Denver Broncos: Beware the Trap Game

Let's reminisce, shall we? The date? September 28, 2008. The place? Arrowhead Stadium. The situation? The 3-0 Denver Broncos saunter into Kansas City to face the 0-3 Chiefs.

The Broncos, coming off three heart-stopping victories thanks to their high-octane offense, were supposed to waltz into KC and wipe the floor with a team that hadn't won a football game since October 21, 2007.

Funny thing happened on the way to that victory though.

Nobody told the Chiefs.

In a sloppy game that included a fumble each from Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal, and two interceptions by Cutler, the Chiefs gained 213 yards on the ground and trampled the Broncos 33-19.

Fast forward to today.

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Coming off two comeback wins against the Browns and Falcons, the Broncos have played with a rejuvenated confidence epitomized by Jay Cutler taking control in the fourth quarter of each game to lead his team down the field and onto victory.

At 6-4 and with a two game lead in the AFC West, the Broncos are in the driver's seat and on the fast track to a playoff spot as they welcome the lowly Raiders into Invesco Field at Mile High on Sunday.

The Broncos, however, need to beware.

Yes, the Raiders haven't scored an offensive touchdown in the last three weeks, and yes, they've only tallied nine offensive touchdowns all season. They're 2-8, disjointed on defense, anemic on offense, and their best player is kick returner Johnnie Lee Higgins.

But that doesn't mean the Broncos will win by simply showing up.

Their win against the Falcons was arguably their most solid victory of the season. The offense's four drives in the second half went touchdown, field goal, touchdown, victory formation, and their porous run defense held the Falcons high-powered rushing attack to just 113 yards.

They need to build off the momentum created by that success against a tough Falcons squad, and not simply look ahead to their November 30 tilt against the New York Jets in the Big Apple.

If they take the Raiders for granted, it could be deja vu all over again.

Greatest Game Since Elway?

Just think about it. Sunday's unbelievable win against the Chargers wasn't only the game of the short NFL season, but it might have been the greatest win for the Broncos since John Elway's last game, Super Bowl XXXIII all the way back in 1999. There are many cases you can make for the 2005 Divisional Playoff win against Bill Beeeee-licheck and the Patriots and you wouldn't be wrong. Hell, I might even agree with you on that account, but it doesn't in any way diminish the Broncos victory over a hated division rival. In a game that was so wild, Bear Grylls was on the sidelines trying to fashion a makeshift shanty using only Shawne Merriman's syringes and Phillip Rivers' inflated ego, the Broncos emerged victorious thanks to one of the gutsiest coaching decisions in recent memory and a 4th quarter comeback that may remind Broncos fans of a certain #7 in the sky.

1) Let's forget about all the superlatives you could use to describe this football game and let's just focus on the facts. Here's a sample:
Jay Cutler- 36-50, 350 yds, 4 TD, 1 INT
Brandon Marshall- 18 receptions, 166 yds, 1 TD
Tony Scheffler- 6 rec, 64 yds, 2 TD
Eddie Royal- 5 rec, 37 yds, TD, 2 PT conversion catch
Selvin Young- 8 rush, 78 yds
The Bailey Bros- 13 tackles, 1 INT
Mike Shanahan- 2 enormous cajones

Cutler had career highs in completions, attempts, passing yards, and touchdowns. Coming into the game, the only talk was of Chargers QB and resident loudmouth redneck Phillip Rivers talking smack to Cutler in last year's Christmas Eve game in which the Chargers dominated the Broncos 23-3. We all wanted to shut Rivers the hell up and in a way, we did I guess. Rivers still had some damn impressive numbers by throwing for 377 yards, but he didn't get the win which is a direct correlation to the game put up by JC (Jay Cutler, not Jesus Christ, but hell, a few more games like this and I'll be ready to crown him worthy heir to the Elway throne.) Though the offense stalled in the third and most of the fourth quarters, Cutler had a dominating game. His passes were lightning quick, he was putting the ball in places where only his receivers had a chance to catch it, and he led a clutch 4th quarter game winning drive that was reminiscent of, that's right you guessed it, Sir John of Elway. He was cool under pressure, really only made one bad throw on the game (the interception on the goal line with 5 minutes left in the 4th quarter), and exuded the confidence that a top tier quarterback in the NFL should have and needs to have. With the numbers he has put up so far and the way he's controlling the best offense in football thus far, Cutler's name should begin to be mentioned with the upper echelon of quarterbacks in this league.

