Sam Bradford, #8 of the St. Louis Rams, in action against the San Francisco 49ers at Candlestick Park on November 14, 2010 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Each week, coaches in the NFL watch film on their upcoming opponent.  They then come up with a game plan based off what they saw on the film.  Similarly, in BT’s Film Room, I’ll watch film on the Broncos upcoming foe week-to-week and give you my thoughts on what to watch for on Sunday. This week: St. Louis Rams Edition.

The Rams enter week eleven with a team better than it’s 4-6 record, and players that want to prove it.  To prepare for that, the Broncos will have to key several players on Sunday.  Among those players are:

Steven Jackson, Running back. For the past seven years, Jackson has been the Rams workhorse.  This season however, St. Louis has had a more balanced offense, asking less of Jackson and more of Rookie Quarterback Sam Bradford.  That hasn’t slowed down Jackson’s productivity though — he’s rushed 203 times for 811 yards and three touchdowns.  He’s also been a big part of the Rams passing attack, catching 28 passes for 243 yards.  Jackson is the type of player that can turn something out of nothing, and is always a big play waiting to happen.

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In this Oct. 24, 2010, file photo, Denver Broncos linebacker Jarvis Moss looks on from the sideline during an NFL football game against the Oakland Raiders in Denver. (AP Photo/ Jack Dempsey, File)

A week after being released by the Denver Broncos and clearing waivers, Outside Linebacker Jarvis Moss has found a new home — in Oakland, California.

Moss broke the news himself, via twitter:

@JmossVsJarvis: So it’s official! I’m an Oakland Raider! God is good thank him!

Typical of the Raiders to pick up cast-offs from division rivals, they now have a player who feels he was “unappreciated” by the Broncos and will get a chance to prove to them that they were wrong about him — twice a year.

Adding kindling to the fire, another former Bronco defensive lineman, Darrell Reid tweeted this:

@Footz95: @JmossVsJarvis Congrats Money On Becoming A Raider. U Know U Gotta Show The Broncos What They Missed Out On Son.

The nickname “Money” is extremely appropriate for Moss.

Failing to live up to fans and coaches high expectations for him, Moss didn’t record a sack in the past two seasons, and had recorded 5 tackles this season before being released.  The news of his signing is yet to be officially announced, and the terms of his new contract are not yet known.

This adds a little more to a rivalry that’s been around since the days of the AFL.  The Broncos will play the Raiders, and Moss, at home in week 15 on December 19th.

• A 35-14 loss to San Diego puts the Broncos at 3-7, making them pretty much out of the playoff picture. [BT, DP]

• The Chargers’ special teams was horrendous all season long, that wasn’t the case last night. [NCT]

• Sadly, Brian Dawkins is playing like the 37-year old player he is, and his time in Denver may be coming to an end. [PFT]

• The Broncos had some key injuries last night; Safeties Darcel McBath and David Bruton left with bruised forarms and ribs respectivly, D.J. Williams left with a concussion, and Rookie receiver Demaryius Thomas will be getting an MRI today after suffering another ankle injury. [DP]

• Dave Krieger of the Denver Post notes, to whatever extent McDaniels has helped the Broncos with his creativity as a coach, he has hurt them more with his personnel judgments as a general manager. [DP]

• Falling behind, the Broncos were forced to go one dimensional, throwing more than twice as many times as they ran — something they’ve tried to get away from doing. [Broncos Official Site]

Running back Knowshon Moreno was the one bright spot in Denver's loss. Running with power, Moreno gained 118 yards from scrimmage and scored Denver's first Touchdown. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

Forgive us, BT Family.  After watching a game like that, thoughts of suicide and never blogging again run through my head, and probably the rest of the staff as well.  That’s not a good excuse for not giving you a thorough review of last night’s game, however, so I apologize.

On the opening drive of the game at Qualcomm Stadium, the Denver Broncos drove 69 yards and took a 7-0 lead after a four-yard Touchdown run by Knowshon Moreno.  San Diego would respond with 35 unanswered.

