Another solid win for the boys. It’s already time to focus on the Bears but these Game Balls still gotta be divied. Who ya got?

Earl – Jamie Winborn. Sure, maybe Glenn deserves it for that touchdown, but then he muffed one and gave the Titans 7 points, so he loses it to Jamie. Every time, and I mean *every* time something good happened onspecial teams, I heard Jamie Winborn’s name. He had key blocks everywhere, and that made our special teams perform exceptionally well yesterday. We always had decent field position, and we were very good at not giving up field position. And field position is a key reason we could put up tons of yards and still not get in the endzone.

Jonathan – I like Earl’s pick of Winborn. And I gotta give my nod to another special teamer that finally got a chance to strut his stuff on the offense this weekend — Andre Hall (like you all couldn’t have guessed that was coming!?). He did a good job again on special teams and he made a very special impression at RB when Young went down. He racked up 89 yards and a TD on the evening. Now, I have to admit that I’ve liked what I’ve seen of Young these last two weeks, but I’ve always thought throughout the OTA days that Hall had the edge over Young. It was his training camp injury that sidelined him during the preseason (when a great showing might have propelled him past Young) that reduced his role to backup kickoff returner. But this Monday we got to see the explosive running I’ve been ranting about since May — and for that I have to give #23 my game ball of the week!

Kyle – Excellent choices both. I was very tempted to give it to the offensive line for opening holes and keeping Cutler protected (for the most part – although Cutler helped himself by scrambling and quick throws, too). In the end my game ball has to go to Brandon Marshall, who not only had a 40-plus yard touchdown grab of his own, but showed his willingness to be a team player through his brutal blocks. Not only did he set up the hole for Andre Hall to run through on that game clincher, but he also had a few key blocks to move the chains in the second half. Our offense is finally clicking after huge losses due to injury, and Marshall is a big reason why.

Busy bee getting ready for the holiday.  I won’t be able to post much in the meantime.  Half of these links deserve their own post, but it is what it is.

• The NFL announced that Glenn Martinez is to be named AFC Special Teams player of the week.  That’s two for coach Scott O’Brien this year (the other being Jason Elam in Week 2).  [CBS4 Denver]
• Compare Jay Cutler‘s numbers to John Elway‘s in their first 15 games and it’s not even close.  [Denver Post]
• Of course, its not fair to Jay to do that.  [AOL Fanhouse]
• Travis Henry is still waiting on ruling.  Adam Schefter had told us the ruling wouldn’t come until next week.  [Denver Post]
• Jay Glazer is probably the best in the business when it comes to breaking stories (particularly ones that end up being true, ESPN).  He tells us that the latest injury has put Chiefs RB Priest Holmes‘ career in jeopardy.  [Fox Sports]
• The Pats-Eagles game has a 23-point spread.  Largest in history.  [ESPN]

Everyone had a good laugh at the South Park episode that aired a few weeks ago, making fun of Denver quarterback Jay Cutler. As the immortal Stan approaches the young Cutler at a Colorado celebrity get together (read: sex and coke party), he tells Cutler that he “kinda sucks, but my dad says you might be really good someday!”

That day is today.

In career bests in both completion percentage and passer rating (76.2, 137.0 respectively), Cutler led the Broncos to its highest point total of the season against the 2nd ranked defense in the league heading into Monday Night’s game.

Looking at his stats since the bye, it’s obvious that Cutler has improved from his first four weeks this year.

Before the bye, Jay was making the mistakes typical of a young quarterback with a TD-INT ratio of 4-6. On the season, Jay has an 88.9 passer rating with 11 touchdowns and 9 interceptions.

• YouTube – Jay Cutler on South Park [BroncoTalk]
  

Photo Courtesy

• Broncos saw one of their best games from their quarterback and special teams. [AOL FanHouse]
• Both Cutler and Vince Young had great games and stepped up as leaders. [ESPN – John Clayton]
• In fact, Cutler was near perfect. [DenverBroncos.com]
• Vince Young’s first 300-yard day and best performance as a passer was wasted by a poor supporting cast. [The Tennessean]
• Grading last night’s win. [Denver Post]
• Shanahan started the icing the kicker timeout debate against Oakland, and he may have very well ended it last night. [Denver Post]
• Short week… already putting our eye on the Bears. [Denver Post]
• Shawne Merriman responds to criticism and the Maurice Jones-Drew block. [Yahoo! Sports]

Brandon Stokley takes a throw to the house in the first quarter of Monday’s game. Photo Courtesy (AP/David Zalubowski).

41, 48, 62 and 80. Those are the yard totals for the Denver Broncos (5-5) touchdowns as they took care of the Tennessee Titans (6-4) on Monday Night Football. With this win, the Broncos move into a tie for the AFC West lead with the San Diego Chargers.

