Posts Tagged ‘San Diego Chargers’

Royal’s Special Night Earns Special Honor

October 20th, 2009 - 5:00pm by Chris GentilvisoOther posts by Chris Gentilviso

A pair of special teams touchdowns against San Diego has granted Eddie Royal his first career special teams honor.

Royal will be named AFC Special Teams Player of the Week, the Broncos learned on Tuesday, for his Week 6 performance in a 34-23 victory over the Chargers. His 235 total return yards set a franchise record.

The majority of those 235 yards came via that pair of blistering runs on the Chargers’ coverage teams. Royal became the second Bronco and 11th player in NFL history to record a kickoff return for a touchdown (93 yds. in first quarter) and a punt return for a touchdown (71 yds. in second quarter) in the same game. He is the sixth player to accomplish that feat since the 1970 NFL merger.

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6-0, Say No More!

October 20th, 2009 - 10:04am by mark_cooperOther posts by mark_cooper

Eddie, Eddie, Eddie, go baby, GO!! Was that fun to watch or what? My son had just walked upstairs and I called to him to come watch the run. WOW! History in the making with a punt return (71 yds) and a kickoff return (93 yds) for touchdowns.

Then, the Chargers replied with their own version of a punt return. I wasn’t happy but that makes for fun TV and fan viewing and the halftime show was funny with Chris Berman saying all you had to do was watch 4th down and the kicking game to enjoy the first half.

They had our number early then the D… as in DOOM (two sacks) and the Boys started firing on all cylinders. Five sacks, a bunch of knockdowns, a bunch of in-your-face Philip Rivers while you try to throw the ball. You really have to give Coach Nolan a lot of credit in that he really shut down Rivers with the blitz package in the second half. From the corners and the middle walking up and back, disguising it well.

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Broncos at Chargers: Second Half Live Blog

October 19th, 2009 - 8:22pm by Gray CaldwellOther posts by Gray Caldwell

Q3 14:56: The Broncos receive the kickoff to start the second half, and the offense takes over at the 26-yard line after Eddie Royal’s kickoff return. On first down, Knowshon Moreno is wrapped up near the line of scrimmage for no gain. Second down brings a deep pass from Kyle Orton intended for Tony Scheffler, but it is broken up. Flag on the play — pass interference on the defense. That sets up a first down on the Denver 45-yard line.

Q3 13:50: After a six-yard gain on a pass from Orton to Scheffler, Moreno finds a hole for a gain close to the first-down marker — it sets up 3rd-and-1. The handoff goes to Moreno, and there’s no indication whether it’s a first down or not — there are flags all over the field. Two fouls. Illegal shift on the offense, which is declined, and delay of game on the offense for spiking the ball after the play. It’s fourth down, and Brett Kern is in to punt. Darren Sproles is back at his own 10-yard line ready to return. The punt sails into the end zone for a touchback.

Q3 12:34: Brian Dawkins is back in the secondary and Mario Haggan is back in at linebacker as the defense trots onto the field. Andra Davis makes the tackle on first down as LaDainian Tomlinson picks up three yards. On second down, Rivers is nearly sacked by Dumervil before throwing a ball intended for Chris Chambers that falls incomplete. Two flags on the play, both on the Broncos. A holding call on Haggan makes it 1st-and-10 for the Chargers at their own 28-yard line.

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Broncos at Chargers: First Half Live Blog

October 19th, 2009 - 6:39pm by Gray CaldwellOther posts by Gray Caldwell

COIN TOSS: The Chargers have won the coin toss and will receive the ball to start the game. Matt Prater is on the field for the kickoff.

Q1 14:57: After the Monday Night Football theme music pumped through the speakers and Darren Sproles was taken down at the 28-yard line, the starting defense is on the field. It’s Kenny Peterson, Ronald Fields and Ryan McBean on the line, Elvis Dumervil, D.J. Williams, Andra Davis and Mario Haggan at linebacker and Champ Bailey, Andre’ Goodman, Brian Dawkins and Renaldo Hill in the secondary.

Q1 14:19: The first play of the game is a run by LaDainian Tomlinson, and he is tackled after a three-yard gain by Dawkins. Tight coverage by Bailey forces an incompletion on second down, and the Chargers now have a 3rd-and-7 on their own 27-yard line.

Q1 14:13: Darrell Reid and Brian Dawkins nearly sack Philip Rivers, but he throws it away just in time. The screams from the crowd seem to indicate there are plenty of Broncos fans here in Qualcomm Stadium.

Q1 13:59: The offense is on the field for its first drive of the game. It’s Kyle Orton at quarterback, Knowshon Moreno at running back, Daniel Graham and Tony Scheffer at tight end and Brandon Marshall, Eddie Royal at receiver. Ryan Clady, Ben Hamilton, Casey Wiegmann, Chris Kuper and Ryan Harris make up the offensive line.