2) Brandon Marshall had one of the greatest receiving days in NFL history yesterday. That's right, in the 60 years of the NFL, only one receiver had had better single game numbers than the ones Brandon Marshall put up yesterday. That receiver would be Terrell Owens who back in 2000, caught 20 balls in a game. I'm not sure if it was right before or after that he went to the media and told him that his quarterback Jeff Garcia was gay (though the guy was currently dating a Playboy model.....do I smell jealousy, T.O.?) B-Marsh was catching all kinds of passes from JC. Passes with 3 guys on his back, passes near the back of the end zone, passes with Antonio Cromartie trying to decapitate him. It didn't matter where Jay threw the ball, Brandon was going to come down with it. Brandon said he wanted to catch 140 balls this year even with missing the first game due to his suspension. Before yesterday, you might have laughed at him, but now you have to wonder if he's just crazy enough to do it.

3) What more can you say about the kid so far? Eddie Royal didn't put up the kind of numbers he did last week against the Raiders and he only had 37 yards total receiving on the day. But he had the two most important catches of the day when the Broncos, the fans, and the city of Denver needed it most. He hauled in Cutler's 4th and Goal toss with 24 seconds left and also the two point conversion on the ensuing play. You don't expect this kind of poise from a rookie in his second NFL game, and he just adds a wonderful weapon to our suddenly explosive offense.

4) The stones on that man.......Mike Shanahan, we here at Frost Brewed Baseball Mile-High-Salute you, Sir. For two years we have watched Shanny's normally expansive playbook be whittled down to a bland combination of runs and play action passes. There was no more razzle dazzle and, to be honest, no more killer instinct on the part of the coaching staff. This may have been because the Broncos didn't have the weapons they have now, but starting last week, glimpses of the old Shanahan came back into the public spotlight. His admitting that he'll always hate the Raiders, his use of Eddie Royal as receiver, running back, and quarterback in last week's ballgame, and the cherry on top of a knockout sundae sundae sundae, the decision to go for 2 instead of kicking the extra point to tie and send the game to overtime. Yes, we got the benefit of the doubt on a few calls that probably should've gone the other way. Whatever. To all you bitching and moaning about the favorable calls for the Broncos, every team in a given season has calls go their way that probably shouldn't have so just enough with it. The game's over and there's no use crying over it (I'm talking to you Norv Turner.) Shanny's decision to go for the win, knowing that the outcome of the play either makes him a genius or a martyr, took GUTS, but he raced up the Aggro-Crag and ended up on top of the AFC with only the Steelers and superstar-less Patriots to keep him company (The Titans realized that Vince Young pretty much sucks and they could win without him and are also 2-0 along with the surprising Buffalo Bills. ETID is probably very happy.) He showed supreme confidence in his offense and showed the fans that he's going for it this year. The days of the Broncos wallowing in mediocrity are over if Shanny has anything to say about it.

It took me about two hours to get my breath back to a normal rate after yesterday's game, and I haven't been this excited about my beloved Broncos since the 2005 playoffs. My optimism is still cautious but I'm beginning to get that fervor back. Look out.