The Broncos’ best offensive showing of the season came against one of the league’s top defenses, and a first quarter special teams return for a touchdown set the tone for the rest of the evening. The defense gave up some decent runs and throws, and left something to be desired on third downs in the first half, but overall the team played very well and defeated a solid opponent.

Let me just say I have a tremendous amount of respect for Jeff Fisher and the entire Titans organization. They’re a very classy bunch and played a very clean game. Vince Young and Jay Cutler will meet again, but for now, our 2006 draftee has the edge against his quarterback classmates.

The Broncos head to Chicago in the short week, a game that the NFL recently moved to a 2:15 MST kickoff via flex scheduling.

Game Recap (courtesy ESPN/AP) —

DENVER (AP) — Eighty yards here, 62 there, another 48 somewhere else. Next thing they knew, the Denver Broncos found themselves in a spot they only could have dreamed of a few weeks ago — tied for first place in the AFC West.

Jay Cutler threw touchdown passes of 41 and 48 yards and little-known Glenn Martinez and Andre Hall added to Denver’s slew of big scoring plays Monday night in a 34-20 victory over the Tennessee Titans.

Vince Young threw for a career high — 308 yards — for the second straight week, but this one also resulted in a loss for the Titans (6-4), who played catchup against Denver the same way they did in a 28-13 loss to Jacksonville last week.

Martinez, a second-year receiver signed off the practice squad in September, returned a punt 80 yards to give Denver a 14-0 lead in the first.

Hall, a first-year player with eight carries this year, turned his ninth into a 62-yard score to help the Broncos regain control of the game after they’d watched a 17-point lead slip to seven.

The Broncos improved to 5-5, good enough to tie San Diego for the league in the woeful West.

But suddenly, the Broncos, who have 44-7 and 41-3 losses on their wildly disparate scorecard this year, are playing like real contenders. They piled up 359 yards against the Titans, who were missing Albert Haynesworth on the defensive line but nonetheless came in with the second-ranked defense in the league.

Not that the Broncos are perfect, or anywhere near New England level.

Martinez also muffed a punt that led to a Tennessee touchdown late in the third quarter to make the score 27-17.

That touchdown, a 4-yard run by Young, came after the second of two ill-advised timeouts called by Denver.

Broncos linebacker Nate Webster called a timeout just before the snap on third-and-goal from the 1, a play in which Young was held out of the end zone as he reached for the pylon.

But the timeout gave Tennessee coach Jeff Fisher a chance to review the previous play, in which Young scored on a similar play but had been ruled out of bounds at the 1.

At the end of the first half, Shanahan, trying to duplicate the move that helped him foil Sebastian Janikowski’s game-winning attempt against Oakland several weeks ago, called timeout a split second before Rob Bironas tried a 56-yarder before halftime.

Bironas’ kick sailed about 20 yards wide of the goalpost, but given another chance, he nailed it to trim Tennessee’ deficit to 20-10.

“Don’t anybody every question me about those field goals and timeouts again,” said Shanahan, who started a trend with that timeout against Oakland. “I told you this would happen sooner or later. You live by the sword and die by the sword.”

And really, this one wasn’t so much about field goals as big plays for the Broncos.

A team that had only one touchdown of 20 yards or more all season on offense got its second early, when Cutler found Brandon Stokley in the middle of the field and Stokley outran the Titans defense for a 48-yard score.

On the first drive of the third quarter, Cutler found Brandon Marshall in single coverage on Calvin Lowrey, who went for the ball and missed, allowing Marshall to score from 41 yards for a 27-10 lead.

Cutler finished 16-for-21 for 200 yards. Selvin Young finished with 54 yards before leaving with a twisted knee.

That could set the stage for Hall, who could start next week against Chicago if Young is hurt and the Broncos are without Henry, who is awaiting the league’s decision on results of a positive drug test. Henry was inactive against Tennessee with a knee injury.

The Titans, meanwhile, have lost two straight and hardly looked like the team that appeared poised to push Indianapolis in the AFC South.

The defense got beat up for the second straight week. Last time, it was on the ground (166 yards against Jacksonville) and this time by the big play and defensive backs who were left in single coverage and got burned by the Broncos.

Meanwhile, the receivers dropped no fewer than four easy catches, including one by Brandon Jones, who got behind Champ Bailey but bobbled the pass, which helped stall a promising drive on the opening possession.

vs.
Denver Broncos (4-5) vs. Tennessee Titans (6-3)

The Broncos Inactives – QB Darrell Hackney (3rd QB), RB Travis Henry, RB Paul Smith, DB Jeff Shoate, DT Isaac Snell, DE Larry Birdine, WR Javon Walker, DE Paul Carrington.

The Titans Inactives – WR Paul Williams, CB Nick Harper, FB Ahmard Hall, RB Casey Cramer, G Benji Olson, DE Sean Conover, DT Albert Haynesworth.

