UPDATED 9:55AM ET
Good Morning, Broncos fans. I don’t know about you, but I was mightily impressed yesterday by our Broncos. Yes, they probably should have won, and were the better team for much of the day. But they made too many big mistakes at the wrong times, just enough for the Jets of New Jersey to slink away with a victory. The bad snaps by Lonie Paxton and J.D. Walton (two of the worst I’ve seen), the missed kick by Matt Prater (albeit a long one), and the fumble by Knowshon Moreno all loomed large. So did that last pass-interference penalty on Renaldo Hill at the end, although I was fine with the call. But let’s not lose sight of something. This was a team without its best safety and defensive heart in Brian Dawkins, its best linebacker in Robert Ayers, a starting cornerback in Andre’ Goodman, and two key special teamers and backup defenders in Darcel McBath and Wesley Woodyard. They didn’t just play their hearts out and all that cheesy cliched stuff - they played some excellent defense, and did so all game long.
Yes, the Broncos have now lost two in a row, but that pair of losses came at the hands of two preseason SB favorites who have not disappointed. Another loss was to some guy named Peyton Manning. My glass-half-full attitude here is not about a moral victory or excuses or any garbage like that. It’s about the depth we saw yesterday from what appeared to be a decimated roster. Really, when’s the last time the Broncos exhibited this much talent so far down the chart on defense? Can you remember? Big plays came from Syd’Quan Thompson and Jason Hunter, and although he showed us a couple times why he plays defense rather than offense, Perrish Cox was excellent. The Broncos performed decently in the running game, even mixing in Tim Tebow quite well. He ran with purpose and scored his first career TD.
Obviously, you can take the approach of “all wins are great” and “all losses suck,” but I think you know better. There is more to be learned, and what my eyes told me was that the Broncos are better than I thought they were a couple of days ago. The schedule gets a lot easier from here on out, with not a single SB contender on the docket (unless you count the Dolts). In real, actual good news, everyone else in the division lost. So while the Broncos dropped a game they could have won, the Dolts lost to the Lambs and the Chefs blew a big fourth-quarter lead. How do you think their fans are feeling today? Denver is only 1.5 games out of first place after the rough part of their schedule. I’ll take it.
By the way, I’ve been rough on the first-levelers, but they finally seemed to make some proper noise yesterday. The cameras were shaking on many of the big defensive plays a la Mile High Stadium, which was a fantastic thing to see. Of course, this only makes me wonder why Denver fans can’t do this every week like they used to. Does every Sunday need to be officially declared Orange?
Now, let’s get to those links.
Broncos/Jets
Here’s the box score from yesterday’s game for your perusal.
Broncos TV wraps up the game.
GameDay highlights from NFL Network.
Josh McDaniels met with the press following the game.
Kyle Orton, Brandon Lloyd and Mario Haggan spoke with reporters following the game (Audio).
Notes from the DP. Unfortunately, WR Matthew Willis has a fractured foot and will have surgery today, while Eddie Royal and Kevin Vickerson each left the game with groin injuries. Plus, a few quotes from the Broncos and Jets.
Klis wraps up the game.
Here’s what Andrew Mason saw yesterday. Plus, his notes.
The Broncos used a 4-man front for much of the day on defense, which our very own Boydy was asking about several days ago. Nice call, Ben!
It was most definitely an Orange Sunday yesterday - a beautiful thing to see. Why not every week??
Klis sums up Tebow’s day. So does Mason.
These are the numbers which stood out to Mason. Plus, more on the late PI call.
Heck, even Krieger found encouragement in yesterday’s loss!
This is getting ridiculous. Krieger and Kiszla taking the objective view rather than riling up the masses on the same day?
Woody focuses on the last couple minutes of the game.
The Jets agreed with the PI call at the end of the game. Meanwhile, Rex Ryan thinks the Jets were lucky.
Enemies
The Chefs allowed three 4th-quarter TDs in losing to Kubes and the Texans.
Meanwhile, the Dolts allowed seven sacks yesterday in losing to the Lambs, and there are no excuses for them.
Here’s the best part of all. The Broncos and the Dolts have the same record. However, the Broncos have already played three SB contenders, while the Dolts have played a bunch of sorry squads.
Jason Campbell passed for 83 yards in Jokeland’s loss to the Niners. Eighty-three. But it was the defense that really blew it.
Trimmings
Texans LB DeMeco Ryans is done for the year.
Here are Matt Bowen’s notes from the early and late games. He thinks the Broncos will have to pass with Tebow occasionally, or teams will figure out how to stop him soon. Plus, he’s impressed by Demaryius Thomas.
Plus, Bowen’s winners and losers, including Norv.
Here’s what Don Banks took away from yesterday.
UPDATE 9:55AM ET
PK spoke to Tebow last week about his tiny role on the team prior to yesterday. Plus, he argues in MMQB that the late PI call is evidence that PI should become a 15-yarder rather than a spot foul. Okay, but what if it had been a clear TD pass and instead Hill mauled Holmes? Would that only deserve 15 yards?
Mike Silver actually sat through the debacle by the Bay. Yuck.
Pat Kirwan thinks the Iggles should stick with Kevin Kolb.
I was just thinking this weekend that we haven’t had one of these in awhile…but PK obliges with the Big Fat Innuendo of the Day:
There’s been a Tim Tebow sighting. Came in the end zone.