Denvah Killah B’s, They On Tha Swarm

Before this post I need to define some terms to avoid unavoidable confusion:

Sam – strong-side linebacker

Will – weak-side linebacker

Mike – middle linebacker

Nico – singer-songwriter/actress/fashion model

It seemed like only yesterday, My Chemical Romance was cool, Tip “T.I.” Harris was the king, the Broncos could play defense. But those days have gone the way of Brokeback Mountain. Disc Jockey Williams, Captain Albert Wilson and Ian “Solid” Gold were swarming the ball and making tackles. Then Captain Al piledrove himself off the field on a stretcher… And Ian Gold forgot how to stay gold, Ponyboy… And DJ got lost when he left the turntables and tried to be Like Mike, starring Lil’ Bow Wow and Allen Iverson… And Jay Cutler couldn’t rack up 10 TDs per game to give the team a fighting chance, even if he is a stoic robot with poor hair-cutting skills.

But there is a solution—a Mike Shanahan solution—the kind that only makes sense to Shanahan and then when it doesn’t work, it’s somebody else’s fault. That’s why he has more job security than Bill Belichick and Sir Alex Ferguson (America, you’ll never understand). Blamey McShanahan is like Arsene Wenger with tenure (again… America, you’ll never understand). This new solution of Sir Michael Shanahan’s: move DJ back to Sam, have Champ get Boss to play Will and re-unite the Bailey family (Do they have any other brothers? Is dad too old?). Then… for the most important linebacker, the master of defensive ceremonies rockin’ the Mike (and the play-calling radio next year), Shanny picked up a special-teamer from the Seahawks of Seattle. There you go Michael Shanablitz; get a guy who has started 2 NFL games in his career and make him your defensive quarterback. Sure he was a team captain for the Seahawks and all, but was it not indicative of his abilities when he attracted little attention from other teams in free agency? Maybe Shanahan picks guys based on their names. Niko Koutouvides is a pretty crazy name, is it not? Didn’t he do an album with the Velvet Underground? (and one)

In the end, though, it’s not how many games you’ve started, or that you don’t do too much talking these days… these days (that’s two!), it’s how you play. Maybe Niko fits into the defensive scheme—whatever Shanahan’s 95^th defensive scheme of the month is. He could actually be a decent player, though that’s about as likely as Shanahan avoiding the tanning salon for more than a week. It could happen though. Atari Bigby was an undrafted linebacker whom the Packers switched to safety after he spent a couple years on the practice squad and special teams. He turned out to be a dominant strong safety. Will Niko follow suit? Will the Chelsea Girl “End” “All Tomorrow’s Parties” on “Sunday Morning?” (and three, four, five, six and… I apologize profusely) No, Niko probably won’t when you consider the Broncos recent defensive history.

There is this super over-hyped thing—I think they call it the draught or something—that the Broncos could try and use. Their #12 pick is a pretty bad spot for linebacker and defensive tackle, where they really need help. There are, however, some decent o-lineman according Melvin “Yes, I drank 35 cups of coffee in the last five minutes and I mistook the cocaine for sugar” Kiper Jr. What say they take their o-linemen in the first round, whomever it may be? Then, in the third or fourth round they may, perchance, happen upon a little middle linebacker by the name of Jordan Dizon, who clandestinely (big word!) led the nation in solo tackles and didn’t get the Butkus Award because he didn’t play for Ohio State. He out tackled James Laurinaitis by 51 total, 81 solo and 2.5 for a loss, but alas, Laurinaitis out games-played-for-Ohio-State-ed Dizon by 13. In addition to this egregious flaw, Dizon is little, only weighing 225 (he also ran a 4.59 40 at the CU pro day!?!?). But… it just so happens that Shanny’s 4-3, cover 2 intensive, defensive scheme requires smaller, quicker linebackers. He could use a little tackling machine in the middle of that defense (and some defensive linemen not named Elvis who can play). I’m no scout, and I probably know a lot less about football than I think I do, but Dizon seems like a decent fit and the draught (yeah?) is a pretty decent talent pool compared to the 27-year-old special teamer/dead German singer-songwriter/fashion model/actress pool (and seven… biggitty biggitty boo-yah!).

I forgot about the quotes recently—not this time:

“You're some sort of big, fat, smart-bug, aren't you?” – Casper Van Dien as Johnny Rico in the 1997 smash-hit Starship Troopers