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IN DENVER BRONCO PRE-GAME ANALYSIS

MILEHIGHREPORT.COM

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What a difference a few weeks makes!  Teams that looked tough going into the season have suffered injuries (Brady in NE) or declined (SD and INDY) while other teams have shot ahead (TENN and DEN).  If you had asked me before the season what my thoughts were on JAX, I would have told you that the only thing holding them back was INDY.  But their offensive line was decimated by injuries, and the team has never bounced back.

As for Denver, I expected them to sweep KC this year, but to win two of four games against SD and OAK.  I also thought that either TB or NO could sneek up on DEN.  But KC managed to beat Denver, while Denver beat the other four teams.  Denver's offense is playing at a SuperBowl level, and while the defense has looked weak, it showed a lot of talent in week five.

Let's take a look at the Denver / Jacksonville match-up this week, and discuss some if the issues surrounding the game.

Read on...

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It's time to take an honest self evaluation.  There are a lot of good things to take comfort in if you are a Broncos fan.  There are also some things that need to be faced that should keep you awake at night.  I want to look at both.

Coming from a coach's perspective, folks shouldn't panic over one game.  On the other hand, folks shouldn't get too excited over the 3-0 mark we were at before the KC loss.  What we have on our hands is a very, very good team that has some terrible flaws.  Yes, we beat SD and NO, but the games were close enough to be decided by a two point conversion and missed FGs.  We beat Oakland, but that's not much to brag about.  We also lost to KC, and that's a concern.

We'll look at what can be adjusted for and what probably can't, and where this puts the team as it continues The Quest.

Read on...

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Another nail-biter for the Broncos came down to the final seconds, and again the Broncos survived.  Let's take one last look at the 34-32 win over the Saints before getting right back to the AFC West and the Kansas City Chiefs.   We'll talk much more about that, but it is time for this week's edition of  "Making The Grade" where I will grade the Broncos performance from the day before.  The most important "grade" is the one on the scoreboard, and for the Broncos this week it was another W.  What about the players performance?  Let's take a look....

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SERIES STUFF

**With the win, the Broncos improve to 7-2 (.778) all-time against the Saints, including 4-1 (.800) at home.

**The New Orleans Saints played their first regular-season game at INVESCO Filed at Mile High. The Saints played the Broncos in the very first game played at INVESCO Field at Mile High, a preseason game in 2001(31-24 Broncos win). The last time the Saints played a regular season game in Denver was on 12/24/94, a 30-28 New Orleans victory at Mile High Stadium.

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Ok, so I gave you my opinion on why it was a great thing that the Broncos went for 2 and the win yesterday against the Chargers.  If you didn't read it, or hear it on MHR Radio Post Game last night, I'll summarize.  It was better decision for the morale of the football team to lose it by missing a 2-point conversion than by losing a coin toss, something out of your control, and letting the Chargers drive the field.  Remember, the Broncos hadn't stopped the Chargers from getting to field goal range the entire 2nd half.

Here are what some of the players had to say about the move --

Champ Bailey -

I was shocked.  I didn't see it coming. You expect a team that's 1-6 and is on the road to call that play. But we have a chance to do something here and to get that type of play, could really get us rolling. I love it.

Tony Scheffler -

Jay gave us the plan in the huddle.  We all looked at each other and thought it was a great idea. You don't want to lose a game like this on a coin toss .... Our coach is going for it this year.

Nate Jackson -

There were some guys on our sidelines who were confused that we were going for it.  But this team has had our number. Now we have all the momentum.

Jay Cutler -

I was telling the guys that if we had to score again we had to go for two.  It’s one of those calls.  We didn’t want to go into overtime and I like the call.  We haven’t really been stopped, we kind-of stopped ourselves with the pick.  So I liked it.

Eddie Royal -

It means a lot that the coaches have that much confidence in us to let us go for it.

Selvin Young -

I was thinking two points before we even touched the field. I had it in my head that we were going to go for two and walk out of here with a win, and we did. Tomorrow we will go over film, get back to work and get the job done. I think people saw that we had some fire today. We all wanted to let people know that we were here today to play for four quarters. Jay showed poise and we fought together and stayed together. The fans were great today, they came out and supported us throughout the game, they made some noise and were a big help to our win.

