that.”

Which led me to ask Bates one final question — which team had he studied more on tape, the Bills or the Cardinals?

“Buffalo,” he said with a grin.

RANDOM NOTE …

Like many in this state, I’m from somewhere else. I’ve become quite fond of Colorado, but I certainly hope that banning tag at a school in the Springs isn’t reflective of the values of this state. I played tag, dodge ball and its more unruly cousin “battleball” and I turned out perfectly fine after only three and a half years of therapy.

JUST ONE MORE THING …

In a blog entry earlier this week, BuckinBroncoFan wanted to know who would comprise my 53-man roster. I replied with some blather about how, as a team employee, I ought not offer an opinion on the matter.

Lame, I know.

But who do you think will be the top 53? Feel free to share your predictions on the roster in the comment section below.

Time to pack the laptop, the recorder, the binoculars and headphones and go to the stadium … I’ll talk to you again from there. Until then, vaya con Dios.

“Git ‘R Done.”

I can’t even say that those are three words. At best, it’s two-and-a-half, and one of them isn’t even spelled correctly. But somehow, they ring appropriate after the Broncos took a vital first step towards the playoffs with Sunday’s win.

They were the first words I noticed upon landing at Phoenix’s Sky Harbor International Airport on Saturday. (And by the way, is there a cooler name for an airport?) One of the buses had the phrase brandished on its front with a novelty license plate. I found it a tad odd that the bus company would go for such personalization, but who am I to judge?

Still, all psuedo/wanna-be-Southern comedy aside (because Larry the Cable Guy is actually from Nebraska; you can look it up), I couldn’t help but think that was the simple theme of the weekend — getting it done.

Mission accomplished. The four-game losing streak had culled the Broncos’ 2006 campaign down to its most threadbare but essential goal — to win, by any means permissible within the rules. That meant going deep in the first three minutes, moving a cornerback-turned-safety back to his original position, providing a liberal dose of pass-rushing to an opposing rookie quarterback and being unafraid to turn to lesser-used players in crucial situations.

Mike Bell getting the majority of carries at tailback? It worked for two touchdowns.

Karl Paymah seeing copious playing time as the third cornerback? He merely led the Broncos in tackles and didn’t yield the big play that Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin have made their habit in recent weeks.

David Kircus filling in on punt returns? He provided an early spark with a 16-yard sprint on his first return.

Quincy Morgan back on kickoff returns? All he did was give the Broncos their longest such runback in nearly three years.

Steve Cargile playing in his first NFL regular-season game? Four special-teams tackles later, he’d shown why he received the coach’s call.

A collection of skill-position players around Jay Cutler that on some plays included Kircus and rookies Brandon Marshall and Bell, with a strong dose of Nate Jackson at tight end along with rookie Tony Scheffler? Using those backups helped the Broncos rest veterans like Javon Walker, Stephen Alexander and Rod Smith, while they continued moving the football all the while.

“Javon’s shoulder (was) banged up a little bit (and) my calf cramped up a little bit, so we have no problem letting those guys in the game and going out there and doing what they can do,” Smith said. “They get paid to go out there and go to work.”

All that, and a win, too.

Now that how you “git ‘r’ done.”

4:20 P.M. MST: Mike Bell’s tough third-down run has the Broncos just one yard from their third touchdown of the day.

4:22 P.M. MST: Success, as Mike Bell makes his hometown return a success with his sixth touchdown of the season. Jason Elam gets his 12th point of the day — he’s now at 97 for the season — and the Broncos have their first three-score lead since the third quarter of the home loss to the Chargers.

4:27 P.M. MST: At this point, the Broncos appear to be trying to keep the Cardinals in front of them, maybe get some yards, but not gobble up large chunks at once. The Cardinals’ two biggest plays on this possession so far have come on Matt Leinart scrambles of eight and 14 yards.

4:36 P.M. MST: Champ Bailey has lined up opposite Larry Fitzgerald for most of the afternoon, but with fourth-and-six, the Cardinals moved Fitzgeraled around into a matchup against Karl Paymah, and he snagged a 19-yard pass to keep an Arizona drive alive.

4:38 P.M. MST: Bailey and Curome Cox saved a touchdown with an open-field tackle on Anquan Boldin, but Edgerrin James scores two plays later to narrow the Broncos’ lead to 10 points with 7:46 remaining.

4:46 P.M. MST: At least the Broncos managed to recover Chike Okeafor’s second forced fumble of the day when George Foster pounced upon a loose football … and then Antonio Smith nullifies what would have been a stop for his team when he gets flagged for an unnecessary-roughness infraction after the play. At the least, the penalty costs the Cardinals about a minute and a half of possession time.

4:52 P.M. MST: I think it might be impossible for a player to be held more blatantly than Javon Walker was in the end zone.

