And oh, did they dominate. They clicked in every phase of the game en route to a 41-7 victory over the Chiefs. Special teams coverage was beautiful, often tackling on first contact and rarely letting it go too badly when the first contact wasn’t enough. Jamie Winborn and Paul Smith both made plays worthy of praise. These are two important special teamers, and it’s very, very good to see our special teams playing well.

The defense. Holy cow, is this the same defense that gave Justin Fargas a revolving door? I realize the Chiefs don’t have a lot of gas, but they had nothing, the entire game. Tony Gonzalez was the only factor in that game, and that’s it. Dumervil got 3 sacks, putting him at 11, meaning he has 3 games to get 4 more sacks to get his 15. With Houston and their weak O-line coming up, there is a chance, still. This is something I would like to see.

But the offense. It came out, both guns blazing on the first drive, and never let up. Cutler was beautiful. Nobody had the dropsies. Marshall, Cutler and Graham both put up their best games to date; Stokley was a solid pro, and Martinez managed to contribute as well.

But really, does Selvin Young deserve Rookie of the Week consideration or what? He opened with a 50 yard run and set the tone, and that tone stayed throughout the entire game. Henry still looks hurt, and Young looks good. There’s always the question of whether or not Young can handle the load, but I think Young is a back that we have to keep. If Young’s durability is an issue, I have no problem with a two back system of Young and Hall, though I would worry a bit about the power run game between the two. We haven’t seen enough of Hall to know if he can drive the rock up the middle.

Looking at the schedules, we need some help from the Chargers — they need to lose 2 of their next 3 and we need to sweep. That means they somehow have to lose to the Lions, and when that fails, we actually need Oakland to do us a favor and beat the Chargers. The Titans were our best chance of the Charger’s going down.

For a wildcard, a lot needs to happen, and mostly it includes the Browns having a catastrophic meltdown along with a couple of other teams. That seems highly unlikely at this point. Worse, the Texans and Vikings are both playing stronger at the end of the season than the beginning, so our end of season soft schedule isn’t looking as soft as it once did. The Vikings defense is sensational, and the Texans have a pretty good front four which is the kind of thing that can give the current Broncos’ O-line problems.

I’d say our chances of getting to the playoffs are currently under about 20%. There’s still a chance, but a lot of things have to happen that don’t seem all that likely. And it also means having to root for the Raiders, which is that much harder after the embarassing loss last week.

And after this week it’s way too easy to just assume we can win anything, but the Chargers and the Broncos both have similar problems right now: Nobody can ever tell which version of the team is going to show up on game day. The thing we lack most is consistency — and on bad days the team, as a group, just makes too many mistakes to be true playoff contenders.

AP Game Recap/Photo Courtesy

The Chargers are limping – and losing – against the Titans as I write this, but it’s a one-score game and anything could happen. Should the Titans maintain their lead and win the game, the Broncos will control their own destiny again.

Post your thoughts on the game below.  Let’s go Broncos!  Sweep the Chiefs!

After participating in two games and practicing earlier in the week, WR Javon Walker has been ruled out of today’s game against Kansas City.

The other wide receiver earlier listed as Questionable, Brandon Stokley, is expected to start in his place.

BRONCOS INACTIVES:

RB Mike Bell
DE Larry Birdine
DE Paul Carrington
S Nick Ferguson
QB Darrell Hackney (3rd QB)
G Isaac Snell
WR Javon Walker
S Marviel Underwood

CHIEFS INACTIVES:

T Kyle Turley
T Damion McIntosh
WR Samie Parker
WR Eddie Drummond
RB Larry Johnson
CB Rashad Barksdale
DT James Reed
LB Kendrell Bell.

Taking a look around the Internet, on what the experts, beat writers, soothsayers, and your grandpa are saying about the upcoming game. We’ll give you a snippet, then you can jump through the links provided and read everything they had to say.