Oh, and for those of you keeping score at home, this is the 6th time a team has gone for 2, down by one, inside the final 2 minutes.  The results?  3-3 --

Sept. 14, 2008 Broncos vs. San Diego 0:24 Scored, won 39-38

Nov. 13, 2005 Tampa Bay vs. Washington 0:58 Scored, won 36-35

Dec. 19, 2004 Detroit vs. Minnesota 0:08 Failed, lost 28-27

Dec. 15, 2002 Minnesota at New Orleans 0:05 Scored, won 32-31

Oct. 12, 1997 Chicago vs. Green Bay 1:54 Failed, lost 24-23

Nov. 19, 1995 Jacksonville at Tampa Bay 0:37 Failed, lost 17-16

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IN DENVER BRONCO PRE-GAME ANALYSIS

MILEHIGHREPORT.COM

  For all your San Diego Chargers News, check out Bolts From The Blue

So you thought week one was important?  Well, it was.  After all, Denver was playing a division rival (ok, ok, the division rival), it was a Monday Night Football game, and the first game of the 2008 season.  Still, this week's game goes well beyond all of that.

1. Denver leads the AFC West.  With a win against SD, Denver takes a commanding lead over the team many "experts" pick to represent the AFC West in the playoffs.
2. Along with NE, this is supposed to be one of the toughest games on a weak schedule.  Did I say NE?  They of "Bradyless" fame?
3. More than any other game this season, this game should indicate the readiness of Denver to get back to the playoffs.  SD is a better team than Oakland.

While many Denver fans waited for the season to start on Monday against the hated Raiders, this is perhaps the game fans have really waited for.  Monday was the game we wanted emotionaly.  Monday's game was a test.  Now the season really starts.  This is the game where Denver answers the question, "Are we for real?"  This is the game where the quest really takes off.

Let's take a look at both teams; the systems, the players, the Xs and Os, the match-ups.  The last game was nice, but against a basement team.  This game is against the current AFC West Champions, and we need to know what's in store for the game.

Read on...

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 For a look at the game from the Raiders view, check out SilverandBlackPride 

2007 OFFENSE

2007 DEFENSE

Welcome to a Week 1 edition of The Edge, MileHighReport's in-depth look at this week's Broncos game. Each week I'll take a look at the rosters and give my thoughts on which team had the advantage in each area. I'll then give my official prediction. As always, I look forward to your feedback.

Enough talk, it's Broncos/Raiders. Who has "The Edge"?

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For a look at the game from the Raiders view, check out SilverandBlackPride

HEAD COACH MIKE SHANAHAN

On the first week of the regular season --
"It's enjoyable. You look forward to it ever year. We have been working throughout the offseason-obviously the OTAs, summer camp. We have gotten a chance to see our team in live situations. We have a lot of young players playing on Monday night, and I'm looking forward to it."

On whether playing without WR Brandon Marshall will change the game plan against the Raiders --
"I don't think Brandon will dictate the (complexity) of our game plan. We have some young players, so it might not be as deep as it normally is, but we have enough to show up and play."

On Raiders QB JaMarcus Russell --
"He hasn't played a lot, so we haven't seen a lot of him. We have watched a lot (of him) on film. He has played in one game as a starter and played in four other games. Like all other young quarterbacks, it's a growing process. You know how talented he is, being the first pick in the draft. Everybody knows his size, his arm strength and him being a No. 1 pick. So he has a big, big upside and he has a good supporting cast around him.

"He was practicing the whole season, so that is sometimes better than playing-you get some good reps in practice and a chance to grow with an offensive system. He played enough to feel, I would think, somewhat confident in the offensive system, and he played extremely well in his one start against San Diego. Hopefully he doesn't play that well Monday night."

On Raiders RB Darren McFadden --
"He is averaging over five yards a carry, I think 5.4. He has had a good preseason. The have given him a lot of reps and he is a weapon. He has great speed and everybody knows what he did in college. He is going to try to do that at the pro level. They are very coordinated in their offensive line. They went from 29th in the NFL in 2006 to sixth in 2007 (in rushing). That's a big, big jump. There is no other team that made that type of jump. They are running the zone blocking scheme very, very well. They have a lot of confidence in it and they are very well-coordinated, so he is going to a system that gives him a chance."

On why the media is not predicting big things from the Broncos --
"We understand why they are. When you take a look at where we were at last year, both offensively, defensively and special teams-wise, why would they pick us? We have to go out there and prove ourselves each week. We are a young football team and we just have to go out and get it done. If you win games then you get the attention you deserve."

