The IAOFM staff discuss the Denver Broncos' 13-10 overtime victory over the Chicago Bears
Ted: Good afternoon guys. It's a FOX Robot Sunday
Doug: Howdy Ted
Ted: Thanks for the value-add, Goose
Doug: More to come
Ted: I'm sure. Essays by Goose - that's positively Strahan-like. Let's see a pass concept, or some protection. Really nice play by Henry Melton. Dumervil played that perfectly. Hedge on the route, rush decisively. Ugh...the defense wastes a timeout...The crowd got them there! No wine and cheese from the sound of it. Bad effort by Goodman on the tackle
Doug: Podlesh, 18 fair catches on 30 punts...make that 19 on 31
Ted: Lousy punt there. You can't leave two guys unblocked, only 1. I like that design to get something moving on misdirection. Jump was just slightly too early. Decker was descending when it hit his hands
TJ: Gap control, DJ - try it
Ted: Yeah, really. This game is going to be all about that, for both teams. That was a pretty hot play by DJ... great timing. The field position game continues. With a short-kicking punter. Just what you don't need in a field position game... a penalty on a return unit. Wow, Thomas is such a beast with the ball
Doug: I invited a Bears fan to join us, not sure if it worked.
Ted: McGahee looks slow to the hole today
Doug: Who's Tebow mad at - the ref?
Ted: I couldn't tell
Doug: Oh brother
TJ: Delay, I think
Ted: Well, here comes a draw play. Well, that's the other way to do it
Ted: Nice throw
Doug: Welcome, Bears fan
David: Hello
Ted: Hey David
David: I don't feel as hated as I should. Perhaps I've been blessed.
Ted: Timmy said a prayer for you
TJ: Late hit. Moose was sure ready to say it was bad
Doug: Oh my. Interesting call, I'll take it
Ted: Yeah, that was a little ticky-tack. Lucky overthrow... Fells was bracketed
Doug: Again, time to draft some Senegalese receivers
Tebow is intercepted by Bears CB Charles Tillman along the sideline
Ted: Bad decision there. Wow, great footwork by Tillman.
TJ: He's like, thanks, Willis for the lift
Ted: Two guys hurt on 1 run... bad. Barber got into Ayers' chest with a fierceness there. Nice to see Moore on the field. Let's hopefully see some progress. Wow, Von shed that block
TJ: Von can do anything
Ted: The Bears know they can't protect the dropback game
TJ: The Bears may have the worse offense in the league right now. Knox, actually not a bad route
Doug: I want to say this was the most boring 1st quarter I've ever seen, but it's the same as every other week. Foxball, baby
Ted: Yeah, it's totally non-noteworthy in its boringness. When boring becomes routine... In any case, that was a good save by the defense of a turnover
2nd Quarter
Ted: Clady got defeated on the first step there
Doug: Wow first down!
Ted: That's Tebow, trucking dudes. The Bears are showing a lot of man-to-man so far, so the QB run should be there
David: I've never watched a football game without a quarterback. This is an interesting experiment.
Doug: We've seen a few, David
Ted: I want to see an in-and-out route with Decker, on a play when he motions tight to the line... That's being taken as a run giveaway. And then, on cue, he runs a route that gets blown up. Yikes... where was that going?
David: The Bears may have lost everyone on offense, but this defense can still win the game. And that almost-interception proved it
Doug: Again, looking for the 9-ft tall WR
Ted: Not too far from a FG here... I'll take a 3-0 win
David: That was not a penalty in 2007
Doug: Can't kick it here
David: I think the Bears defensive plan so far is cover the run and hope Tebow throws.
Ted: It definitely is David. That's easier said than done, though, because when he hits a throw, nobody defends the run as decisively
David: He hasn't played a D like this. He needs to start sliding or he's going to get hurt.
Ted: We see it every week, a completion opens the run. It wasn't there, and it was a one-read play... good throwaway
Doug: Doesn't look like he's throwing that away to me
David: They could have hit Tebow there. Penalty calls already affecting this one.
Ted: I think that one definitely was... it was a one-route pattern. Others, I agree
Doug: From watching his eyes on the replay, it looked like he was trying real hard to hit that, but whatever. No matter
David: Damn. They should be 15 back.