“The Chiefs got another solid effort from running back Kolby Smith, who ran for 83 yards against the Chargers in his second career start while filling in for the injured Larry Johnson. With Johnson expected to be sidelined again this week, Smith and the Chiefs will look to exploit a Denver defense that has struggled against the run all season. The Raiders absolutely wore down the Broncos (41 rushes for 175 yards) in last week’s loss. The Chiefs must look to follow Oakland’s lead and pound the ball against Denver’s undersized front seven, particularly because the strength of Kansas City’s offensive line lies in the middle. The Chiefs must be patient with the ground game and give Smith 25-to-30 carries, with the majority of them coming between the tackles.” [The War Room – Sporting News]

“In the first meeting between the teams, the Broncos forced turnovers, got pressure on the quarterback and limited Kansas City’s playmakers. TE Tony Gonzalez was especially quiet, with three catches for 29 yards. The Chiefs will make adjustments, but the Broncos have to perform well in the same areas to win again.” [Inside Slant – USA Today]

“Kansas City’s stumbling offense is a big reason for its struggles. The Chiefs are third-worst in both total offense (280.7 yards per game) and scoring offense (14.3 points per game), and have scored just 17 points after halftime over their last three games. They have not scored in the fourth quarter in four straight games.” [Fox Sports (AP)]

“Last week in Oakland was an unmitigated disaster for the Bronco offense. Four turnovers, all of which led to Raider points, all but ended their playoffs hopes for this season. There’s still a brief flicker and if Denver wants to turn it into a flame they’ll need to rediscover their running game. The Chiefs were strafed by LaDainian Tomlinson on Sunday and the Broncos hope to do the same thing with Travis Henry and Selvin Young. Problem is, the middle of the line has been abysmal since Tom Nalen got hurt and the zone blocking scheme isn’t creating the holes of years past. Still, Denver must commit to the run because if they become a throwing team they play right into the hands of the K.C. defense. Their pass rush is hellish so the run needs to slow their upfield progress and give Jay Cutler time to pick up his targets.” [AOL Fanhouse]

Picks Around the Web

Seth Wickersham Mark Schlereth Mike Golic Eric Allen Sean Salisbury Merril Hoge Chris Mortenson Hagen/LeGreca Moose Johnston Brian McGovern Bruce Murray Pat Kirwan Tim Ryan Shannon Sharpe Adam Schein Jim Miller Jerry Rice Solomon Wilcots	Gil Brandt

Picks from ESPN, Sirius…

The Denver Broncos announced today that they have extended wide receiver Brandon Stokely‘s contract for 3 years. Per club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed. The club and Stokley had discussed an extension a few weeks ago, but talks were assumed to have tabled until the offseason.  With Stokley’s recent play, however, the Broncos became more aggressive in negotiations, and the two sides came to an agreement today.

Report/Photo Courtesy [Denver Post]

Great move by Shanahan and company, locking him up for the future, as many fans had speculated Stokley might use this successful year to hit paydirt in free agency. Sorry, Peyton, Stokley’s staying right here.

Injury report for the Kansas City Chiefs at the Denver Broncos for Week 14 in the NFL, December 9, 2007.

Kansas City Chiefs

OUT
RB Larry Johnson (Foot)
T Damion McIntosh (Knee)
T Kyle Turley (Back)

QUESTIONABLE
LB Donnie Edwards (Hamstring)
S Greg Wesley (Head)

PROBABLE
QB Brodie Croyle (Back)
LB Napoleon Harris (Hip)
LB Derrick Johnson (Player decision)

Slant – QB Tyler Thigpen played a few snaps in the Chiefs loss last week, but was put on Injured Reserve this week after an injury during practice. Coach Herm Edwards confirms that the Chiefs will go into the game with two quarterbacks. … Larry Johnson will miss another week with his foot injury, which some reports indicated was actually broken.