On whether there is extra motivation playing the first game on Monday night --
"The first game of the season is always big, especially in the AFC West on the road on Monday night. It's a big first game for us. We get a chance to showcase our team on national television... It's something that we look forward to."

On Broncos TEs Nate Jackson and Tony Scheffler --
They are both football players. You have guys who are very competitive. We have three tight ends (Jackson, Scheffler and TE Daniel Graham) who can play, and it's a good weapon to have. You can go into a game plan with a three-tight end set or a two-tight end set and not skip a beat. Not very many teams have the luxury to have three tight ends like we do. All three will dress and all three will play."

On how Scheffler has improved in his blocking --
"Tony has done a good job. He has improved every year. He is not at the level of Daniel Graham, but he has improved drastically from when he first started."

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DENVER BRONCOS COACH MIKE SHANAHAN

"Defensively, I believe we did a good job stopping the run. We improved from a year ago. We didn't tackle as well as I would have liked us to. We had some penalties, but I thought the effort was there. We have to tackle much better than we did. Special teams overall had a good game. Right now, I'm not really sure about the injuries. Manuel broke his thumb, I know that. Elvis Dumervil dislocated his finger. Right now with Patrick Ramsey I'm not really sure. I'm not really sure on how his shoulder or elbow is right now."

On S Marquand Manuel Possibly Playing With a Broken Thumb --
"We'll have to see if he needs to have surgery."

On Playing His First Unit in the Second Half --
"No, like I said during the press conference, we just want them to play a half. We had a lot of plays playing against Dallas. I felt pretty good about our football team. We're trying to prevent injuries, obviously. Marquand got hurt in the special teams which was a setback."

On Giving WR Brandon Marshall Playing Time, Despite His Regular Season Suspension --
"I'm just going to treat it like he sprained his ankle. Obviously when we have people go down, we need to have people step up and take the opportunity. WR Darrell Jackson did not play today because of a sprained ankle, hopefully he'll be in full speed and ready to go. We want to get some of those other players some playing time."

On the Possibility of WR Brandon Marshall Playing Against the Arizona Cardinals --
"I'm not going to go into playing time, but from looking at the past history, it's going to be pretty obvious what we're going to do."

On C Tom Nalen's Recent Knee Surgery --
"He had a pretty good surgery. They had to get some bodies out of there. They said that the results were very positive. We just have to see how long it takes."

On DT Ebenezer Ekuban's Status --
"I really don't know. I haven't talked to Greek (Head Athletic Trainer Steve Antonopulos) yet. I think I'll find out in the next half hour or so."

On the Play of TE Nate Jackson --
"I'm very pleased with Nate, and [TE] Tony [Scheffler] has stepped up. [TE] Daniel Graham is obviously out today with a hamstring; he'll be full speed and ready to go next week. Like I said we had little bumps and bruises, I'll find out the status of them in the next hour."

On RB Michael Pittman's Play Tonight --
"Michael played a lot in the second half and did a good job. He got tired and we had to put [RB] Andre [Hall] back in. Hopefully we'll stay healthy at that position. I thought [FB] Peyton Hillis did a good job making a big play to give us that first down, when we were backed up. He made a nice run and nice catch. [FB] Cecil Sapp and Peyton alternated during the first half. Overall I'm very pleased. I'm very pleased with the offense thus far."

On P Brett Kern's Taking Lead in Punting Position --
"Very close, very close."

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Here's a Friday edition of Horse Tracks.  Enjoy!

 Take a look at Broncos' five point plan according to the Denver Post.  See here

 Just a short time after Jim Armstrong gave some players a little love, he's back to tell us his doubts about the Broncos' playoff chances.  here

 The first wave of cuts are coming.  See here

 Sam Adams, the small, asks if it is showtime for the defense.  See here

  Is it Nate Webster or Niko Koutouvides?  We will know very soon.  See here and here

 Niko talked about his Greek heritage and upbringing.  See here

 Nate Jackson is still pushing ahead to land a roster spot.  See here

 Here's an outsider look at the Broncos for 2008.  See here

 Will the changes Shanny made this season equate to success?  Let's hope so!  See here

 If you still haven't seen it yet, here is the story about Torain's recovery schedule.  See here

 A Broncos cheerleader was in the news too.  See here

 Brandon Stokley has a group of specialists that keep his body in good shape.  See