I’ll Be Right Here
December 27th, 2009 | by Bryan Douglass |I am enjoying the last day of five from daytime responsibilities that fall outside of my own family and I have been acting like it… and ditched on the game preview.
In an attempt to make good I’m going to blog live from the Stable today during the events that unfold in Philly… to be honest, I’m drawn to this approach on this particular day for several reasons.
- Haven’t done a live blog since the NFL Draft, and that’s too long.
- Passed out early due to the chaos of it all yesterday (we drummed the early morning on Friday with the stick on Saturday, trying to get out to spend gift cards and such… it’s worse than the day after Thanksgiving). Thus the game preview is only partially done.
- It’s the holidays… consider this my Christmas Holiday Special.
- This is make-or-break for the Donkeys in my mind… if there is any hope of controlling destiny, it can only be won in Philly today.
- I took the family fo Philly Cheesesteaks earlier in the week and feel I need to atone.
I’ll send you HERE for the latest news on inactive players. You can go HERE for news from the week that wasn’t touched on during the Stable week (offered a nice Santa-sized plate of links on Wednesday night, so there is stuff we haven’t discussed yet like the injuries for Eddie Royal and Spencer Larsen, both of major interest in an already-baffling scenario in Philly). You can go HERE for player updates.
I’m in early to start with a free taste from my weekly premium offering at the mothership.
9:45am MDT
In my Saturday column at Fanball, 5 Questions Owners Aren’t Asking, I put full focus on some issues we’ve witnessed here in the Mile High City. It is just one of the five points of analysis we hit on this week so I don’t believe the powers will mind if I throw the locals a bone.
Should we be worried about Denver?
In review of the NFL’s latest statistical gatherings we noted a troubling trend of questionable performance growing in Denver. In review we have found…
- Over the Broncos’ last three games quarterback Kyle Orton has been sacked three times, and of those nine sacks four have come against left tackle Ryan Clady.
- The Broncos are averaging a respectable 4.2 yards per carry in the efforts to run the football yet rookie Knowshon Moreno has found life difficult behind a hampered set of guards, rushing for just 2.7 yards per carry two weeks ago against Indianapolis (one of the softer defenses in the NFL) followed by 2.2 yards per carry last week against Oakland. The Broncos own just 10 runs of 10 or more yards up the middle according to NFL calculations and only three of those have come in the last four weeks.
- While the schedule has been laden with talented teams the record of 2-6 since the bye week has been as atrocious as almost any string of performance by an NFL team over that span. Blowout losses suffered against Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and San Diego were horrendous but the recently sting of hard-fought losses against Indy (16-28) and Oakland (19-20) indicate the Broncos are now struggling to win key individual matchups, and the numbers point to the offensive line as a source of worry.
As the Broncos correspondent for the Fanball Sports Network I have had honored the task of evaluating nearly every snap of Denver’s season to date and can suggest, without question, that things may be getting worse before they improve for Mile High fans. The Broncos are dangerously thin at the position they have found the most troubling, offensive guard, and the decisions made thus far fail to suggest a proper answer can be found from the current roster.
The offense constructed by Coach Josh McDaniels is built without the proper tools. In the previous offense of Mike Shanahan the offensive line was constructed of smaller interior linemen capable of providing quickness often associated with pull blocking and diversion rather than powerful, road-grading efforts to open gaps for an interior rusher like Moreno. During the days of Terrell Davis the Broncos enjoyed such offerings but more recent versions of the Shanahan roster have emphasized quickness and speed, both from the guards and the rushers, over size.
It appears McDaniels wants to swing it back, and after fighting through lackluster results with Ben Hamilton, he made a major change in pulling Hamilton from consideration and inserting Russ Hochstein. Hochstein doesn’t carry much more size than Hamilton but he does have a weight advantage and his experience in a similar system in New England led McDaniels to believe he could carry the load.
He can’t. In fact, the only guard on the staff capable of doing that work – Ryan Harris – is out for the season with an injured foot.