Ted: WTF?
Doug: Wow a timeout on a @#$%ing FG
David: Andy Reid school of clock management here.
Ted: Well, we've had the defense and FG unit waste TOs, and the offense take a delay penalty. Rough
David: 5 yards at that distance... I would have taken the penalty
Doug: No doubt. Oh my...
Ted: UGH
David: BLOCKED
Ted: That ball just came out low
Doug: Timeout AND blocked FG. Awesome.
David: Very low. I think I got a hand on that
Ted: Wow, that's a killer. Protect, open receiver, DROP
David: The defense needs to play offense. The Bears need to go 1932-style
Ted: My uncle was a QB and Safety for the Bears in one training camp in 1950. Then he got drafted to Korea, and his assignment was to play baseball to entertain other troops
David: That's not a bad assignment
Ted: Yeah, he was an All-American in both football and baseball at Georgetown
David: Why isn't Urlacher playing QB by now?
Ted: Good field position for the Broncos
David: So was the FG attempt
Ted: Yeah, that was ugly. Come on Decker
Doug: Oh brother. I don't mean to be funny, but it has to be hard for a WR when you never have a clue as to where the ball is gonna be. It's almost like Decker is caught by surprise when it's right in his bread basket like that
TJ: Urlacher is fast for a New Mexico guy
Ted: Another beast play by Miller. That cast doesn't seem to be bothering him
David: Every time the Bears get 5 yards I think, "and if that was Forte...."
Ted: That was a smart call, to motion Bell out man-to-man on Mays
TJ: Well, I guess Hanie can throw a slant pass
Doug: Wow 2-minute warning already and i'm still half asleep - deja vu all over again, every week
David: When you never throw, the game goes fast
Ted: Hopefully...
TJ: You think you could have used an extra 2 timeouts right now? Yeah, you could have, that' s a @#$%ing rhetorical question
Ted: Who'da thunk that one TJ?
David: I think I could have used them, but I don't think the Broncos could.
Ted: Nice protection there by the Bears. I like that A-gap blitz by Miller. It didn't give Hanie time to see anything
Doug: I'd like to see the Nielson ratings for this game throughout the day as it changes
David: If this was a game of Madden, I wonder how many times I would have reset my Xbox
Doug: Haha I only used to do that when getting blown out. This, I would've just nodded off probably. UGH
Ted: Oh, that would have been helpful if he held on to that one
Doug: Oh well nice play - that was a really nice play even with the drop. That would've been a very tough INT
TJ: Nice overload
David: 0-0 is still alive
TJ: Just looking at the numbers, Bears 0-5 on 3rd down. Can't argue with that
Doug: Thanks to those two first downs by penalty, Denver's winning the possession battle
TJ: Tebow has 45 yards passing and a 6.3 rating
Ted: Ugly. Another damn drop
TJ: So Doug, you think that's a factor? They are so used to poor balls? A good throw is a surprise?
Doug: Well...what must practice be like? I know these are pro athletes but other pro athletes on other teams are experiencing practices where no balls hit the turf. That has to result in different outcomes on sunday
David: I feel like I'm watching a game where everyone on both teams will get trophies when it's over, no matter what the score.
TJ: Oh God, your rating can actually go down from 6.3 to 6.2 - I didn't realize. I thought that was the lowest it could go. It just went up to 8!
Doug: Yeah, Tebow 3 of 13 for a 9.5 QB rating now. They just recalculated and charitably gave him another 1.5 because he's a nice guy
3rd Quarter
Ted: After the first series, DJ has been awesome. Nice pressure by Dumervil there. Lance Louis is shook. I really like how Cosby catches a punt in traffic, and takes a quick step to avoid the first coverage guy. He does that frequently. That's returner skill, where a lot of fast guys don't have that
Doug: UGH. Oh well nice concept but thrown too hard. Just put some air under it!