After consecutive 3-and-outs by the Chargers and Broncos following Denver’s score, the Chargers faked a punt.  A pass from Punter Mike Scifres to Mike Tolbert went for 28 yards and gave San Diego the ball on Denver’s 31 yard-line.  That play took all the life out of the Broncos.

Denver’s offense proceeded to self destruct, with the offensive line playing especailly poor, allowing five sacks while being penalized multiple times.  On defense, it was just as ugly.  The Broncos could not stop the Chargers passing or rushing attacks.  San Diego Quarterback Phillip Rivers passed for 233 yards and four Tochdowns, and running back Tolbert rushed 25 times for 111 yards and a score.

Eleven minutes into the 4th quarter, Kyle Orton hit Brandon Lloyd for a 13-yard Touchdown, making the score 14-35.  It was too big of a hole for Denver to dig out of, though.

After a loss like that, it looks like the Broncos are out of all Playoff contention, unless of course the whole AFC West falls apart.

“Obviously, when you put yourself in this situation, you’re going to need a lot of things to fall your way down the stretch if you want to continue to fight to qualify for the playoffs,” admitted Head Coach Josh McDaniels after the game.

The Broncos will now return home and face the St. Louis Rams at home in week 12.  After the defeat, Outside linebacker Jason Hunter spoke for the whole team when he said, “We just have to come back with a positive attitude and get ready for St. Louis.”

Live Blog

First a moment for a fallen teammate.

Rest in peace to Denver's Rob Lytle, who scored a touchdown as a rookie in the 1978 Super Bowl. He has died at the age of 56. (AP Photo/File)

Here’s some stuff you’ll hear about the San Diego Chargers and Denver Broncos throughout the game from the announcers:

• This is the 100th time the Chargers and Broncos have met.
• Kyle Orton (2,806 yards) will start the game having thrown for 138 yards less than Philip Rivers (2,944 yards).
• The new Three Amigos? Eddie Royal (43), Jabar Gaffney (48), and Brandon Lloyd (48) are the only team in the NFL with three receivers having over forty receptions.
• Since 2005 the Broncos and Chargers have met twice on Monday Night Football and have split the series.
• Denver’s Champ Bailey & Brandon Lloyd were both voted to the Midseason All Pro team.
• Tim Tebow’s four touchdowns on 13 touches leads the NFL in touchdown percentage (30.6%).
• Perrish Cox is fifth in the NFL with 10 pass deflections.

Of course there’s much more to be said about the game than merely these facts, but I don’t want to ruin the entire thing for you. Though I did predict a score yesterday. Everyone have a safe and wonderful time watching Monday Night Football.

Also, last, but not least, congratulations to BroncoTalk’s Josh Temple! Josh and his wife gave birth to their second child Lily Claire yesterday, a new Broncos fan can never be a bad thing!

Hilarious ESPN Cartoon done by Drew Litton previewing this week’s Monday Night Battle between the Denver Broncos and San Diego Chargers.  Enjoy:

Kyle Orton looks for a receiver against the Kansas City Chiefs (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

Things just taste better after the Broncos win…

I haven’t been able to quite put my finger on it, but for Denver when it rains it pours. Fans finally got to see the good side of that happening for the first time in a long time.

Josh McDaniels also tipped his hat to the future and what is to come; Tim Tebow has touched the football 13 times and has scored four touchdowns this season. He is a one man answer to the Broncos red zone woes. Kyle Orton had one of his worst games of the season yardage wise, but career best in terms of touchdowns. There’s really not much more that I can say here that you haven’t read, in fact if you read last week’s Predicting the Future you knew what the Kansas City Chiefs were in for before the game; I predicted domination, but not decimation.

