1. Indianapolis Colts (4-0) | PREVIOUS: 1

I think the entire world has the Colts-Patriots game circled on their calendars.

2. New England Patriots (4-0) | PREVIOUS: 2

Only 34 points Patriots? Embarrassing.

3. Dallas Cowboys (4-0) | PREVIOUS:4

I would put these three a tier above everyone else.

4. Green Bay Packers (4-0) | PREVIOUS: 5

Brett Favre has the record. That undefeated record he’s been eying for years.

5. Pittsburgh Steelers (3-1) | PREVIOUS: 3

I was a week off in my sexy pick of the Cardinals… I still think this team is really, really good. Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Jay Cutler has been put under the microscope on the field. As a Denver quarterback, expectations are high, and nothing fulfills expectations like a solid win. Now that the team is on a two game losing skid, you would think everyone would be focusing on the interceptions or the red zone struggles, and start pinning it on Cutler.

Instead, everyone has their panties in a bunch over Cutler’s personality.

Frankly, I couldn’t care less, as long as it’s not a distraction in the locker room. So far it hasn’t been, and articles like this from Woody Paige are trying to make news rather than find it.

Talk about Cutler playing golf with his shirt off (egads, chest hair and an abdomen!)… How he only left a 5% tip at some hoity-toity restaurant (I guess bad service couldn’t possibly be to blame?)… Paige said in a recent live chat that the club had Elway talk to Cutler about being a role model in the community.

Last time I checked, Cutler had already formed The Jay Cutler Foundation. Last time I checked, Cutler spent most of his offseason giving back to his community. Last time I checked, Cutler wasn’t being accused of sexual harrassment, Woody Paige!

Click here to read the rest of this entry »

• Congratulations are much-deserved to our baseball brethren after beating the Padres in the 13th inning. The Colorado Rockies are heading into the postseason! – Denver Post
• Javon Walker promises to return soon, possibly Sunday. – Denver Post
• Travis Henry dodged a bullet, as he thought his season was over when the hit that twisted his knee was initially felt.  After an MRI yesterday, his status will be updated Wednesday. – Denver Post
• The Broncos are ranked 5th offensively, 6th defensively. Chargers are 25th, 26th. More nuggets – Rocky Mountain News
• Colts TE Dallas Clark had to beg a fan for his TD football in Sunday’s loss. – Indy Star
• The Chargers are grateful the AFC West is weak this year, and claim they are fortunate no one has pulled ahead to 3-1 or 4-0. – BoltTalk

Monday, 8 PM EST, check out the Chiefs and Chargers squaring off (two hours from now).  This is a great way to watch a little San Diego tape before our game on Sunday (and they’re both AFC West foes after all).

The Chargers may be spiraling out of control, but this is by no means an easy win.  If Norv Turner kept handing the ball off to Ladainian Tomlinson in the second half, the Chargers would have won that game.  If he’s learned his lesson, it could be a long day for the Broncos porous run defense.

• Fellow blogger finds the silver lining in yesterday’s loss. – Thin Air
• Javon Walker should be OK, and was sat out as a precaution. – Denver Post
• The defense says they’re mad. They’re embarrassed. Whatever. BS. Show it on the damn field, not at the presser afterward. – Denver Post
• Oh, and our red zone offense sucked too. – Rocky Mountain News
• Year round, mocking the 2008 Broncos draft.  Surprised to see a DT #1?  – The Beat
• The Chargers blew a 10 point second half lead to fall the Chiefs. In general, the AFC West seems to suck this year, and winning it won’t be half the prize it has been in the past. – Denver Post
• The NFL is a wacky, wacky league. The Saints, Chargers, and Bears are a combined 2-9 thus far (good nugget in the middle of this article) – SI, Peter King

This wasn’t a great game, or even that close once Peyton made some apparently ingenious halftime adjustments, but the NFL Network thought our game was worth replaying. Or maybe they just wanted to pour salt on the wound.