The Broncos have also tried Tyler Polumbus, local boy made good, in the spot as the biggest man on the roster and he has struggled to find consistent form. Another voice of support for the run, fullback Spencer Larsen, has also been lost for the week to injury giving the Broncos yet another worry in the effort to gain yards on the ground. You might also list the loss of wideout Eddie Royal, a positive contributor in downfield blocking, as a source of concern moving forward.
Those failures, both in performance and durability, have introduced new problems with interior bull rushers and oncoming linebackers that are affecting Knowshon’s performance, Orton’s health, and Clady’s ability to focus. There is a lack of ability in the short-range passing game that allow safeties and linebackers to spy the rusher while interior linemen get to go after the passer through soft interior blocks. The Broncos can’t and won’t get their offense working properly as long as this situation remains and the decision to draft Knowshon with their first overall selection now looks to be, at least in the short term, a questionable move as a result. The return of Correll Buckhalter, adding a need to focus on his oncoming rushes around the corner, could spread the Philly defense out a bit but the recipe for success against Denver has been written and many have gotten in line to follow.
Looking forward with the big-picture view suggests McDaniels will address the situation in the offseason but for now the push to solidify a spot in the playoffs and compete throughout is damaged. Should you be worried about the Broncos? Yes you should, for it seems the solution to today’s problems may not be in reach.
11:55 am MDT
My apologies… trying to juggle. Had to hit up the morning slate as I’m keeping an eye on the BWW fantasy squad. We’ve got The Fury of Fanball in the championship round which includes performances from this week and next, starting with the bright decision to keep Darren Sproles and his 23 points on the bench versus Chris Johnson and his 23 points found on the Librarians’ active roster. Thus we watch Drew and Pierre with great interest.
How ’bout another small offering of links?
- Kyle focused his holiday efforts on the power of the Philadelphia offense this week (BroncoTalk).
- Dave Krieger’s dreams may be coming true (Denver Post).
- One of the best parts of Deadspin would be those that offer commentary free of charge… as you will find here.
- The boys at Fox are trying to keep the mood festive.
- Albert Haynesworth = unhappy (Yahoo).
- TJ Johnson is hoping the numbers will show the Broncos the light (SBNation).
- It’s a few days old but I always enjoy “This Week in Quotes” from the Outsider (Football Outsiders).
That’s all I’ve got… going to check out what’s on tap for lunch, to determine if a walk down the street is in the cards…
… and to contemplate three bullets for the positive and negative sides of the road ahead. Be back in a bit.
12:57pm MDT
Good ol’ Sal Pal keepin’ it real with report from the elements (actually found a great video of Eagle fans pelting some poor San Fran fan last week with snowballs and it’s set to private, so I can’t share the joys of seeing a game in such wonderful town with you… in Chicago you don’t wear gold and green, in Pittsburgh you down wear brown and orange, and in Denver you don’t wear the silver and black… in Philly it is best to wear green and silver and nothing but, or you’ll find yourself wearing black and blue).
Three Bullets for the Glass-Is-Half-Empty Crowd
1) Ryan Harris is still unavailable for battle.
I can’t seem to get away from this fact… which is odd as I want to suggest the Broncos have every motivation to run the football in this game. We’ve been saying that all year… control the clock, feature the talents you have working behind the quarterback and take the ball out of hands of Kyle Orton to help avoid mistakes.
However, as noted in the piece I put forth on the mothership’s feature station yesterday, that “analysis” was built on an offensive line of worth. Today, I find little support to suggest this is the case. The guard play has been atrocious and seems, by review of nearly every voice I can find on the internet that covers this team, to be an ill fit for the system Josh and Company want to run.
They started the year throwing way too much and we complained, and now that Kyle and Brandon Marshall are on the same page it feels like they don’t throw enough (at least in recent weeks). The loss of Ryan Harris (and the lack of production from the depth chart behind him) brings this complaint to the floor and gives it life.
We want the Broncos to run the football… we just aren’t sure they can. Philly owns one of the top-10 rushing defenses in the league (ranked 9th as a matter of fact, giving up 101.9 rushing yards per game) and that suggests the recent woes found in attempts to employ the ground game could continue for Denver.
2) Two of the best peripheral blockers on Denver’s roster are also set to miss today’s action.
