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vs. Detroit Lions (L 7-44)
There are certain things that you just don't do in professional tackle football. You don't lose your playbook, you
don't park in the coach's spot, you don't go for it on 4th and 32 and you don't get blown out by
the Frickin' Detroit Lions.
Jarvis Moss has been excused from the rest of the season, due to an injury. Simeon Rice took his place
on Sunday and made his first impact of the year: that is, he batted ONE ball on the first
defensive series. Tough for that play to make a difference when your defense doesn't force a punt for
the entire first half. Unless you're playing arena football, that's not a healthy prescription. The Broncos
lind up some strange defensive packages all day long; like fielding SIX defensive backs on a
3rd and 5 situation. Yeah, Detroit converted that first down easily.
Perhaps playfully, Detroit's Roy Williams chided Dre Bly in the press all week long, saying Bly was
a "no-hitter". Bly got some redemption when he tackled Williams for a loss on an end-around play.
Bly got up and made a little baseball swing, to the delight of one fan in Arvada. Good to know that
things may have been settled between Bly and Williams... that was such a big issue to be addressed.
Nevermind those 44 points.
Also not a good sign when your offense opens up with a run for minus 1 yard, a worthless pass to Daniel Graham for 4, and a sack.
The opening offensive series set the pace for the Donkeys' long afternoon, a day that was particularly
long for the interior line. It shows how much Denver has taken Tom Nalen for granted, as
the three interior offensive line spots were manhandled all day. Especially Chris Kuper and
Chris Myers. The Lions' Shaun Rogers would dart through the line all day long, including
the game's signature highlight, as Rogers picked off a pass from Patrick Ramsey and returned it 60 yards for a
touchdown. He basically caught the screen pass that was intended for Selvin Young.
On some plays, Kuper, Myers and even Montrae Holland seemed surprised that Rogers was penetrating.
How you can overlook the 350 pound Rogers and his luggage is a curious mystery.
Jay Cutler was smashed up by three Lions defenders in the second quarter and had a trip to
the locker room to end his day. That may be the best thing for Cutler in the long run. Give him a little
break with an early exit from a blowout. It's been almost a full season now and Cutler's presence has
not improved the offense. He's looked overwhlemed at times and
as we've mentioned here, Mike Shanahan's trying to ride him so hard that
he'll be out of the league in 5 years. The offense looked the same --and returned the same results-- with Patrick
Ramsey manning the helm. Shanahan loves his quarterbacks so much that the team netted 14 yards rushing in the entire
first half. On probably 8 rushing plays. C'mon..feed Travis Henry the ball. The guy
has several mouths to feed and needs to reach some incentive bonuses (besides,
work him now, since he'll probably be suspended for marijuana use in about two weeks).
Shanahan's becoming the Toomy LaSorda of the NFL-- just like
LaSorda developed a reputation for working starting pitchers too hard, Shanahan's doing the same
with his quarterbacks. Esepcially if he drafted you-- then you're his little stud boy.
With the game out of reach in the second half, the Broncos dialed up some more bullshit playcalls. Stuffed
at their own 4 after a punt from former Donkey Nick Harris, they went for a play-action pass
on 1st down. Yeah, from the FOUR. Ramsey fumbled and the Lions recovered for a defensive touchdown. Another
thing that you just don't do in professional tackle football. Not to be outdone, the defense
soon gave up a 2 play, 95 yard touchdown drive; two long passes from Jon Kitna to Mike Furrey and
Sean McDonald. That's simply bad coaching (and bad "talent") if
you give up two long plays, that easily, at that point in the game.
The Lions are a decent team and will probably make a fine wildcard participant in
this year's playoffs. But they're not the juggernauts the Donkeys made them out to be on Sunday.
The Donkeys haven't really accepted responsibility for their faceplant this year. They
kepe insisting "we're a better team than that" or "we've got too much talent to lose like that".
No you're not and you don't. This is a team that has gone into a complete nosedive since
they lost at home to the Colts, last October. At this point, they're regulated to playing out the
string and hoping to get a top 10 pick in next year's draft. A pick which Shanahan will waste
on another defensive lineman who doesn't pan out. Blowing draft picks, another thing
you simply don't do in professional tackle football.
Chop Blocks
...||... This was curious, but the Lions' d-line seemed to jump offsides, then scamper back,
at least three times during the game. No flags were thrown. The Broncos did it ONCE and got flagged
for it. Sour grapes, since three 5 yard penalties would've done zilch to help.
...||... There's a Colorado Ski Expo at the Convention Center downtown this weekend (Nov 9-11).
Former Donkeys Karl Mecklenburg, Steve Foley (Ricky Sanders' favorite DB) and Some Clown
who Used to Kick Field Goals are scheduled to appear. Please check before going, though.
...||... I'm not sure of the company-- I think it might be Comcast-- but they're
running bus station ads that say: "How Do You Stop Champ Bailey?". Umm..you don't
try to stop guys who play DEFENSE. They stop things. The campaign might work for
someone on...gee,I dunno, OFFENSE. Maybe Travis Henry, but that'd probably be a campaign
for prophylactics. Maybe Javon Walker-- but then the answer would be "a bad knee will stop him".
Ehh...I think you get the point. Offense Guys "Go". Defense Guys "Stop" (unless they're Dre Bly...
then they're chasing 85 yards after Green Bay receivers).
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