Ted: That was a drop, again
TJ: Here we go again with the timeouts
Ted: The Broncos just have to keep coming, because if they start making a few of these small details work, they're going to win this game
Doug: I've never seen a running QB who's so bad at throwing on the run - it's really amazing
TJ: That was a bad detail there, lining up in the wrong formation
Ted: Indeed. Not kicking returnable punts to Hester has been a success today. There's always that
TJ: Wow, that was a shifty run
Doug: Wait, so Tebow was 3-14 with a 9.5 rating, and now he's 3-15 with a 11.8 rating?
TJ: Don't question the formula! Haha
Ted: 1 INT in a small number of attempts is a heavy weight. It's diluting that. 0-for whatever is 39.3. So, an incompletion is worth 39.6 points and actually inflates ratings less than that
Doug: Oh right, because his INT rate went down hahaha that's classic. The better INT rate with an incompletion outweighs everything else, I guess
Doug: Horsecollar? Whew no call!
TJ: DJ was adamant it wasn't, haha. Wow, the Bears are really disciplined
Doug: Uh oh, Hester time. Damn
Ted: Larsen missed him initially
TJ: A miss is relative with this jitterbug, wow the dude is fast
Doug: Yeah nice job of sticking with it, Larsen
Ted: Dumervil got held bad
TJ: I guess the refs want to make up for the hold on Peppers earlier, suckas. Marion Barber is starting to bring the lather
Ted: Hopefully Goodman is OK
Doug: I hope the Broncos don't treat him like the Browns did Colt McCoy - if he's concussed, don't bring him back!
Ted: Agreed
Marion Barber scores from nine yards out; 7-0 Bears
Doug: No Dawk, no Goody. TD
Ted: Moore has to make that tackle
TJ: Guess Moore will be riding it again next week
Doug: David's having internet problems, but he sends his good cheer
Ted: That was pretty much the whole script for how the Bears can win. A long punt return, then bad tackling in the running game
TJ: Saw Dawkins mouth: We've come back before <claps>. David Singer tried to join again and again, but in the Twilight Zone, nothing was what it seemed.
David: There we go. Did I miss anything? Oh yeah, my 0-0 dreams are over
Ted: Jennings tripped him. That doesn't work so good against zone
TJ: You can't look at one WR and always assume you can get 15 yards against a zone
Ted: No, you sure can't
Doug: Wow this game will be over FAST - this could be a 2.5-hour game
Ted: The Broncos have gotten soft in the running game the last two weeks.Where's Mays thumping?
Doug: Could be the defense wearing down - they've spent a LOT of time on the field, all year
Ted: Carter made that play
TJ: Nice play, Q. Holy crap, Roy Williams is still in the league? I thought he ate himself out
Doug: Haha he's the reason the Chiefs beat them. Or, one of the big ones
Ted: Champ played that very well
Doug: Nice! That's like the one McGahee hurt his hand on
TJ: That drive is done with this pathetic offense - no way they can get 24 yards in 3 plays with Caleb Hanie
Doug: Doom!
TJ: Pretty much what I just said
Ted: That motion was supposed to mess up the Broncos, but Champ checked them to zone, and they played it perfect
TJ: Wow, Bell missed the lane off to the right. FG?
Ted: Not in range
TJ: Ah, not in their guy's range
TJ: Our guy, yeah
Ted: Yep.
Robbie Gould wallops a 57-yarder to put Chicago up 10-0
Doug: Wow, that was smoked. Good from 65+
TJ: I guess he rethought that one. He crushed that, pure
TJ: He crushed that about as well as I've ever seen a kicker crush a ball - better than the chick whose pants I tried to get into in 9th grade
Doug: BTW, Tebow's QB rating went up again after his last incompletion. I suppose this can keep happening until he approaches that 39 number - he's all the way up to 13.5 now
TJ: He's a Tebowist?
Doug: That's a new one
TJ: I think he's grammatically challenged
4th Quarter
Doug: Hey, it's Tebow time - 4th quarter, only down 10. Let's see it!
Ted: That flip reverse is a Florida play
TJ: They are now trying trick plays I guess - getting tricky, Run DMC-style
Doug: We should be expecting a W here, right? Same thing every week, and all he does is win. It's only 10 points
Ted: I wish I had the all-22 on that
TJ: He won't run to his right - he refuses to run to his right
Doug: Ted, what would you be curious to see on that play?