I was struggling to evaluate this game when we left the loss to Oakland in the rearview mirror and now, with news that Eddie Royal and Spencer Larsen are out due to injury, I find the matchup much more alarming than first imagined.
While many in fantasy leagues are quick to lament the lack of offensive production for Royal those that have watched this team understand his gifts are served in various ways, many of which will not be appearing in NFL box scores (at least not as currently constructed).
Royal currently stands as the team’s fourth-leading receiver with just 37 catches for 345 yards on the season (and he has yet to score a touchdown that didn’t come via special teams). You have to COMBINE the work done by Royal and the two receivers listed above him on the stat chart (Tony Scheffler and Jabar Gaffney) to reach the number of completions pulled by Brandon Marshall. We can debate the reason for those results but we cannot debate Royal’s abilities to influence progress despite those lackluster totals.
The guy is as powerful in blocking as any receiver on the field. He’s not afraid to finish the play, he’s not afraid to use his location over the middle to put the wood to oncoming defenders, and he’s a key contributor for a team that has every desire to run the football.
Then we have Spencer Larsen who has taken the primary role as lead blocker. The Broncos tout a horrendous conversion rate in the red zone but when they do move the ball forward it is often Larsen working to clear the way. His absence is likely to force the tight ends into that action and I have yet to see a performance suggesting this as a plan to envy.
So we have a team that needs to run the football facing a formidable rush defense lacking two of the most potent pillars of support for the cause… and that’s not good.
3) We have no idea what to expect from the Denver defense.
We noted troublesome numbers for the Denver defense over recent weeks following the loss to Oakland…
(a) The Broncos, in winning six straight to start the season, registered a give/take ratio of 5/12. Since then, they come in with a give/take at 14/13.
(b) In the Broncos’ eight wins the defense has allowed 78.6 rushing yards per game (3.4 yards per carry). In their losses the Broncos have surrendered 168 rushing yards per game (4.9 yards per carry).
(c) Since the bye week (again, marking the end of the six-game win streak), Denver has surrendered 74 combined points in the fourth quarter. To counter, the Broncos have scored 32 combined points in the final set (20 coming in the two blowout wins over the Giants and Chiefs). I’d also note the Broncos have been faced with a deficit on the scoreboard moving into the second half eight times this season… and they have won two of those games.
The Bronco defense was the source of inspiration in early-season success and now we wonder if their age (there isn’t a ton of grey on the Denver defensive roster… most of the boys are either very young or very old) and the increased pressures of an abusive season (having lost the time-of-possession battle SO many times in those losses coming after the bye week) are taking a toll.
The numbers suggest they are, and against a Philadelphia offense bloated with explosive young talent (their quarterback is the only mark of age on the field for Philly and he’s led them rank as the 10th-best passing unit in the league), that is of serious concern.
Back shortly with three for those in a positive mind state, as well as a prediction.
1:47pm MDT
Three Bullets for the Glass-Is-Half-Full Portion the Gallery
1) Philadelphia can’t cover Brandon Marshall.
The NFL world has started to heap unanimous praise towards Andre Johnson in Houston as the game’s best receiver… but I’d like to insure Brandon is in the discussion. At the very least you must list him as the team’s offensive MVP and it is clear that just about every campaign to move the football has been served best when Marshall touches the football.
He is 12 yards away from mention in the NFL’s top 10 in receiving yards. Only three other receivers have posted more touchdowns this season. Only four others post more yards after the catch.
Any suggestion that the hope on offense doesn’t begin and end with Brandon Marshall is a farce, and based on the numbers (Philly may rank 11th in the league in overall defense but that rank falls to 14th against the pass as 22 of the 32 touchdowns they have surrendered this season have come via the pass), this will be the case for Denver once again today.
2) Brian Westbrook is set to return to action.
To be fair this may be a point of negative reflection and thus I’ll make it short.
We noted the Broncos’ recent struggles in stopping the run and the thought of taking LeSean McCoy, the explosive rookie tailback on the rise in Philly, out of the game appeals to me. I have yet to see Westbrook make a positive impact on a game of worth (no, I am not counting the effort against Oakland in Week 6) this season.