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Broncos at Chargers: Pregame Blog

October 19th, 2009 - 4:46pm by Gray CaldwellOther posts by Gray Caldwell

Sunny day here in San Diego, and we’re packed into the press box at Qualcomm Stadium. It’s an open-air press box, so it’s always fun to be able to soak in the full atmosphere of the game.

Like the Broncos, the Chargers have painted the field with an old-school feel, as well — the end zones are blue with white diamonds outlined in yellow, and the AFL’s 50th anniversary logo is painted at midfield.

Players are on the field warming up, and there have already been sightings of the brown-and-white striped socks along with the brown and gold pants. Clearly we’re in for an interesting uniform combination yet again.

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Leadership On Multiple Fronts

October 16th, 2009 - 3:26pm by Chris GentilvisoOther posts by Chris Gentilviso

When asked about the qualities Vonnie Holliday brings to the Broncos, defensive coordinator Mike Nolan quickly labeled three things — maturity, experience, and an appreciation for what it takes to win.

Those qualities are an extension of Holliday’s work ethic over his 12 pro seasons. Recovering from a knee injury this summer arguably made the 2009 offseason his hardest.

The adversity only encouraged Holliday to find a path that landed him on Denver’s roster.

“I don’t encourage people not to go to training camp, but this year just taking that offseason off — no OTAs, mini camps, all those things — definitely saved my joints as a 12th-year guy,” Holliday said. “Coming into the season the freshest, the healthiest I’ve felt in a long time.”

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Savoring the Single Week

October 16th, 2009 - 2:09pm by jim_saccomanoOther posts by jim_saccomano

It’s a long season but it has been a great one so far for the Denver Broncos.

When Head Coach Josh McDaniels says we have not done anything so far, he is not just talking in coach-speak.

I once saw an interview with Joe Torre when he was managing the Yankees, in which a writer asked him if it was time to panic. And in one of the great answers, Joe said, “the problem is, what do I do after I panic? We have another game tomorrow.”

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Preparing Beyond the Pass

October 15th, 2009 - 3:14pm by Zach EisendrathOther posts by Zach Eisendrath

Right now, among NFL circles the San Diego Chargers may be considered by some a pass-first team.

Through the Chargers’ 2-2 start, Philip Rivers has been arguably the team’s standout performer. He’s thrown for over 250 yards in each of San Diego’s first four games, including a 436-yard performance against Baltimore in Week 2. With his efforts, the Chargers rank second in the league with 295.5 passing yards per game.

The team’s rushing offense, meanwhile, has been at the opposite end of the spectrum. Through the first quarter of the team’s slate, the Chargers’ rushing attack ranks last among NFL squads, averaging 2.7 yards per carry and 53.8 yards per game.

Head Coach Josh McDaniels isn’t taking San Diego’s rushing offense for granted, though. Far from it. He said those statistics might be skewed because the Chargers have had to play catch up in a few games, causing the team to abandon the running game at times in favor of Rivers’ arm.

Featuring a backfield armed with the names LaDainian Tomlinson and Darren Sproles — and an all-around dangerous offensive attack to deal with — McDaniels said the Broncos have their work cut out for them.

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Showing His Smarts

October 14th, 2009 - 4:22pm by Chris GentilvisoOther posts by Chris Gentilviso

Few NFL quarterbacks can prosper without a strong system of support in place.

For Kyle Orton, recognizing that the Broncos offered that system took a matter of minutes.

“I thought that from day one, this was a great fit for me,” Orton said. “I had a lot of confidence when the trade happened. I was excited about the trade and excited for what I and we could do in this system.”

The “we” he was referring to was his relationship with Head Coach Josh McDaniels. Like Orton, McDaniels had few doubts regarding what his new quarterback was bringing to the table.

“Put on any film of Kyle Orton and you will see a smart football player that has always had a lot of responsibility at the line of scrimmage identifying the defense, getting his team into the right situations,” McDaniels said. “That is what we ask him to do here, and he has done a nice job of it.”

With that confidence in tow, the Broncos are seeing results on the field.

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Confident While Committed

October 12th, 2009 - 4:03pm by Zach EisendrathOther posts by Zach Eisendrath

Now 5-0 after a hard-fought, come-from-behind win over the Patriots on Sunday, Head Coach Josh McDaniels can really see his team buying into the “do your job” mentality.

“The players are confident, I think,” McDaniels said. “I think they trust our game plans, and I think we trust them to execute our game plan.”

Following the team’s dramatic win, Mario Haggan called the club’s confidence level “sky-high.” Nonetheless, he said everyone within the locker room realizes they have a lot of work to do moving forward.

“I think we’ve been confident for a long time,” he said. “I don’t think you can win a game without being confident. I just think people are starting to notice some of the things that we’ve done.

“We’re only 5-0, we’re not Super Bowl winners and we’re not in the playoffs,” Haggan added. “We’re just 5-0.”

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