Denver Broncos

DOUBTFUL
S Nick Ferguson (Knee)

QUESTIONABLE
WR Brandon Stokley (Knee)
WR Javon Walker (Knee)

PROBABLE
DE John Engelberger (Shoulder)
RB Andre Hall (Ankle)
WR Glenn Martinez (Ankle)
OG Isaac Snell (Thigh)
LB Nate Webster (Ribs)
LB Jamie Winborn (Hamstring)
RB Selvin Young (Elbow)

Slant – Travis Henry is not listed on the team’s injury report for the first time since week 7 against Piitsburgh. … Coach Shanahan expects both Stokley and Walker will play Sunday, barring a setback.

I’m like Santa Claus, I’m always watching.

Do not test the wrath of Roger Goodell.

Straight from the “WTF” Department, the NFL has fined Mike Shanahan $25,000 for his comments a few weeks ago supporting Travis Henry in his appeal case. [Full story – ESPN] Shanahan apparently went outside the league’s appeals process by commenting on the hair follicle and polygraph tests, which stands as a violation of the NFL’s conduct policy.

The fine furthers the case that this is the weirdest NFL appeal, ever.

Most people, including myself, were already left scratching their heads after the comments the NFL made following the news Henry had passed. The league said that his evidence of a hair follicle and polygraph test were both “irrelevant and unconvincing.”

Now this fine against the coach has me thinking the NFL execs are writhing mad that they granted Henry’s appeal. Doesn’t this sound like a pissed off sore loser to you?

Let’s take a look at Shanahan’s dreadfully harmful comments in closer detail, shall we? [After the jump]

Click here to read the rest of this entry »

• The Chargers will clinch the division with a win and a Broncos loss this week.  But they play the Titans (with Albert Haynesworth), and we play the Chiefs.  The oddsmakers say we should win and Chargers should lose – if that happens, then the Broncos can still take the division with a win against San Diego on Christmas Eve (and some more wins too).  [Denver Post]
• Brandon Stokley is the man.  [Denver Post]
• But he’s still a little banged up, and so is Javon Walker.  Apparently Glenn Martinez told them last week he was at 90%, but the coaches wanted him at 100%.  “If I’d have known that, I would have told him I was 100 percent.“  [Denver Post]
• The Raiders play a litle copycat with the Broncos offense (and not just the zone blocking run scheme).  [Denver Post]
• The Chiefs returned 300 tickets for Sunday’s game (they almost didn’t sell out Arrowhead two weeks ago vs. the Raiders – “best fans” my ass).  Find them at Ticketmaster, if they’re not already gone.  [CBS4 Denver]
• Damn, I’m tired of living in Arizona.  Finally, an away game for the Cardinals, I should have no problem catching the game, right?  WRONG.  [the506.com]

Yesterday the Broncos announced that they promoted undrafted rookie DT Steven Harris (Florida) from the practice squad. The team also signed S Marviel Underwood, who was cut by the Packers Monday.

Replacing Harris on the practice squad is DT Michael Bozeman.

Harris impressed me through Training Camp reports and in the preseason. I was never impressed with Sam Adams, so hopefully Harris can step up and make an impact.

You know the Broncos are 3-0 when I get this post up by Friday? The coaches must be lost if they can’t get my notes in for the late practice. With that in mind, here we go…

1. Stop the damn run

Last week was disgusting. Maybe Steven Harris will help us out in that department – I was impressed with him from training camp reports and during the preseason.

2. Knock Brodie Croyle around

Dumervil and Crowder hadn’t been held sackless since Week 8 against Green Bay. Let’s make up for that with plenty of pressure on Mr. Croyle. Dumervil in particular needs to register a sack – he hasn’t notched one since Week 10 (the last time we played KC).

3. Run with authority

The articles lately have been all over our lack of a running game. If Selvin Young is healthy enough, which it looks like he will be, I hope to see more of last time.

4. Special teams – don’t blow it

I’m not even asking for this unit to be good. Just don’t be bad.

5. Get Marshall involved early and often

Do their aging corners have the ability to keep up with Marshall? I don’t think so, and Marshall can break tackles in the secondary.

Let’s come away with a win, if only to not spoil the win in Arrowhead. Sweeping Chiefs will dull some of the sting of the Raiders loss.