Horse Tracks 10/19/09 - Broncos at San Diego tonight on MNF. Jokeland, Chefs victorious.

by Douglas A. Lee on Oct 19, 2009 5:30 AM MDT in Horse Tracks Comment 33 comments

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DB - Matchup: Broncos at Chargers - Broncos TV

DB - A Closer Look: San Diego Chargers - Gray Caldwell

DPP - Broncos safety Dawkins' passion comes from his faith - Mike Klis
"I've never seen a guy go through such a metamorphosis," said Chris Simms. "He goes from leader of the choir to psycho safety."

DPP - Briefs: Rookies receiving special attention in preparations - Jeff Legwold

CSG - Situational football is first and foremost to the Broncos - Frank Schwab
"Other teams I’ve been on, we haven’t practiced situational football like we do here," said Vonnie Holliday.

DPP - Scouting Report: Broncos vs. Chargers
Kiszla, Klis and Woody think the Dolts will win, while Legwold picks them as a favor to the superstitious Ben Hamilton.

DPP - Krieger: Chargers charged with turning it around vs. Broncos

CSG - Three things to watch on Monday: Broncos at Chargers - Frank Schwab

CSG - A look at the worst losses in Broncos' history - Frank Schwab

GJS - Jussel: Chargers, AFC West left wondering 'Who are those guys?'

ESPN - Timely Broncos play reaction game - Bill Williamson

ESPN - Rivers, Orton continue strong play - Ron Jaworski

ESPN - Denver Broncos vs. San Diego Chargers - Preview - Stats LLC

ESPN Insider - Ball control key for Broncos - Gary Horton

ESPN Insider - Broncos-Chargers: 10 observations - Gary Horton
Prediction: Denver 17, San Diego 21

DP - Sea Foam: 'Bronco Girl' discovers power of love - David Lauderdale

Dolts News

SDUT - Slow and go - Chargers aim to make fast work of their tepid starts - Kevin Acee

SDUT - Broncos bucking established NFL trends - Nick Canepa

SDUT - Chargers-Broncos: Five things to watch - Jay Posner

SDUT - AccuScore analysis of Chargers-Broncos - Stephen Oh

NCT - CHARGERS: Broncos coach McDaniels turns Denver around after sour 2008 - Scott Bair

ESPN Insider - Football Outsiders - Jamal Williams' absence devastating for San Diego Chargers

NFL Results

NFL - Kansas City Chiefs 14 at Washington Redskins 6

NFL - Philadelphia Eagles 9 at Oakland Raiders 13

NFL - Baltimore Ravens 31 at Minnesota Vikings 33

NFL - New York Giants 27 at New Orleans Saints 48

NFL - Cleveland Browns 14 at Pittsburgh Steelers 27

NFL - Houston Texans 28 at Cincinnati Bengals 17

NFL - Detroit Lions 0 at Green Bay Packers 26

NFL - Carolina Panthers 28 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers 21

NFL - St. Louis Rams 20 at Jacksonville Jaguars 23

NFL - Arizona Cardinals 27 at Seattle Seahawks 3

NFL - Tennessee Titans 0 at New England Patriots 59

NFL - Buffalo Bills 16 at New York Jets 13

NFL - Chicago Bears 14 at Atlanta Falcons 21

AFC West News

KCS - Chiefs beat Washington 14-6 for first win under Haley - Kent Babb

KCS - Rookie Succop makes pressure kicks in victory - Kent Babb

KCS - Bowe's performance reminiscent of last season - Adam Teicher

KCS - Brown's big play gives Chiefs defense momentum - Adam Teicher

KCS - Chiefs Buzz | Win comes without two starters - Adam Teicher

SFC - Say hello to defense / Oakland blitz-fest yields 6 sacks, holds Philly to 3 FGs - David White