Ted: If there was any separation downfield
Doug: You're assuming there's none?
Ted: That's needed to evaluate Tebow's decision to run. I'm not assuming anything, I wish I could see it
Doug: I'm just asking because it's not something you often say - so I'm figuring you had something specific in mind there
Ted: On a play like that with a tight camera angle, it's something I always think. The TV sideline view sucks for judging plays where no pass is ever thrown
Doug: VON!
Ted: Wow, that was a busted coverage. I think that was Woodyard's guy
Doug: Defense, keeping Tebow & Co in the game. And, luck. Luck = Hanie blowing that throw
Ted: Yeah, luck helped on that last play. The Broncos haven't gotten the straight-ahead run game blocked all day. It's just not there
TJ: And I guess Tebow thought he wanted to not get the 3 yards he had and he busted outside
Doug: For the record, Denver has not been shutout since 1992, when it happened TWICE
Ted: Wow, rough year in 1992
Doug: One game was Maddox, the other was Elway and Shawn Moore, briefly
David: What could be better than following in Elway's footsteps?
Ted: Good catch by Thomas on a low throw
TJ: They are playing zone now - he can hit that all day now. Soft coverage zone, too
David: I can't wait to read the articles about how positive that is
Ted: This style is where Tebow is best
Doug: Perhaps i just jinxed away the shutout
Ted: I hope so
Doug: I didn't pray though
David: They're going to get that ball from him soon.
Tebow fumbles at the Chicago 45
David: WOW
Doug: Damn, I guess I didn't jinx it
David: MAIL ME MY @#$%ING CRYSTAL BALL
TJ: No pocket presence on that whatsoever
Ted: Yeah, that was terrible TJ
Doug: Eventually you start losing your incompletions and fumbles to the other team. You can't keep missing throws and putting it on the ground and be "not turning it over at historic levels" like Kerry Byrne would like to trumpet. More history, the Broncos’ fewest points allowed in a shutout was 16 against the Chiefs in 1970. I figure if i keep talking shutouts I can jinx it away like when they talk no hitters on TV. Because, I have that power right?
Ted: I hope so. I don't believe in things like jinxes, but it can't hurt. Nice play by Ayers to shut it down. That was a weird decision to fair catch that inside the 10. He had a lot of room, and the trajectory indicated it would roll. Worst possible decision was fair catch
Doug: Okay let's see it!
Ted: Good play there. Thomas is having a brutal day catching the ball
TJ: Does he realize the hands need to be up?
Doug: Again, not used to being on target - the hands are in a different spot on every throw, because the ball is. I'm sure it's that way in practice too
TJ: Check it DOWN! The guy just drifts
Doug: We've got them right where we want them, don't we? Magic time?
Ted: No, this is more like needing an onside kick if a win is even possible time
Doug: Why? We can stop them
Ted: No more TOs
Doug: 5 minutes for 10 points?
Ted: The math is tough
TJ: Way to waste em early fox
Doug: Wait, we have ZERO timeouts?
TJ: Of course we do
Ted: Yeah Fox just used them to save time there
Doug: Like, just now?
Ted: Yeah the last series - 2 of the 3
Doug: Um wow. I don't like that. Just get into FG range and kick it
TJ: They give him everything now
Ted: I don't like it much either... it's playing for the onside kick
TJ: Deep deep safeties
Ted: That's how I'd play it too TJ
Doug: I'd get another few yards now, kick it and then send it deep
Ted: I think that's a good idea Doug
Doug: I mean, don't burn clock - just throw. Obviously don't give up the possession. Like that! Now spike! Hurry the @#$% up!!!!
TJ: Most fans are going to assume he's raking right now
Ted: What are they doing?
Doug: How about some urgency?! LET’S GO!!! Just wasted 20 seconds
Ted: Yeah, this is not good management
Doug: LET’S GO! HELLO?!
Ted: That was legal
Tebow connects with Demaryius Thomas for a 10-yard TD pass
Ted: Nice throw
Doug: Wow, now what?