Playing Monday Night Football gives the team basically an extra bye type week, as the team gets an extra day of healing, studying and preparing for the San Diego Chargers. The alternate side to that is so do the Chargers. Click here to read the rest of this entry »

The Denver Broncos are 3-6 and, miraculously, not dead in the division. Dead last, but not dead. Ok, perhaps miraculous is not the correct word. We can blame this on the general ineptitude of the rest of the division. The Chiefs came out looking strong, but they are flawed and those flaws can, it would appear, be exploited. The Raiders came out looking terrible, but they demolished us. Plus, they’re on a three game winning streak. And a bye. A bye counts as a fourth win, right? Right?

The Chargers. Well, predictions about how the Chargers future would go when they hired Norv Turner are pretty much right on schedule. A very solid team that gave Marty Schottenheimer the boot replaced him with an offensive genius who simply is out of his element as head coach. And it shows.

The Broncos? Oh, the Broncos. While other websites might be wearing orange and blue colored glasses, I’m sitting over here in the corner. While Jim Saccomano is telling us that the critics aren’t really part of the family after all, I’m reserving judgement. And while rumors of the Broncos’ death may be premature, I’m not sure how to feel about the team currently sitting in the ICU, getting metaphorical fluids through an IV while we listen to the heart monitor go beep beep beep.

Oh don’t get me wrong. I don’t think Saccomano was intending to call out the critics directly, he was trying to uplift the supporters. But some choice quotes I’ve seen from that article without the full context have had the opposite effect, at least on me. As a fan who is feeling somewhat despondent that the Broncos are one of the worst teams in the league, I’m left wondering why I’m the one feeling attacked. The Broncos got crushed by the Raiders in glorious technicolor and somehow it’s the fans who are angry and critical who are wrong? I’ve dealt with a lot of negativity and name-calling in my time with BroncoTalk and this is the first time I’ve felt truly on the other side of that.

But enough of that. My real point is that I want to tell you what to expect on Monday night.
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Lance Ball grabs a drink at the Denver Broncos Training Camp in Dove Valley on August 3rd, 2010. (Jon Heath/Broncos Zone)

Two aging running backs time in Denver may be nearing the end, making room for an emerging, younger back.

While Knowshon Moreno was out with a hamstring injury earlier in the year, veteran backs Laurence Maroney and Correll Buckhalter were the Broncos featured running backs.  During that four game stretch, the two backs both averaged less than 2.3 yards a carry, scored no touchdowns and were partly responsible for Denver’s worst rushing efforts in a long, long time.

Since Knowshon’s return, Maroney’s and Buckhalter’s roles in the offense have steadily declined each game.  Over the past four games, neither of them have gotten a carry, and Maroney was inactive last week.  The Broncos have used Buck as a receiving threat (catching six passes for 32 yards in the past three games), but there’s no signs he’ll be a rushing threat any time soon.

Meanwhile, the Broncos rushing attack has gotten better and better. Second year back Knowshon Moreno is becoming a big part of the offense; Spencer Larsen and Tim Tebow have contributed on short-yardage downs and the coaches have gotten creative, giving end-arounds and reverses to receivers Eddie Royal and Demaryius Thomas.  The team also moved up Lance Ball from the practice squad, and his role in the offense is expected to expand.

Alex Mayster of ProFootballWeekly notes that the Broncos coaches like what they are seeing out of Ball:

RBs Laurence Maroney and Correll Buckhalter are slowly being phased out of the Broncos’ offense. We hear Denver’s coaches like what they have seen from RB Lance Ball, who was recently promoted from the practice squad when the Colts were close to signing him away. Ball provides fresh legs to an offense that has struggled with the ground game and is a little bit quicker than Buckhalter, who seems to have lost some speed since last season, according to a daily team observer.

When Knowshon was hurt during Training Camp, I thought Ball was without a doubt the best running back in camp.  He showed some great flashes in Pre Season and brings more to the table than just running ability, as he is a good receiving back as well. Personally, I think it’s about time the Broncos gave up on Maroney and Bucky and gave this kid a shot.