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Post your thoughts on the game here, baby! It’s do or die time for the Broncos – are we among the elite this year, or are we settling for middle of the pack?

We’re nothing without you, the readers and awesome commenters, and are interested in your thoughts throughout the game. I’m gonna hit the sports bar to make sure I don’t miss this game (damn Cardinals), but I’ll have all my thoughts on it after and Jonathan and Earl should have their notes as well. Let me know what you think as the game goes on – and we’ll see you on the other side after a Broncos win!

Sam Adams and Amon Gordon have been placed on the inactive list for the game, according to Andrew Mason over at Mason’s Morsels. I can’t remember two starters being benched like this.

This means Marcus Thomas will likely start in his first NFL game, and Tim Crowder will finally play today.  Jonathan’s guy, Andre Hall, will also make his NFL debut.

I had said I thought we had the worst starting DTs in the league, and it looks like the coaches don’t disagree. If this is the spark our run defense needs, I’m all for it!

Sirius NFL Radio reports that John Lynch and Hamza Abdullah are out, meaning our starting free safety will either be Curome Cox (usually our backup strong safety) or recently promoted Steve Cargile.

UPDATE – Javon Walker is out for the game as well.

Gameday decisions for the Colts still pending – TE Dallas Clark, LT Tony Ugoh, among others.

• Of course, the big news is that Javon Walker looks like he won’t be playing today. Nothing short of devastating, really. – NFL, Adam Schefter
• Brian Clark is gone, and Glenn Martinez and Steve Cargile are in via recent roster moves. – Denver Post
• Check out the injury report for both teams (note that TE Dallas Clark is questionable, he’s a weapon and we’ve gotta hope he won’t be 100%) – DenverBroncos.com
• John Clayton has a quick note on the game – ESPN
• We strive to give you the best Game Week coverage on the Internet, and we think we’ve done a damn good job again. For quick scouting reports, interviews, matchup notes and more, check out our full Game Center HERE.

I’d have to say, this has been my favorite week of coverage here at BroncoTalk! I think we’ve had a fantastically full week of posts, interviews, opinions, news and general fun. I hope all of our readers agree – and would love to hear any feedback you might have about what you’re seeing on BroncoTalk (or what you’d like to see more of).

With all the material we’ve posted about our pending trip to Indy, I’ll make this week’s list quick and short!

Here’s what I’m most looking forward to vs Indy…
Click here to read the rest of this entry »

• The Colts are a bit banged up, too. – CBS4 Denver
• Sporting News breaks down the game, and actually favors the Broncos. – SN War Room
• Answered questions in return for the Colts site, check them out here (who knew the Colts’ special teams were as bad as ours?) – Naptown’s Finest
• Jets C Nick Mangold and I have something in common… we both get our Halo on. – The Jets Blog
• Ole 756 is getting an asterisk, as it should be. – ESPN

We told you to keep an eye on it, and it turns out the rumor was true.  Coach Mike Shanahan announced that left guard Ben Hamilton will be placed on the Injured Reserve list, ending his 2007 season.

Sad news of course to see Ben go.  We’ll miss him on the field and are keeping our fingers crossed for a speedy recovery so he can swing back into full force for 2008.

The Broncos are the underdog this week. It’s time to get fired up, it’s time to get that “Us vs. Them” attitude and go out on the road and beat a heavy favorite.

Oh, that’s right. We’re the Denver Broncos. We don’t work like that anymore.

In their last 11 games, the Broncos are 1-10 against the spread. In the last 8 games against the AFC, the Broncos are 0-8 against the spread.

We don’t know how to upset anymore, or even make it close when we’re the underdog.

It all has to with the game it seems we still haven’t gotten over – when the San Diego Chargers came to town last November. 17-point 3rd quarter lead came crashing down, and our season came with it. That started a 4 game losing streak for the team, and we’ve gone 4-6 since then.

This tells me it’s psychological. Someone tells the team they can’t do it, and they kneel and comply.

We need this win. We need to jump start the rest of our season. Get us fired up, get us ready for the Chargers, Steelers and Packers in the next month, and play with pride.

Exceed expectations. Is that so much to ask?

One of the interesting things about match-ups like this week versus Indy is that we get to prattle on comparing or contrasting our players versus some of the great players around the league. Some of these are meaningful, but most are just for fun. In an attempt to walk the fine line between insightful and fun, I decided to compare our hot shot QB with the leagues best active ball-slinger, Peyton Manning. I also wanted to give myself some perspective on new quarterbacks (even the great ones). So, I took a look at both quarterback’s first eight games, and here’s what I found…

I’d have to say Jay Cutler stacks up pretty well against The Great Peyton Manning.