Ted: I think you have to kick it onsides here... if not, best case is getting it back with 50 seconds or so
Doug: You have to go onside right? This is feeling a lot like Miami and Jets
Ted: Yeah it is
Doug: 55 minutes of suck
Ted: But like it's the other shoe dropping
TJ: Negative, Doug, that's a soft zone - there's no switch to flip
Doug: The Bears should run this out. Well, I didn't say they stopped sucking
Chicago recovers Denver's onside kick attempt
Ted: Oh wow, they had a good chance at that one
Doug: Damn. Nice kick, Prater
TJ: Any team on the earth can hit those on the soft zone
Ted: It's the same story, though, they can get it back around 50 sec
Doug: OH Wilhite
TJ: This is what the Broncos have been reduced to?
Doug: This is the Broncos, yes. Foxball baby!
TJ: Ted just said the other shoe dropped
Doug: Ted 50 seconds is rosy - a play takes 5 seconds, maybe more - and the punt takes a few too but, we only need a FG
Ted: You're right... my math was wrong. More like 30
Doug: David you with us for Foxball here? Welcome to our world - this is what it's like almost every week.
TJ: Yeah, Singer, this is a world in which you sit on your knees with a rosary and hope for an onsides kick. I'm guessing you're not in?
Doug: No he's having internet problems. What is Moose talking about?! TJ, or we root for dumb moves by the opposition, haha. We hope for onside kicks, turnovers, punt returns and brain farts
Ted: They can get it back over 1 minute, and they will
Doug: Hey we got a chance now!!! Go figure
Doug: Wow, incredible - we're going to OT. Mark it
Ted: That could not have gone better for the Broncos
Doug: Short of a turnover, yeah
Ted: Well, only if Barber went out twice
Doug: Couldn't have dreamt that up though. I mean, who the @#$% runs out of bounds?!?! Hahaha here we go, we need 40 yards, and almost a minute to get it
Ted: Great play by Decker to make that guy miss
Doug: Thank you Marion Barber! Okay, 30 more yards
Ted: I like that checkdown there
Doug: 20! We only need 20 yards! Wow, WOW
Ted: Tebow is really throwing some good balls in the 4th quarter. Bad coverage bust there though wow
Doug: Well, they're wide open Ted - let's take it easy
Ted: I agree, but hitting them is better than not. You can't have a completion in the field of play now. Sideline or nothing!
Doug: Prater can hit this. This is so funny. Every week. This is good - mark it
Matt Prater is good from 59 yard out to tie the game at 10 and send the game to OT
Ted: Got it
Doug: WOW
Ted: How about this team?!
Doug: Thank you, Marion Barber
Ted: Yes, indeed - thank you Mr. Barber
TJ: He mashed that
Ted: Yeah he really did... Prater is a weapon. That's the most fortuitous missed tackle Rahim Moore ever had - he's been awful in tackling today too. If the Broncos get the ball back, they need to stick with the spread empty stuff. The conventional running game has been stuffed all game. It's not there, play it like it's not there
Overtime
Doug: Thank you, thank you Marion Barber! And, I'm glad we didn't draft you over Maurice Clarett. Because you sir, are a moron. As you make a killer catch. I'm not sure that's a catch
Ted: Me neither
Doug: I think no, actually
Barber fumbles at the Denver 33 after appearing to break through the scrum; Elvis Dumervil recovers
Ted: We need a big play on 3rd down here - come ON Broncos magic! That was it... on cue!!!
Doug: WOW, Barber again! Hahahaha
Ted: Doug, you and I are great jinxers
Doug: So, we need 25 yards or so now...
Ted: Demaryius! (I spelled it right just for you, Doug)
Doug: Haha thanks Ted
Ted: There was nothing there on that run attempt... bad decision
Doug: Hahaha this is classic
Ted: No push-off... I thought there might be one in live speed. That's a worthy TO on a big 3rd down. Conservative there... let's hope it doesn't bite them
Prater ends it with a 51-yarder; 13-10 Broncos
Doug: WOW
Ted: Broncos magic! Catch it!!!!
Ted: Hahaha
Doug: Marion Barber, thank you - you @#$%ing incompetent dumbass
Ted: We'll take it