SFC - Cable basks in his big day - Ray Ratto

SFC - Fargas brings his crash-test style - David White

OT - More details of Tom Cable flap ready to come to light? - Steve Corkran

OT - McDonald: Murphy's big play sends Raiders on their way

OT - Raiders defense returns to lost art in win - Gary Peterson

NFL - Vision problems sideline Raiders CB Asomugha vs. Eagles

NFL News

NFL - Zorn gives up offensive play-calling duties for struggling 'Skins

NFL - Tatupu's season-ending injury just the latest hit to ailing Seahawks

NFL - Edwards suffers concussion, leaving Fitzpatrick as Bills' QB vs. Jets

NFL - Jets NT Jenkins could miss significant time with left knee injury

NFL - Bengals sack leader Odom tears right Achilles' tendon vs. Texans

NFL - Lions QB Stafford doesn't know if noted doctor will look at MRI

NFL - Vikings CB Winfield hurts foot, forcing backups to play vs. Ravens

NFL - Eagles LT Peters, DE Abiamiri, LB Gaither injured vs. Raiders

NFL Opinion

PFW - Trade chatter goes into high gear

NFP - Sunday rewind: Week 6 - Matt Bowen

NYT - Lessons From the N.F.L’s Week 6 - Judy Battista

CBS - Week 6 Judgements: It's time for Titans to go Young again - Clark Judge

Y! - Wesley's hit brings more attention to head trauma - Charles Robinson

SN - Week 6 checkdown: Teams better be able to score - Vinnie Iyer

ESPN - Last Call: Wrapping up Week 6 - John Clayton

SI - Dome teams' successes, Raven's collapse, and more - Don Banks

SI - Falcons show victory mettle when not playing their best - Don Banks

Y! - Pats' record-setting rout likely no coincidence - Dan Wetzel

NFL - In impressive rout of Giants, Saints show signs of being Super - Vic Carucci

CBS - Perceptions aside, nothing soft about Saints - Pete Prisco

FOX - Saints, Brees showing elite status in rout of Giants - Alex Marvez

NFL - Favre has made Vikings' offense seemingly impossible to stop - Bucky Brooks

FOX - Vikings need to learn a lesson from this win - Terry Bradshaw

SI - Against The Grain - Andrew Perloff

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Comments

Thanks NYC

I loved watching the Falcons win last night to help with our draft pick from chicago

live and die blue and orange

by jerry251 on Oct 19, 2009 5:50 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Cutler does not appear to have improved much. He is a good player, but he still makes several questionable throws every game (esp in the red zone).

He doesn’t throw that red zone pick and Chicago probably would have been in a position to kick a game winning FG last night.

Unfortunately, Chicago’s schedule gets considerably easier from this point on.

by McGeorge on Oct 19, 2009 8:40 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Bears' schedule is not that easy

@Cincy; Browns; Cards; @49ers; Eagles; @Vikings; Rams; Packers; @Ravens; Vikings and Lions.
Three easy games.

by rocko1 on Oct 19, 2009 11:03 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

But only the Vikings games look like ones Chicago will likely lose.

Other than those two vs Minn, I don’t see a Saints, NYG, Broncos, NE or Indy type team on their schedule.

Teams like Green Bay, Baltimore, Philly, Cincy, Cards, and 49ers can really lay stinkers and lose games some would think those teams would win easily.

by McGeorge on Oct 19, 2009 11:44 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Thanks for the tracks nyc. Great piece on Dawkins by the DP.

If Taylor Swift were to try and tackle me, I'd let her.

by kentuckybronco on Oct 19, 2009 6:05 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs

That Dawkins piece really was great, I agree!

by Gristle McThornbody on Oct 19, 2009 9:07 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Kiszla, Klis, and Woody picking the Chargers.

Funny. They write for a Denver paper, have a 5-0 team playing against a team with only 2 wins, and the best part of SD is their QB (Denver’s QB has the higher QB rating by the way).

Is there any question that their job isn’t to just stir the controversy pot?

"Greater is an army of sheep led by a lion, than an army of lions led by a sheep" Defoe

by Steve Nichols on Oct 19, 2009 6:52 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs

I do enjoy

Woodies comment. “I was wrong. The Broncos won’t go 4-12 but I might.” HAH! and he is still not picking us?

"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."
- Thomas Alva Edison

"Success is not a place at which one arrives, but rather... the spirit with which one undertakes and continues the journey."
- Alex Noble

by DenBronx on Oct 19, 2009 7:33 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

It’s not the least bit crazy to pick SD in the game. Teams coming off their bye are 6-1 this season and SD is playing at home. This is the most healthy they have been all season and their QB (as much as I hate him) is excellent.

I hope Denver wins and think we have a really good shot, but I don’t expect an obvious cake walk tonight.

It’s not stirring the pot for Paige or another DP writer to pick SD in tonight’s game.

