Posts Tagged ‘Week 11’

Turnovers, Penalties, Make for Tough Day

November 22nd, 2009 - 9:36pm by mark_cooperOther posts by mark_cooper

Tough day today for the fellas. Yep, no need to even look at the stats on this one. Penalties all game were a concern and the turnovers were the nail in the coffin, you might say.

I’m not telling this crew anything you don’t know or didn’t see. Can’t win with turnovers and penalties like we had so…easy analogy. You know the drill. Simple stuff in the world of the NFL.

I noticed it last week and so did you and the announcers in that Chris Simms just took longer to get his reads and that is what is hurting him right now. I thought we would start out with the run and bootlegs getting him out of the pocket and then see if he’d settle in but he never got settled and got pulled early.

Kyle Orton looked awesome when he came in and drove us down the field, until the turnover by Knowshon Moreno going into the end zone. Don’t know if you noticed, but he had both hands on it (covered up) and a lineman’s knee knocked it out tumbling over…weird fumble.

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Broncos vs. Chargers: Second Half Live Blog

November 22nd, 2009 - 3:42pm by Chris GentilvisoOther posts by Chris Gentilviso

Q3 - 15:00: San Diego gets possession to start the second half. Matt Prater’s kickoff hits the crossbar and goes out of the end zone for a touchback. The Chargers will start at their own 20-yard line.

Q3 - 14:06: San Diego starts out with four wide receivers. Philip Rivers is flushed out of the pocket and delivers a three-yard shovel pass to fullback Jacob Hester. Rivers moves into the shotgun on second down, but has his pass batted at the line of scrimmage by Andra Davis. Facing 3rd and 7, Rivers returns to the shotgun, but his pass falls short to Darren Sproles. Jarvis Moss had good tight coverage on the running back, and Mike Scifres is in to punt.

Q3 - 13:54: Royal takes Scifres’ kick at the 26-yard line and returns it upfield to the Broncos’ own 36-yard line. That’s where Kyle Orton and the offense will get their second-half attack started.

Q3 - 13:06: Orton starts out of the shotgun, with Jabar Gaffney, Brandon Marshall, and Eddie Royal flanked to his left. He hands off to Knowshon Moreno, who runs right for one yard before being stopped by Shaun Phillips. Back in the shotgun, Orton delivers a quick slant to Royal, who fights for a nine-yard gain. Facing 3rd and 1 at their own 45, a Charger is down on the field, prompting an injury timeout.

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Broncos vs. Chargers: First Half Live Blog

November 22nd, 2009 - 2:14pm by Chris GentilvisoOther posts by Chris Gentilviso

COIN TOSS: With alumni captain Gary Zimmerman joining the current 2009 captains, the Broncos have won the toss and elected to receive.

Q1 - 14:54: Nate Kaeding’s kickoff sails two yards deep into the end zone. It is picked up by Eddie Royal and returned to the Broncos’ own 26-yard line.

Q1 - 14:23: Starting for the Broncos: Chris Simms, Knowshon Moreno, Brandon Marshall, Jabar Gaffney, Eddie Royal, Daniel Graham, Ryan Clady, Russ Hochstein, Casey Wiegmann, Chris Kuper, Tyler Polumbus. Moreno takes the first carry off right tackle for seven yards. A 15-yard face mask on San Diego propels Denver to midfield.

Q1 - 13:32: Moreno takes another carry off to the right side for eight yards. He is spelled by Correll Buckhalter, who again takes the handoff right for eight yards and another first down.

Q1 - 11:36: Buckhalter picks up a solid four yards on first down, moving the Broncos to the Chargers’ 30-yard line. Moreno comes back in for three yards up the middle, setting up 3rd and 3 from the San Diego 27-yard line. Running for a sixth consecutive time, Moreno goes right up the middle for eight more yards and a Broncos first down.

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Broncos vs. Chargers: Pregame Blog

November 22nd, 2009 - 11:56am by Chris GentilvisoOther posts by Chris Gentilviso

Greetings from INVESCO Field at Mile High where the 6-3 Broncos and 6-3 Chargers will square off in Denver’s first home AFC West contest of the season.

This afternoon’s battle with San Diego marks the 100th meeting in series history between the two division rivals. The Broncos lead the series, 54-44-1, and have a chance to sweep San Diego for the 14th time.

Currently, conditions are partly cloudy, with temperatures in the low 40s. Today’s high is expected to hover right around 50 degrees.

Speaking of weather, here’s a full report for the 2:15 p.m. MST contest:

Broncos vs. Chargers - Weather Report

If you’re on your way to the game, here’s a traffic report for the areas surrounding the stadium:

Broncos vs. Chargers - Traffic Report

One of the newest sights here at the stadium is another retro end-zone design. Today’s look is a pattern of alternating blue and orange diamonds. The previous two home games sported white diamonds, which were from the early 1960s.

