Audibles at the Line: Week 11
www.footballoutsiders.com
Since he took over as quarterback, Tebow is averaging roughly nine rushing attempts per game. Over a 16-game season, that would be the most rushing attempts by any quarterback in the Super Bowl era. But, I don’t see why Tebow can’t carry the ball that much. He’s really a good-sized running back playing quarterback. If Reggie Bush can handle nine carries a game, why can’t Tebow?
Not a bad argument here.
When in doubt, play the Reggie Bush card.
Week 11 sets up most thrilling Thanksgiving lineup of games ever
sportsillustrated.cnn.com
Whilst the game is growing in the UK, it’s still odd to hear a conversation about the sport, particularly at a football game. I love the fact that more and more people are discovering American football. Still, it’s astonishing that you can’t go anywhere without hearing about Tebowmania—even thousands of miles away from where the game was played.
And as always, Drew Magary interprets and improves upon MMQB.
Good Morning, Broncos fans! The AFC West games went about as expected, as the Raiders defeated the Vikings 27-21 and the Chargers lost to the Bears 31-20. Oakland is now 6-4 and a game up on the 5-5 Broncos, who are now one game ahead of San Diego. Denver remains a half-game ahead of the Chiefs, who face the daunting task of playing at Foxboro tonight with Tyler Palko starting for them at QB. Carson Palmer threw and ran for a score, while Michael Bush racked up 129 total yards and a TD for Oakland. Christian Ponder rallied Minnesota back from a 27-7 hole with two TD passes but was also picked off three times.
Meanwhile, Jay Cutler got a measure of revenge on the Chargers and his old nemesis Phil Rivers, but the satisfaction was shortlived and overshadowed by the fact that Cutler broke his right thumb late in yesterday's game, will have surgery to repair it, and will not be playing when the Bears come to town on December 11. It'll still be a big QB homecoming, just not for the Broncos - they'll instead be facing Cutler's backup, former CSU Ram Caleb Hanie. So, all Tim Tebow will have to do that day is outscore Devin Hester. Piece of cake, right? Matt Bowen breaks down the Bears' victory, plus he considers the Bears' plight without Cutler.
NFL Pregame Show Week 11 Sound Bites: CBS' 'The NFL Today'
www.dailygazette.com
If I’m John Fox, I put together a comeback package with Kyle Orton. Take Kyle Orton and use him because you’re going to have to get involved and throw the football at some point…You’ve proven right now, when the game is close, I’ve got a quarterback. But if I’m behind, (Tebow) can’t throw it. I get Kyle Orton and I get a comeback package and it takes the learning curve off of Tebow. So John Fox, get a good comeback package with Kyle Orton.
Got to this a little late tonight, but just what the hell is Bill Cowher talking about? What part of Tebow's comeback wins has he missed? The 95-yard thingy?
At this point you live by the Tebow and die by the Tebow. If he gets behind (like they've done in many of his starts), you let him work through it--that is, if you intend on developing him.
If you don't, well then, you're probably going to Brady Quinn anyway.
I remember whining really hard for Cowher to be the coach of the Broncos when they hired both Josh McDaniels and John Fox. At this point I'm glad they chose the Marlboro Man over The Chin.
Jay Cutler injury affects AFC West
espn.go.com
He was hurt in a 31-20 win over the San Diego Chargers on Sunday. The Bears play the other three AFC West teams in the next three weeks. The Bears play at Oakland on Sunday, host Kansas City on Dec. 4 and plays at Denver on Dec. 11.
Denver has been anticipating the Dec. 11 game because would be Cutler’s first visit to Denver in the regular season since he was traded to the Bears in 2009.
Regardless of that drama, if Bears are without Cutler during the next three weeks, each team’s chances of beating the Bears has increased.
Have to agree with Pork Chop on this one. The road to a playoff berth just got easier for the Broncos.
During the Broncos' last four wins, the Broncos' defense has faced a pedestrian Matt Moore, a comatose Carson Palmer, a flaccid Matt Cassel, and an erratic Mark Sanchez. Coming to town in December will be the incomparable Caleb Hanie. Until then, the Broncos face a suddenly jittery Philip Rivers and rookie Christian Ponder.
Who says the Broncos can't win if they continue to score only 17 points?
Insider: Leinart in good spot to succeed
www.profootballweekly.com
“There are people out there that think God is winning these games (for Tim Tebow) and willing him to victory- the right-wing coalition and the power of prayer. Everyone is going to be kneeling and Tebowing before it is all over. Someone is going to think of a way to make money off this one. They’ll create the Tebow doll where he is kneeling down and you push a button and he stands up and screams ‘Amen.’ “
Yeah, I know the idea of a Tebow doll sounds crazy, right?
I would have said the same thing about a 23-year old writing an autobiography a year ago.
Tebow makes the unexpected possible.
Irvin talks Tebow and Super Bowl
espn.go.com
“When I say ‘I believe,’ I’m talking about I believe Tebow can get this team to a Super Bowl because there has been in a shift in power in the AFC. It’s shifted to the NFC … We say run the ball, stop the run and don’t turn the ball over. That’s exactly what Tebow is doing right now.”
Make room aboard the Tim Tebow Express for Mike Irvin.
Expect to see a lot of this hyperbole in the next several weeks as the postseason draws near. Tebow makes headlines, and producers will want all of their on-screen talent to start taking an extreme position on him either way.
You think Merril Hoge has sold less books in the last month?
Enjoy the games, and Go Vikings Bears!
I'll disperse with the trivialities today and just say that Doug Lee is within one game of Mike Silver.
Will I see an elephant fly?
No way. Doug spends a grand total of three minutes per week picking these games. If only my brain worked so fast.
You may not like his take on Tebow, but all he does is win (pick 'em) games.
I apologize in advance for not getting to the probability and Baxter's locks. There are several reasons for this. Some could be true. First, I can't get in touch with Baxter this morning. When I left him last night he was dancing on top of a table and mumbling something about goldfish. Second, I really wanted to bask in the glory of Doug Lee. Third, now that the Broncos' game is over for the week, I don't care so much about the probabilities of the other games. And finally, I woke up about thirty minutes ago and didn't have time.
Enjoy the games today, everyone.
Good Morning, Broncos fans! Yesterday we covered the crucial Chargers/Bears game, so today let's take a quick peek at the game with the most immediate impact on Denver's season: Raiders/Vikings. An Oakland loss would drop them to 5-5 and into a first-place tie ZOMG with the Broncos, and they will be without several key players in RB Darren McFadden, WR Jacoby Ford and CB Chris Johnson, while three others are listed as questionable but expected to play: K Sebastian Janikowski, DT Richard Seymour and S Michael Huff.
As Jerry McDonald stresses, Oakland's first priority will be keeping pass rusher extraordinaire Jared Allen away from Carson Palmer, who will benefit from the absence of starters CB Antoine Winfield and S Husain Abdullah from Minnesota's secondary. The Vikings have struggled to put points on the board all year, but they also also lost to Detroit and Green Bay by just nine combined points, while Adrian Peterson has 11 TDs and nearly 1,000 yards from scrimmage; so you never know. Either way, how great/wild/unimaginable is it that we're talking about the Broncos potentially ending the day today in first place in the division?