Now if we were playing KC at home, that would be another matter.

by McGeorge on Oct 19, 2009 8:34 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

It Isn't Crazy

I just find it frustrating that they have consistently picked against Denver. I don’t think Woody has picked us yet this year to win a game.

Just a sort of, glass half empty mentality maybe. Regardless the trend seems to work well for us so, shrug.

When you can do the common things in life in a uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world.
- George Washington Carver

How do you keep the Broncos Humble?
"Just show them the film. Show them the film." - Josh McDaniels

by Kfustud on Oct 19, 2009 8:51 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

I agree, it's not crazy. I think Denver wins, but picking SD is not disrespectful or dumb.

However, the way other teams have fared coming off bye has absolutely nothing to do with San Diego’s chances.

by Douglas A. Lee on Oct 19, 2009 9:12 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Maybe not NYC

But they basically haven’t tipped them all year. In what, in the most pessimistic sense, is a 50/50 game – how much would it hurt to tip the local team for a change?

They could go either way on this and once again they’ve chosen the other way. No, not crazy, but disappointing. They’ve done nothing but drive down fan moral all year and they’ve chosen to continue to do so I suppose.

"Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind- bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space."

"It is a mistake to think you can solve any major problems just with potatoes" Douglas Adams

by orange&blue_aussie on Oct 19, 2009 9:19 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Maybe you’re giving those guys too much credit in assuming they have an ulterior motive. Perhaps they just don’t really understand football and are too stubborn to come off their preseason predictions? Hahaha

by Douglas A. Lee on Oct 19, 2009 9:23 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

All it says is that teams that are rested and have two weeks to prepare have fared well in their first game after the bye.

Coming off their bye is an advantage for SD. I doubt you’d disagree.

by McGeorge on Oct 19, 2009 9:45 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

I would say it is a good thing for the Dolts; a chance to get healthy and fix some problems. But that doesn’t mean it’s an advantage for them. The Broncos have gotten quite healthy, with Buck coming back tonight and the O-line intact. If the Broncos were a tired, beat-up team at this point, then SD’s bye is an advantage for them. But do I wish the Broncos had also not played last week? No.

by Douglas A. Lee on Oct 19, 2009 9:53 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

One could look at it this way; SD had an extra week to think/stew over mostly getting smoked by the Steelers. It wasn’t exactly a rosy week off, with rumors of Merriman being on the trade block accompanying his little media tiff with A.J. Smith. It was an extra week for them to question themselves. Maybe if they’d played last week they’d be coming off a big win and we’d be reading all about San Diego being back and having momentum. Instead, they still have loads of question marks…

by Douglas A. Lee on Oct 19, 2009 9:56 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

I don’t think the layoff was the problem as much as most everyone is realizing/vocalizing that the Dolts are not nearly as talented as they were in 2006. That cat is out of the bag.

If you asked 32 head coaches and 32 GMs if the bye week is an advantage for the team coming off their bye, my guess is all 64 would say yes. I use the 6-1 record as my evidence that an advantage exists. So we will have to agree to disagree on it being an advantage. I say yes. But I still say Denver has a great shot in the game tonight because the Dolts are nowhere near as good as they were a few years ago while Denver has improved over the same stretch.

by McGeorge on Oct 19, 2009 10:43 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Bye Week Statistics

While teams have done well this season coming off their bye weeks, that is historically insignificant. I suggest that a bye week does NOT give a significant advantage:

TEAM WIN V LOSS V TIE
AFC
Baltimore 8 V 5
Buffalo 14 V 6
Cincinnati 4 V 15 V 1
Cleveland 6 V 9
Denver 15 V 5
Houston 2 V 5
Indianapolis 11 V 9
Jacksonville 7 V 7
KansasCity 12 V 8
Miami 12 V 8
NewEngland 11 V 9
N.Y. 11 V 9
Oakland 9 V 11
Pittsburgh 11 V 9
SanDiego 10 V 9
Tennessee 12 V 8
NFC
Arizona 9 V 11
Atlanta 10 V 10
Carolina 6 V 8
Chicago 13 V 7
Dallas 15 V 5
Detroit 9 V 11
Green 11 V 9
Minnesota 16 V 4
NewOrleans 8 V 12
N.Y.Giants 5 V 15
Philadelphia 16 V 4
SanFrancisco 8 V 12
Seattle 5 V 15
St.Louis 11 V 9
TampaBay 8 V 12
Washington 11 V 9

Totals 316 V 285 V 1

Total Games 602

Percent Wins 52%

*Note: there are 20 games for each team here because one year the NFL had two bye weeks per team.