12:06 p.m. MST: Two of the first players out of the field for the Broncos happen to be quarterbacks. Chris Simms and Tom Brandstater have come out of the tunnel and are working on 10 to 15-yard throws with the coaching staff.

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Examining Our Expectations

November 20th, 2009 - 8:05pm by mike_riceOther posts by mike_rice

Three straight losses have left the Broncos tied with the Chargers in the AFC West. I agree with Broncos’ Head Coach Josh McDaniels, who this week said Sunday’s game against San Diego won’t decide the division title and won’t knock either team out of the playoff race.

I agree with that. There is no chance the season will end on Sunday. In that sense, it is not must-win, do-or-die or any other overused term.

At the same time, there have been several disturbing developments during the Broncos’ three-game losing streak. The offense has sputtered, the defense isn’t playing as well as it did earlier in the season, and now some injuries are creeping in.

Sunday’s game against the Chargers is a home game against a division foe. Those are critical. The stakes are magnified. The winner only gets a leg up and the loser still has time to recover. But it would much better to end the losing streak and get the leg up.

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An Equal Protection Clause

November 20th, 2009 - 2:22pm by Chris GentilvisoOther posts by Chris Gentilviso

Whether Kyle Orton or Chris Simms starts on Sunday against the Chargers, one difference between the two quarterbacks is certain.

With the right-handed Orton in the lineup, the blind side blocking falls on the shoulders of Ryan Clady. With the left-handed Simms behind center, that onus shifts to Tyler Polumbus.

In the eyes of offensive line coach Rick Dennison, the quarterback’s throwing hand has little effect on pass protection responsibilities.

“I don’t think it is that big of deal,” Dennison said. “He is getting back there and we’ve got to give him time to throw. We just do our protections, we don’t really worry about what hand he is tossing it with.”

Head Coach Josh McDaniels echoed Dennison’s sentiments, noting that the most substantial changes, if any, occur in situations outside of the hashes.

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Taking Notice

November 19th, 2009 - 3:10pm by Zach EisendrathOther posts by Zach Eisendrath

By now, Chris Simms’ career-threatening and possibly life-threatening injury has been well documented.

Three games into the 2006 season, Simms — then the starting quarterback of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — suffered a ruptured spleen against the Carolina Panthers.

The fact that Simms could start an NFL game on Sunday for the first time since that fateful day, and a subsequent splenectomy, has not been lost on Head Coach Josh McDaniels.

“I have a great deal of respect for what he’s overcome now to come back and do this, and I can also see every day why he’s overcome it,” McDaniels said. “He works as hard as or harder than anybody we have on our team.”

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Bringing a Backfield Presence

November 18th, 2009 - 4:43pm by Chris GentilvisoOther posts by Chris Gentilviso

The last time the Broncos and Chargers were on the same field, loose footballs were at a premium.

Denver forced four fumbles in its 34-23 Week 6 win over San Diego at Qualcomm Stadium. Most crucial of those miscues was a late-third quarter strip by Elvis Dumervil that landed in the hands of Vonnie Holliday.

Leading 24-23, the Broncos converted the turnover into a Matt Prater 50-yard field goal, and the Chargers were held scoreless the rest of the way. Come Sunday at INVESCO Field at Mile High, Mario Haggan sees those types of errors again tipping the balance.

“The game is predicated on mistakes,” Haggan said. “Hopefully on Sunday, they make more mistakes than we do and we come out on top.”

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Forward Progress

November 16th, 2009 - 5:33pm by Chris GentilvisoOther posts by Chris Gentilviso

Through his first nine games as a pro, Knowshon Moreno’s versatility has surfaced early and often.

No rookie has recorded two 100-yard games from scrimmage — except for Moreno. He’s also set himself apart through the air, as the lone NFL newcomer with both a rushing and receiving touchdown this season.

Moreno turned in a career-high 97 rushing yards against Washington on 18 carries. Week by week, the rookie is improving in an area the Broncos stress to their backs — gaining yardage on every play.

“There were some plays where there wasn’t much there, but he didn’t go negative,” Head Coach Josh McDaniels said. “He went, got a yard, got a two-yard gain here or there and kept us in positive situations. That is something that he’s doing better and better as the year goes on.”

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Larsen Up For Rookie of the Week

November 18th, 2008 - 10:30am by Adam ZinserOther posts by Adam Zinser

Spencer Larsen made history Sunday as the first-ever Broncos player to start on both offense and defense, and the rest of the league noticed.

Larsen has been nominated for Diet Pepsi Rookie of the Week honors for Week 11.

He notched seven tackles in his first start at middle linebacker, and he helped pave the way for Broncos running backs to gain 124 yards on 25 carries with two touchdowns.

But it doesn’t end there — he also played on special teams.

Click here to vote for Larsen and see who else has been nominated for the award.

– Adam Zinser, DenverBroncos.com