I would hope the Eagles are distracted away from DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin by the desire to follow the run-first, run-often plan of attack so many others have used against Denver in recent weeks. If they want to take the burden of defense and put it up front, that’s fine by me… yes, the Denver defensive front is soft and many have found the avenue to success through that approach, but I’d rather watch them fight forward with a questionable commodity in Westbrook than with those potent receivers few can cover.
3) Donovan McNabb and Andy Reid have history I can appreciate.
I don’t have numbers or video or example to put forth to back this up… but it is widely held and accepted (as any fan in Philly or any fan of the Sports Guy can attest) that those two men are capable of turning this team upside down. Reid has struggled with clock management throughout his career, he has fallen prey to historical trends any and all can research and follow that have (on occasion) put this Philly team in a bad way, and the desire to rely so heavily on the influence of Donovan McNabb has put many a lesser competitor in the mix for a surprising win.
In truth, I feel, with all my heart and soul, the Broncos are in for devastation. The questions surrounding the defense of late, the severe worries presented by the offensive line, the loss of Royal (which will be especially harmful on special teams), being on the road, the inability to overcome a deficit on the scoreboard… there is almost NOTHING for Denver fans to cling to as the blanket of promise in this game.
I have done it just one time this season and I hate to do it in a crucial situation, but the facts are impossible to deny, the emotions are impossible to ignore, and the reality of the situation at hand is impossible to discard.
Broncos 23, Eagles 36
So let’s get to the game.
2:22pm MDT
In the time it took me to switch rooms, hit the head, and crack the can… the Broncos nearly give up the football via Kyle Orton fumble as the replay determines it to be an incomplete pass. For now I’m calling the absence of Dan Fouts from today’s cover crew as the biggest win of the day. Let’s hope that changes.
The Eagles then come forth with an obvious desire to pass and we get the first mention of an emotional return (in terms of in-game commentary) of the day. They follow with a focused offering from Westbrook and he doesn’t appear to be harboring any of the hesitations I expected… BUT WAIT!
It took 10 plays on Philly’s opening drive but Elvis comes through with the sack-influenced forced fumble on McNabb.
(I should have noted Philly’s offensive line earlier… for all of the problems Denver has faced on the interior this season, the Eagles have found twice the frustration at the tackle spots and have spent MUCH more money in enduring it.)
2:45pm MDT
(BTW, I’ll be adding images and video late this evening to enhance the final product a bit… in real time it will be the bore of straight text. My apologies.)
Also trying to keep up with the events on Twitter, as you all should. Today is especially rewarding as Post beat writer Lindsay Jones (@PostBroncos) has finally added her personal pic to the account… which we all deserved.
Philly marches down the field with ease, the Broncos add two penalities on plays that declined, and they make it look as easy as feared.
Broncos 0, Eagles 7
(And the devastation predicted is suddenly coming to form.)
Be kind to Denver folks… this league doesn’t have an answer for DeSean at this point, so Denver is not alone.
2:53pm MDT
I’m just starting to realize Lindsay’s picture on Twitter may be the highlight of this game for me. Had no idea what she looked like and the Post needs to encourage her to be an individual… if you are going to encourage Woody and all of the crap that comes with him, why not tout level-headed, reality-based Lindsay?
3:03pm MDT
The Broncos manage to end another Philly drive early and force the field goal, pushing to the end of the 1st quarter with the score 0-10. They have done nothing – and I’m being kind – on offense thus far. If you ran the highlights now the only thing you would have to know Denver attended this game would be Elvis Dumervil forced fumble in sacking McNabb… that’s it.
Twitter conveys the emotion as well… this is why so many have turned to the social media outlet during games. It’s got the feel of barstools and today, the place feels empty except for the regulars.
News of note: the Broncos entered thin at wide receiver with Eddie Royal out due to injury and have now Kenny McKinley is hurt and unlikely to return… followed by Brandon Stokley earning ejection from the game for idiocy (he was complaining about a call, made contact with the official and earned the automatic boot).
The time for Jabar Gaffney to show why he was overlooked in New England would be now.
