Pro Bowl Voting Update
The first time we checked in on the Pro Bowl fan voting tally in mid-November, four Broncos were among the top five at their respective positions on the AFC squad.
On December 1, that number jumped to five.
This time around — with a weekend left to vote — six Broncos are among the top five Pro Bowl vote-getters at their position.
McGahee Returns to Practice
After sitting out the past two days of practice with a knee injury, Willis McGahee returned to the field Friday, working with his teammates during the portion of practice available for viewing.
In addition, six of the remaining seven players on the injury report were also on the field — David Bruton, Ryan Clady, Von MIller, Quinton Carter, Jeremiah Johnson and Mitch Unrein. Eddie Royal was the only player missing from practice, as he did not participate for the third straight day as he recovers from a concussion suffered against the Vikings.
Earlier this week, McGahee was asked if he will play against the Bears at Sports Authority Field at Mile High this Sunday.
“Yeah, why not?” he smiled.
“Are you going to be there?” he asked the reporter. “I’ll be there.”
Check back for the full injury report and photos from Friday’s practice this afternoon.
McGahee Tops the 100-yard MarkRunning back Willis McGahee’s 24-yard touchdown run put him over the century mark on the ground for the sixth time this season, which ties for the most 100-yard games in the NFL this season. He now has 29 career 100-yard games, and has tied for the third-most 100-yard games in a season in Broncos history.
McGahee’s 59 career rushing touchdowns tie for the third most since he entered the league in 2004.
The ninth-year running back has 85 rushing yards thus far in the second half and 111 on the game.
-Stuart Zaas
McGahee, Tebow Tie the GameAnd just like that, it’s all tied up.
49 seconds after Harvin game Minnesota a 29-21 lead, the Broncos evened it up on running back Willis McGahee’s 24-yard run. McGahee burst up the middle before slicing to the right and scoring on a dive over the pylon. Tebow then tied it on a quarterback keeper for the successful two-point conversion.
The score was set up when Tebow found a wide open Demaryius Thomas for a 42-yard gain on the first play from scrimmage after Harvin’s touchdown. Thomas now has 104 yards receiving on the day, while McGahee has also topped the 100-yard mark with 111 rushing yards.
-Kenny Legan
Fumble Leads to Vikings FGMinnesota has narrowed the Broncos lead, as Ryan Longwell’s 40-yard field goal with 1:22 left in the first quarter has cut Denver’s lead to 7-5.
The Broncos defense held strong after the Vikings got the ball with a short field to work with.
After a Vikings punt, the Broncos took over on their own 27-yard line. But on first down, McGahee took the carry up the middle, but as he was going down, cornerback Cedric Griffin forced the ball out of his grasp, which was recovered by safety Jamarca Sanford. McGahee was ruled down on the field, but the Vikings challenged the play and the call was reversed upon further review.
Minnesota took over on the Broncos 36-yard line, but were only able to gain 15 yards on five plays before Longwell kicked the field goal.
-Kenny Legan
Elway Applauds Physical Play in San Diego
As the Broncos and Chargers played into overtime Sunday, the game became a battle of endurance.
And as the game wore on, the Broncos physical style both offensively in the run game and defensively with a furious pass-rush eventually pushed them past San Diego.
On ‘Elway Live’ today, Executive Vice President of Football Operations John Elway talked about that physical style of play that ultimately led to hard-fought victory.
“Anytime that our guys now feel like we’re in the game,” Elway said, “they are going to outlast the other team because of the physical nature we play with on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.”
“We outlasted them.”
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Quick Hits from Fox
On Willis McGahee’s late-game success:
“He’s one of those guys—I’ve had players like that in the past—that take a little time to get a feel for it and get in a groove. In the run game, that can be particularly true. Then, there’s a wear-down effect on your opponent as well. It’s like body blows in a heavyweight fight. They might take their toll, maybe not in the first five rounds but in the last five rounds. Part of that’s just a culmination of sticking to it and pounding it until you open it up.”
On Von Miller’s development:
“Whether it’s quarterback, outside linebacker, fullback, left guard, this is the best there is in the world. When you take level jumps like going from JV to Varsity, you’re taking a big level jump, so it takes a minute for any young player. He’s gotten better every week. I think his body of work proves that whether it’s run, pass rush, I think he’s improved quite a bit since the beginning of the season.”
Happy Thanksgiving
Happy Thanksgiving everybody.
Haven’t talked to you all in a while, glad to get this blog back up and running.
As a running back the past few weeks, it’s been great. I’m happy for everyone in that room, because the way everyone is playing, everybody gets to touch the ball now. That’s keeping all the backs fresh and not wearing us out.
I’m feeling good right now. Can’t complain. I’m just happy to be out here working.
Week 12: Wednesday Practice Notebook
MILLER TALKS DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
On the heels of his 10-tackle, 3.5 tackle-for-loss, 1.5-sack performance in a win against the New York Jets, Von Miller was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week.
In the locker room Wednesday, Miller addressed the award.
“I think it means a lot more to my teammates than it does to me,” he said. “It’s a sign of the type of the defense we’ve been playing. We’ve been playing great defense — great coverage, great rush, the D-line is getting great push, and I just feel like they had to give it to somebody, and they just gave it to me. Anybody on our defense could have gotten it.”
Miller is currently leading all NFL rookies in sacks, and is fifth overall in the league in that category. But the No. 2 overall pick isn’t concerning himself with stats.
“When I go out there, I don’t worry about any of that stuff,” Miller said. “I worry about getting a win, and that’s what motivates me and pushes me — to get the win. I feel like if you don’t get the win, all that other stuff is really irrelevant. What I’m worried about is hopefully turning these last six games into wins, and we’ll see what happens at the end of the season.”
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McGahee Back at Practice Tuesday
Running back Willis McGahee participated in the portion of practice open to the media on Tuesday. The ninth-year pro left Sunday’s game against the Chiefs after suffering a hamstring injury in the first quarter.
“He was cleared to come back into the game, but we weren’t going to put him in there unless it was an emergency situation all in part to have him ready for this Thursday,” Head Coach John Fox said on Monday. “I think it obviously helped. Whether or not it will come to fruition, I’m not sure, but he’s a guy that we’d like to have healthy Thursday night.”
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