I do not think 52% is any more significant than any given Sunday where one team wins and the other loses.

by Endzone on Oct 19, 2009 11:05 AM MDT up reply actions 1 recs

Nice!

So much is made of the bye week. I suppose a teams success could depend on their injury status going into the week off. I kind of have mixed feelings about the Broncos entering their bye week undefeated. Momentum breaker? Not for this team.

by rocko1 on Oct 19, 2009 11:11 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Agreed

It’s not so much the 6-1 of teams coming off their bye, but SD being up against a wall in a must-win game at home. IMO, this will make Rivers at his most dangerous. This will take a well executed effort on all sides of the ball for us to get the W, which I believe we can, but it will be a fight.

"Take what you can. Give nothing back!"

by Colorado_Kitten on Oct 19, 2009 9:30 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

And the DP writers complain....

…. that The Fixer doesn’t give the media what they want. They complain about his answers to questions, his lack of detail on injuries, arrogance… etc etc.

How about less blatant negativity. I don’t want a biased Denver media necessarily. But a media that shows some optimism when it’s due wouldn’t go astray either. Just a little bit more respect to take I guess.

"Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind- bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space."

"It is a mistake to think you can solve any major problems just with potatoes" Douglas Adams

by orange&blue_aussie on Oct 19, 2009 7:06 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs

The fixer.............. Pearl Jam......... MHR radio....................... how I miss thee.............

If Taylor Swift were to try and tackle me, I'd let her.

by kentuckybronco on Oct 19, 2009 8:53 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Post game show on monday night football night?

"Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind- bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space."

"It is a mistake to think you can solve any major problems just with potatoes" Douglas Adams

by orange&blue_aussie on Oct 19, 2009 9:14 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Idk, email or tweet guru.

If Taylor Swift were to try and tackle me, I'd let her.

by kentuckybronco on Oct 19, 2009 9:25 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Mornin nyc, Thank You for Horse Tracks...

24 – 17 Broncos Tonight!
Go Broncos

Real Power, comes with the realization that One cannot change the Moment;
only ones perception of it: Atitude! JQM

by UB3 on Oct 19, 2009 7:15 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs

A football rule I don't know.

Does anyone know if there is a two minute warning in Overtime?

by McGeorge on Oct 19, 2009 8:36 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Great question

I believe there is one, yes.

The NFL rules don’t state so explicitly, but they do say, “General provisions that apply for the fourth quarter will prevail.”

FWIW, Wikipedia says there is one.

by Douglas A. Lee on Oct 19, 2009 9:17 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Thanks.

by McGeorge on Oct 19, 2009 9:47 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Cold Hard Football Facts

Nice little blurb there.

We’ve picked eight road underdogs to win outright this year. We’re an awesome 6-2 ATS in those eight games, and 5-3 straight up.

We have another going tonight: the Broncos head to San Diego as 3.5-point dogs. We have the unbeaten Broncos winning outright.

When you can do the common things in life in a uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world.
- George Washington Carver

How do you keep the Broncos Humble?
"Just show them the film. Show them the film." - Josh McDaniels

by Kfustud on Oct 19, 2009 8:49 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Thanks Nyc

That was a nice find on the ‘Bronco Girl’ story. I checked it out thinking that MHR’s girl was getting interviewed. Lol

Character may be manifested in the great moments but it is made in the small ones -- Philip Brooks

by KaptainKirk on Oct 19, 2009 9:03 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Nunnely and scouting help

A lot has been made on this site of what a positive impact coach Nunnely seems to have made for the Denver defensive line. I saw a comment about it on a fanpost a couple of days ago and it made me wonder how much additional insight he has on the Charges’ D-line after coaching them for so long, and how the Broncos can use it to their advantage.

by Quietone on Oct 19, 2009 9:58 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs

San Diego moving their stadium

…to Escondido is crazy for me to think about, having grown up there. The spot that they are talking about building the new stadium is an old drive in movie theater, now the site of the Escondido swap meet. It will be a much shorter drive for me to get to the broncos vs. chargers games though.

"It's okay to eat fish, 'cause they don't have any feelings" - Kurt Kobain

by JChase8410 on Oct 19, 2009 11:24 AM MDT via mobile reply actions 0 recs