Tuesday at 8PM ET, check out the abbreviated re-air of Sunday’s loss. At least now I’ll be able to study the game tape…

“We did some different things…” — Champ Bailey 9/30/07

Really? You mean it’s not normal to bench your two starting defensive tackles and replace them with rookie defensive ends? huh…who knew? :)

The real question is WHY?

The official line is that Denver was intent on disrupting the pass and confusing the Colt’s offense. According to Manning, that might have worked on their new linemen, but it had limited effect on his play.

“A guy like (rookie lineman) Tony Ugoh has never seen that before, but that’s where sideline adjustments pay off. You talk about what it is and you adjust to it.” — Peyton Manning 9/30/07

So, was the change made only to cause Indy’s offense to studder on their first two drives? That seems almost like it could be the answer… except… We never distrupted Manning’s passes. We also never got real pressure on him (despite having four pass-rushinger in the line-up). And we kept this wacky lineup in for the whole first half. Only after half-time did Denver shift back to something closer to what they ran in the first three games. And it seemed to operate about as well as it did during those games – we got run all over.

That begs the question: Was sitting Adams and Gordon sending a message to the defense that changes will be made at starting positions if the run-stopping isn’t fixed?

No one in Denver’s front office will admit this, but the frustration is apparent on eveyone’s faces after the game. Shanahan looked like he could have gone postal at any minute (I didn’t envy any of the media that braved that post-game media room yesterday). And Bates has to be feeling the pressure to make this thing right. Everyone knows that Mike Shanahan makes changes from the top down. So, Bates has to understand that if he can’t get it right soon, Denver will have a new Assistant Head Coach-Defense by year’s end.

I’m not calling for Bates’ head. I think it’s too early. But major changes to the starting lineup, seems to indicate that there is a higher sense of urgency inside the organization than they are opening discussing.

It just makes me wonder what we’re in for this week as we prepare for the Chargers. This is a divisional game, at home, against a proven superstar at tailback, on a team that whipped us twice last year. Sitting at 2-2, we need this game to stay on top in the AFC West.

So, what can we expect?

Only time will tell…

This one’s over folks.  Bitter loss after a promising first half, but in the end the abysmal special teams and run defense were too much for the Broncos.

The Colts ran and passed for more yards than the Broncos, had great field position on two scoring drives, and committed no turnovers in what would end up being a rout.

The Broncos now sit at 2-2, tied with the Raiders atop the AFC West.  The Chiefs look poised to pull the upset against the Chargers, which would move them into a three-way tie with those teams and leave the Chargers at a surprising 1-3.

We’ll have more later, but I’m signing off for now.

@

Broncos 20, Colts 28 (Third Quarter)

Travis Henry is sitting out and is questionable to return after a sprained ankle.

Check out Jonathan’s awesome live blogging via the comments, and leave one yourself! Let’s go Broncos, finish your drives and put them away!

Halftime!

So we’re down by one point. There are some things in this game to cause excitement, and some things in this game to cause dread. I’ve seen some very good things and one or two things that make me think that we’ve already seen the best football the Broncos are going to play.

History for games with the Colts are that they always do better in the second half. They get together and figure out where the holes are; they’re able to shore up the defense and able to exploit the weaknesses in the defense.

Our defense isn’t stopping the run very well. We had two big stops, but neither of them are decisive stops. I’m concerned we won’t put up any more stops. That means we’re likely to see at least 21 more points from the Colts.

They’re already doing better against the run; still, 100 yards from Henry in the first half makes me downright giddy.

How we can win this game

• Ball control — Continue holding onto the ball and running the length of the field. Do not blow 3rd downs.. We have to keep our offense on the field.
• Run defense — We have to have just enough run defense that those runs don’t come away with 6-7 yards.
• Special teams — Special teams got better toward the end of the half. They have to continue to get better. We really need a big break on special teams.
• Don’t make mistakes — We are where we are because all our players are pumped and they are focused. The mistakes have been few, and they’ve mostly been on special teams. They must remain few. The Colts are a very disciplined team.

We have to win this — if we lose, we go back to being tied with Oakland.