So no Travis Henry for the Broncos, and no Albert Haynesworth for Tennessee.

I’m a superstitious guy. When I live-blog, we lose. Therefore, see you in a few hours and GO BRONCOS!

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.

“Use Brandon Jones in the slot. The Broncos’ Champ Bailey is a big cornerback who matches up favorably against Titans wide receiver Justin Gage, and cornerback Dre’ Bly has the quickness and speed to lock down Titans wide receiver Eric Moulds. However, if the Titans line up Jones in the slot, he will have the advantage over nickel cornerback Karl Paymah. The Broncos may use safety Domonique Foxworth in the slot to cover Jones, but regardless Jones still has the size and speed advantage. Look for him to have success with crossing routes and deep “ins” when the Titans go to their three-receiver package.” [The War Room – Sporting News]

“MATCHUPS TO WATCH: Broncos interior offensive line vs. Titans DT Albert Haynesworth — Last week when Haynesworth didn’t play, the Titans allowed 166 rushing yards. They hadn’t allowed 100 in any other game this season. That’s all the proof needed that Haynesworth has been one of the best defensive players in the NFL this season. Denver’s interior line isn’t huge, but it has to find a way to neutralize the massive Haynesworth inside.” [NOTE: Haynesworth is questionable for tonight and should be a game time decision] [Inside Slant – USA Today]

“The weakness of the Broncos’ run defense (until last weekend) has been their inability to hold up inside versus power run games and they lack the size up front to win consistently at the line of scrimmage. (LenDale) White is a north and south runner with good power and he should get a lot of carries if the Titans don’t fall behind early. Denver will likely bring at least one of its safeties in the box in run support while the Broncos’ fast linebackers must get to the edge and contain (Vince) Young on QB scrambles when he tries to get outside. The Broncos will also use a variety of run blitzes to put additional pressure on the Tennessee run game, but the Titans’ offensive line is underrated and they usually do a good job of identifying and holding their blocks.” [ESPN Insider]

“The Broncos started the turnaround last week in Kansas City and if they reel off two or three wins here you can say they turned it around but they were a better team than the Chiefs and they should have won and this will be a bigger test for them. I have great respect for Mike Shanahan and what he does and he’s never going to let his teams ever get out coached, he is never going to let his teams get soundly beaten and I respect that about him and he is one of the biggest advantages that they have but in this game I don’t think he is going to out coach Jeff Fisher, I have equal respect for Jeff Fisher as I have for Mike Shanahan. This is one that if Denver wins it I don’t think Shanahan outcoached Fisher, the Broncos players beat the Titans players.” [John Madden – NBC Sports]

“Though having LenDale White and Chris Brown available to face one of the league’s worst run defenses could be key, the Titans getting Albert Haynesworth back on the field might be more critical for their matchup with the Denver Broncos on Monday night. Known as one of the league’s best run stuffers, Haynesworth missed a game for the first time this season last Sunday and the Titans gave up a season-high 166 rushing yards in a 28-13 loss to Jacksonville.” [Fox Sports]

“The Titans are stopping opponents for no gain or a loss 43.4 percent of the time on first down, and Tennessee rushes the passer too effectively for Denver to leave QB Jay Cutler in too many obvious passing situations. Tennessee is fourth against the run, but the Titans gave up 166 rushing yards last Sunday without DT Albert Haynesworth. The Broncos hope RB Travis Henry is healthy enough split time with rookie Selvin Young.” [Scout.com]

Picks Around the Web

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

Picks from ESPN, Sirius…

Check out the brutal block that sets up the touchdown.

• Tim Crowder always wanted a chance to play Vince Young in college when they both played for Texas. Now he gets his chance. [CBS4 Denver]
• Opposites collide tonight as the Broncos run offense philosophy meets the Titans run defense.  [Rocky Mountain News]
• Brandon Marshall is on pace for 90 catches and 1,200 yards, but still isn’t satisfied.  [DenverBroncos.com]
• Hard to believe it’s been ten weeks since the season started.  The Week 1 near-tragedy of Bills tight end Kevin Everett has made a turn for the better.  Everett is leaving a rehab hospital and left a taped message for his teammates.  [Denver Post]
• Charger blogger goes off on his team, and Norv Turner, for losing to a “tame” Jaguars squad. Wow, I think the Jags are the most underrated team in the NFL and have a legit shot at the Super Bowl. At least, as much of a shot as anyone not quarterbacked by Tom Brady. [BoltTalk]
• The Cleveland-Baltimore finish has to be the craziest in memory.  [Yahoo! Sports]

ESPN reports that JaMarcus Russell will likely get his first NFL start against the Denver Broncos on December 2nd.  Nothing like a lot of bad blood to jumpstart a career, eh, Raiders?

Should be fun.  Let’s focus on the Titans for now though.