3:27pm MDT
I was all set to come in and praise Gaffney for making good on a nifty lil’ touchdown jaunt after a tough hit, but the Eagles wasted no time in killing that positive momentum.
The long touchdown catch by tight end Brenk Celek leads me back to assertions, which we started noting in the preseason, that the Mike Nolan defense will be great with one major exception: you MUST have multiple linebackers with speed or a talented tight end will eat you alive.
Maybe you remember Vernon Davis’ explosion (for what it was worth so early in the process) in the preseason… or the struggles in both games against Antonio Gates… troubles found against Kevin Boss… in truth, I would bet Philly could have found that sooner but the presence of DeSean all but kills the need to look Celek’s way. Doubt they make that mistake again.
Broncos 7, Eagles 17
I’m struggling come up with something nice to say about the Denver defense. If we get to the halftime break and the announcers still have not mentioned D.J. Williams (and yes, I’m keeping track… they have not mentioned his name ONE time thus far), we have problems.
3:38pm MDT
Worst day for a live blog… ever.
3:58pm MDT
Broncos 7, Eagles 20
As we enter the second half I was trying to put a face or an image to this emotion… and it hit me.
Today’s live blog gives me that same feeling I “enjoyed” in watching Chazz (played by Will Ferrell) in Wedding Crashers, like you are playing the funeral circuit in search of happiness and joy while all those around are in the wallows of misery.
This game is horrific. NOTHING is going right for Denver. We expressed fears of pending doom and thus far it appears we may be right… and today, I have no desire to be right.
Champ Bailey may be changing our fortunes as he takes an early 3rd-quarter pick. Let’s see what Denver can do with it on offense.
4:12pm MDT
Good news: Matt Prater just added another positive note to the day. He continues to serve as the primary source of inspiration and stability for an offense in desperate need of some, making it 10-20 in the 3rd quarter.
This game has been dominated, in every facet, by the Eagles and somehow the Broncos are able to stay in whiffing distance. I’m not sure if we can blame Andy Reid for this or not, but we suggested he would be a positive for the Denver Broncos today.
As it sits right now I’m going to suggest this as true. The Eagles were well on their way to another pile-on-Denver rushing performance and instead he continues to lean on his love of the pass and that has resulted in turnovers. Those turnovers are keeping Denver in respectable territory, at least on the scoreboard.
In the box score it’s a nightmare wrapped in a turd delivered by a leper.
4:21pm MDT
7:09 left in the third and the Eagles just scored on a freak tipped-ball turn of fate that put Jason Avant in the endzone, on his back, with the Renaldo Hill-influenced ball on his gut. Touchdown Eagles.
Broncos 10, Eagles 27
Just a few moments ago it felt like the Broncos were lingering just outside of the door and a good break our way could swing the momentum. Now, with the refs working on the hometown favor (I normally avoid such commentary but the pass interference call on Champ to get the Eagles down there can’t really be explained in any other way). The score is getting out of hand. The offense continues to struggle.
I have yet to see a single instance from this season that suggests Denver can get back in this fight… and now the pain of it all is starting to settle in.
And we still have a quarter and a half to play.
4:43pm MDT
Suddenly… we have a game.
First, Denver gets the benefit of a defensive surge after a flurry of officiating genius (I’m still not sure what happened, but it appears the Eagles were flagged for unsportsmanlike after a long Kyle Orton interception and then they couldn’t get the ball moving forward, followed by a horrendous punt). Orton takes advantage with the man of the hour, hitting Gaffney for a nice lil’ touchdown romp.
Then, on the ensuing kickoff Darrell Reid reaps the praise after an outstanding hit on Macho Harris for the fumble and Orton made good again, hitting Knowshon for another touchdown.
Broncos 24, Eagles 27
The lull has died. The crowd is as rowdy as ever after the officiating tried to kill all semblence of emotion (again… I’m still confused by that flurry of calls and can’t explain exactly what happened, but it worked out nicely). Reid has the same “I think I may have had an accident” look on his face (Bill Simmons would be so proud)… McNabb is having trouble finding those room to move behind the line.
And suddenly, once again, we are reminded that Philly also has trouble on the offensive line.