Click here to read the rest of this entry »

Another installment of our expert picks. Seriously, we’re pros. If you don’t believe one of us, ask the other and he’ll tell you we’re pros. Seriously.

I mean, we both know the Saints won’t lose this week.

Last week – of course, the Broncos lost so we both lost one. Neither of us believe we’ll go 13-0 to finish the season, but you likely won’t see us pick against them either (at least I know I never will). Jon picked a ton of games against the spread, and he was 5 of 8. Like I told you last week, I make my picks before looking at Sin City, and only had 2 differences.

This week I’ve got 4 games against the spread, Jon’s got 5.

Last week

Kyle – Against the Spread – 1-1
Straight up – 11-5
Jonathan – Against the Spread – 5-3
Straight up – 12-4

To Date

Kyle – Against the Spread – 3-2*
Straight up – 34-14
Jonathan – Against the spread – 5-3*
Straight up – 31-17
*Since keeping track in week 2, week 3 respectively.

kmonty’s pick	Thoughts/Notes/Ramblings	Jonathan’s pick
	DEN @ IND (-9) – 9 points, eh? 3 points to the home team, leaving 6. Are the Colts 6 points better than the Broncos on a neutral field? I don’t think so, and I think our offense matches up so well against their defense that the Colts will be sidelined most of it. Kinda like what the Jags did to us this past weekend.
	OAK @ MIA (-4) – I’m picking based on the assumption that Daunte Culpepper will be playing against his former team, whom he hates and feels jaded and yada yada yada. Those games usually favor the disgruntled quarterback, for whatever reason.
	HOU (-3) @ ATL – The Falcons actually showed a few signs of not being the worst team in the NFL last week. Too bad DeAngelo Hall blew it. Meanwhile, the Texans are finally looking good and have now found out what the injury bug is all about. I want them to be healthy, so we can play a good game in the Kubiak Bowl later this year.
	BAL (-4) @ CLE – This was actually tough for me to pick.  I think the Browns may have found a home field advantage, and the Ravens are simply better behind Kyle Boller than Steve McNair.  Jonathan has more balls, as usual.
	CHI (-3) @ DET – Brian Griese. Jon Kitna. Who’d have ever thought a game between these two quarterback would have meant jack squat two years ago? The Bears are tied for last in the NFC North, so this is a must win for Lovie Smith and crew. If the Lions are to go 10-6, this is a must-win for them.
	GB (-1.5) @ MIN – Quite a low spread for the team that just beat the mighty Chargers. Don’t know if this is an indictment against the Pack or an endorsement for the Vikes, but someone in Vegas doesn’t think it is going to be as big of a blowout as I do. Brett Favre breaks the TD record then adds two more.
	STL @ DAL (-13) – The Cowboys were my preseason pick for the Super Bowl, but now they’re so freaking popular I feel like jumping off the bandwagon. Tony Romo will be dating Jessica Alba before you know it. Oh, and the Rams don’t have a chance in hell.
	NYJ (-3.5) @ BUF – I actually struggled to pick this one. A lot of teams think the Bills are plain awful, but this is their first game that isn’t against an upper echelon team. Even with injuries piling up, I see them defending their home and taking down the Jets.
	TB @ CAR (-3) – There were a few things I didn’t believe would happen this year, despite the frenzy. 1. Randy Moss would still suck. Wrong. 2. Jeff Garcia couldn’t excel without talent around him. Thus far, wrong again. He’s doing a fine job and helping the Bucs get wins. Plus, I have a special place in my heart for these guys ever since they beat that one team in the Super Bowl…
	SEA (-2) @ SF – San Francisco has yet to find an offense. Their defense is a bit banged up. I think the sky is falling on this team, and the Seahawks will rain on it. Insert rain-sky-falling analogy here.
	PIT (-6) @ ARI – It looks like I was a week removed from the chique Arizona pick. A couple of guys on Sirius are singing Whisenhunt‘s praises, I’ve seen more blogs than not pick the Cards, and the pro picks are split more than you would think. Well, we’re rebels. We roll with Vegas.
	KC @ SD (-12) – When a child tells his mom something’s wrong, the mother calls the doctor. When a child tells the doctor he can’t run the freaking football, the doctor prescribes the Kansas City Chiefs.
	PHI (-2.5) @ NYG – The Iggles had a big game last week. The Giants are surprising me though with their offense, sans Tiki Barber and Luke Petitgout. Both 0-2 teams bounced back against surprising 2-0 teams last week, and now we get to see who’s the real deal.
	NE (-7.5) @ CIN – Wouldn’t it be freaking awesome if the Patriots went 16-0, hosted the Broncos for the AFC Championship Game, and got their asses whupped? Yeah, totally freaking awesome, I know.