4:53 P.M. MST: Mike Bell runs for a 1-yard touchdown, and the lead is three scores with under three minutes left.

3:40 P.M. MST: Back for the second half, but the Broncos offense is unable to begin the second half in the manner in which it opened the first, going three-and-out and losing four yards in the process — and, in fact, has a distastrous opening after Brandon Marshall intercepts Jay Cutler’s third-and-14 pass.

3:41 P.M. MST: Denver’s advantages at halftime were staggering on the stat sheet:

• Total yardage: Broncos 240, Cardinals 60


• First downs: Broncos 14, Cardinals 4


• Rushing yardage: Broncos 60, Cardinals 40


• Passing yardage: Broncos 180, Cardinals 20

And yet the Cardinals are at the Denver 20, threatening to score a touchdown that would give them a 1-point lead.

3:46 P.M. MST: Threat nullified. J.J. Arrington swarmed down on third-and-2. A Neil Rackers field goal nullified by a holding penalty on fourth down. A rekick sails wide right. Denver not only emerges from Cutler’s errant throw unscathed — but gains 27 yards in the process, moving to the Denver 40.

3:49 P.M. MST: The Broncos opened this drive with Jay Cutler, Tony Scheffler, Brandon Marshall and David Kircus on the field. As George Allen was wont to say, “The future is now.”

3:51 P.M. MST: Forty-four of the 50 yards amassed so far on this drive are attributable to rookie pass-catchers Marshall and Scheffler, two players who seem to be growing up rapidly today.

3:54 P.M. MST: It was almost as though Rod Smith watched what his younger teammates did and wanted to demonstrate that he could do it, as well. Cutler’s sixth career touchdown is his first to Rod Smith, who used a stutter-step to get open in the back left corner of the end zone. Denver’s lead is back to 13 points.

4:12 P.M. MST: Arizona’s second sustained drive of the game has seen the Cardinals run seven consecutive pass plays — six completions and a sack — before turning to the run at the Denver 21. On the next play, Leinart was sacked by John Engelberger, Larry Coyer’s “wild horse rider” who stripped the southpaw of the football, although he managed to recover. The sequence would, however, force Arizona to settle for Neil Rackers’ 38-yard field goal.

4:14 P.M. MST: After the Thanksgiving loss to the Chiefs, Nate Jackson lamented about how any good return seemed to be nullified by a flag. Finally that isn’t the case as Quincy Morgan sprinted 64 yards with the Broncos’ longest kickoff return since Adrian Madise’s 83-yarder on Dec. 28, 2003 at Green Bay.

2:43 P.M. MST: Jack Nasty — a.k.a. Nate Jackson — got, well, jacked up by Robert Griffith, but hung onto the ball between the hashmarks. Tatum Bell goes backwards one yard on the next play, though, setting up Jason Elam’s second field goal of the day.

2:44 P.M. MST: Elam now eight points from a 14th straight 100-point season. Such campaigns may seem routine after all this time, but considering how he sets a new NFL standard every time he hits the century mark, they’re always worth commemorating.

2:48 P.M. MST: As key as Kenard Lang’s deflection of a second-and-2 pass was the fact that John Lynch and Domonique Foxworth hit Anquan Boldin as the football arrived in the wideout’s grasp, forcing an incompletion; the Cardinals, however, convert the third down on the next play and then move the drive to the Denver 35 after a 13-yard Edgerrin James run one play later.

2:53 P.M. MST: Neil Rackers drills a 49-yard field goal, and the Broncos’ shutout is done.

2:59 P.M. MST: Dennis Green channels his inner Rick Barry (or Jennie Finch) and underhand-heaves his red replay-challenge flag 15 yards onto the field to contest a Rod Smith reception.

3:02 P.M. MST: The challenge nullifies the completion, and seconds later … disaster. Cutler secures the handoff to Tatum Bell, who promptly loses it when Chike Okeafor hits him in the backfield. Loose ball … touchdown … and the Broncos’ once-bulbous 13-point lead is now down to three.

3:08 P.M. MST: Javon Walker comes back in for the Broncos’ next possession, and makes a crucial third-down catch, getting one extra yard after Orlando Huff hits him — a yard that keeps this drive alive as the Broncos look to regain some control over this game.

3:10 P.M. MST: Like the erstwhile baseball player he is, Tony Scheffler holds up the football as though he were an outfielder gesturing with his glove following a diving reception. The 16-yard reception is his second of the game; Cutler has already spread the football around to six different pass-catchers.

3:16 P.M. MST: Denver is four-of-seven on third-down attempts, but all three third-down failures have come inside the Arizona 12. Jason Elam is now three-for-three on field goals.

3:21 P.M. MST: Three three-and-outs for the defense this half. Denver has outgained Arizona 211 yards to 60; the Broncos’ dominance so far is evident everywhere but on the scoreboard.