5:00pm MDT
We have fervor for the first time today on the field, for the first time today on Twitter, and then Orton “goes deep” to Marshall only to come up short… and the masses pile on Marshall for not fighting hard enough.
I’m taking issue. That’s a flag on Marshall for a pass that was short, and it shows why Orton is limited in what he can offer to an NFL team. That was a horrendous pass… it was off the mark, it wasn’t in a place where Marshall could make a legit play on the ball, and he gave the defender (Sheldon Brown) WAY too much time to prepare and get the play right in lobbing it.
Orton gets more hang time on that pass then Mitch Berger has on a punt this season.
Broncos 24, Eagles 27
And still a ton of time to play…
5:22pm MDT
Things unfold fast.
The Philly momentum is gone. Mistakes by the defense allowed Orton and Gaffney to become the connection of the day and they continue to do work. The defense is surging, Elvis is on a rampage (having just dumped McNabb in vicious fashion… again), and Prater ties it up at 27.
Side note: we have a slight debate building with the folks on Twitter about that Orton interception down the sideline on the jump ball thrown by Orton. The Mile High Report refuses to retweet me or use the ID in response (can’t say I blame ‘em) but he/she’s suggesting Troy Aikman “made a career out of under-throwing Ivrin and Harper.” Lindsay Jones is backing him by suggesting Marshall needs to make the play and then suggesting, in no clear terms (in debate with my good friend William Del Pilar, another member of the illustrious fantasy community looking to challenge the media establishment and raise the bar), that Marshall’s assertions of comparison to Larry Fitzgerald and Andre Johnson isn’t earned based on such a play.
I’ll assert this:
1) That ball was underthrown so badly that Sheldon Brown was camped, leaving pass interference as the only viable option for Marshall upon his discovery of the football… and comparing one throw to a Hall-of-Fame career doesn’t work MHR. Aikman isn’t noted for his touchdown/turnover ratio for a reason… his career is based on team achievement. We are talking about individual performance.
(And yes, that’s a direct jab at the MHR.)
2) Marshall may or may not be on that level but you can’t deny he isn’t capable of the same production… and this was my Twitter response to that.
@PostBroncos @wdelpilar @MileHighReport AJ=Schaub Fitz=Warner Marshall=Orton Which do you choose?
Brandon will use this season’s numbers, which compare favorably to those under Jay Cutler, as his big weapon at the negotiation table and that result of that contract will prove Lindsay wrong again.
(Personally, I think Josh deserves that credit… but that’s just me.)
3) To be fair, seeing Lindsay with a new Twitter pic was serving as the highlight of my day but now it’s this response from our Post hero, Mr. Dave Krieger
@DaveKrieger You read my mind. @BroncosStable the most manic game of Denver’s season thus far? ‘09 in a nutshell?
5:50pm MDT
And that’s ballgame. A rough ending to witness, the Broncos couldn’t make good on the defensive surge, allowing McNabb to improvise and scramble before an amazing catch by Jeremy Maclin (and yes, that WAS a catch… there was not bobbling folks, and we are done playing the “refs screwed us” card) put the Eagles in field-goal position. With just a few second left, for the second consecutive week, the Broncos can only watch as the kicker (this week it was David Akers) puts the Broncos in the loss column.
Broncos 27, Eagles 30
(I’ll be inserting video highlights just as soon as a reliable YouTube source posts it. For now…)
Predicted Broncos 23, Eagles 36… not too bad but I’d be happy to be wrong (again). The note sent to Mr. Krieger (the one noted via Twitter above) serves as our overwhelming emotion on the day. The Broncos may have found a much-more rewarding experience if they had shown up – in any way, shape, or form – on offense in the first half. It truly was the most manic game of the inaugural Josh McDaniels NFL experience and the comments from Twitter reflect that swing in emotions.
@BroncosForums Broncos biggest weakness this season is that when they can’t run the ball and control the clock, they can’t move the ball and score TDs.
@MileHighReport Maybe someone can clarify for me – How can there not be a penalty for Hands to the Face every play against Doom?
@csujd I don’t think the #Broncos have gotten a call in the last 4 games. Sick of seeing BS calls go against the #Broncos.
@McIntyre712 I was in love with Orton in about Week 5 but now I want a new qb that gets the ball out and down field
@BroncoTalk Can the #Broncos offense actually do something with a short field?
@broncosbuzztap Denver Broncos Examiner >> First-half commentary: Where was the offense? http://bit.ly/6QQwC7
@BroncoTalk RT @BroncosStable: Show of hands… who has Gaffney in the fantasy lineup today for the playoffs? (crickets… crickets… Bueller)
@Denver_Broncos Kyle Orton to Knowshon Moreno for a 16-yard touchdown. Eagles 27 – Broncos 24; 0:53 left in the third quarter. #fb
@MyLobotomy hell yeah…td #broncos…#suckit #eagles
@YourBroncosZone After a second pass touchdown pass to Jabar Gaffney, the Broncos kicked off and Darrell Reid forced a fumble!… http://bit.ly/7aWzmJ
@YourBroncosZone Vonnie Holliday with the sack!
@PostBroncos Wow … Broncos really flipped momentum here in the third quarter, didn’t they? Lincoln Financial Field is really quiet.
@BroncosStable The ‘09 lesson learned from Denver: Josh & Mike know defensive personnel. That is, at the very least, one ray of hope. #NFL #Denver #Broncos
@VicLombardi That 3-n-out is a killer. In Philly territory, and they go backwards. Like the call to BMarsh. Do not like the punt. To the 20?
@BroncoTalk How long can the defense keep this up? Offense not doing them any favors. #ThingsISayEveryWeek
@DaveKrieger This is the first time in a while the #Broncos have looked like they did early, turning the momentum of a game with halftime adjustments.
@thebroncosbeat @BroncosStable Orton’s comp % isnt bad either but it’s misleading We leave yards & points on the field b/c the rec’rs have to reach back.
@richeisen My apologies to DEN fans. Only scenario to knock them from playoff spot heading in2 week 17 developing. NYJ win & DEN loss, DEN is 7 seed.
@fs3142 I’ll tell you something – Matt Prater has had an amazing year. Know Kaeding will go Pro Bowl, but Prater has been fantastic.
@fs3142 You black out for 2008? RT @bohussey This Broncos team screws with your emotions like no other team I can remember.
@BroncoTalk Dumervil nabs the record. Most sacks by any #Broncos player in franchise history!
@thebroncosbeat Sure glad they went with a run up the middle. They have been so effective lately.
(Love Twitter sarcasm… you either get it or you don’t.)
@MileHighReport Broncos had three straight possessions at the 50 yardline in the 4th quarter – the result – 3 points
@BroncoTalk Review will overturn, and that’s game/season right there. Broncos couldn’t convert opportunity after opportunity. Colts deja vu.
@MileHighReport In a season og crushing losses, this could be another – another game the Broncos couldn’t finish, in a season that they might not finish
@kylebroncosfan @BroncosStable now to looking at the tie breakers sigh
@SteveOReilly 6-0 to 8-7 smfh
@jeffkirvin And for the second game in a row, the Broncos watch helplessly in the final minute as the opposing team scores the winning points.
@BroncoTalk New on BT: Broncos 27, Eagles 30 Final http://bit.ly/5ZVj0y #Broncos #NFL
@YourBroncosZone The Broncos fell to 8-7 on the season after a 30-27 loss to the Eagles. It was the worst reffed game I’ve ever seen. http://bit.ly/92tftz
@ProFootballTalk Big game from McNabb leads Eagles over Broncos http://tinyurl.com/yepv6l8 #NFL
@ChrisHarrop Akers nails gimme; Broncos’ playoff hopes in peril: http://bit.ly/5TIIVp
And that’s that. The Broncos will need help to make the playoffs a reality (I assume this to be true… the scenarios flying around now are all over the board, thus I’ll be waiting and running a late-night check on Rich Eisen and the crew on the Network this evening once the dust settles) and I’ll be needing help to make sense, and to gain perspective, of it all.
Thanks for stopping in, and if you spent all day on this spot… hit me up and I’ll give you a shout.
Tags: Denver Broncos, Live Blog, Philadelphia Eagles, Week 16
