Horse Tracks 8/31/09 - Broncos fall to Bears, 27-17; Orton, Kuper injured; Gaffney has broken thumb

by Douglas A. Lee on Aug 31, 2009 6:30 AM MDT in Horse Tracks Comment 19 comments

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I think Ted's analysis summed up the game quite well, so I won't rehash. Lots of injury-related news, unfortunately. Jabar Gaffney broke his thumb on Friday, while Orton hurt his right index finger last night. Chris Kuper hurt his ankle and was helped off the field; X-rays were negative but he'll have an MRI today. Eddie Royal and Peyton Hillis both were banged up during the game but returned shortly after. The QB carousel is still spinning, as Matt Cassel may miss the Chefs' regular season opener and the Pats will waive Kevin O'Connell. I wouldn't be surprised to see him end up in Denver and Chris Simms on the PUP to start the season. Josh McDaniels worked O'Connell out before the '08 Draft and liked him enough that the Pats spent a third-rounder on the QB. I'd think Gaffney's injury means Brandon Lloyd has to make the team now.

NFL - Bears 27, Broncos 17 - Highlights with local color - Video

NFL - Pre WK 3: Kyle Orton highlights - Video

NFL - Bears vs. Broncos highlights - NFLTA Video
If you can stand his voice, Jamie Dukes is actually objective in his analysis. Who knew?

DB - Bears Postgame: McDaniels - Broncos TV

DB - Bears Postgame: Orton - Broncos TV
Orton says he thinks he'll be physically "ready to go" next week.

DP - Cutler, Bears bounce Broncos 27-17 - Mike Klis

DP - Broncos' receivers caught short in numbers - Lindsay Jones
Jabar Gaffney broke his thumb in Friday's practice. No word on when he will return. Chris Kuper has a right ankle injury, while the status of Kyle Orton's finger is unknown.

DP - Lots to refine for Broncos before it counts - Jeff Legwold

DB - Mistakes Lead to Loss - Zach Eisendrath

DB - Hungry for a Win - Gray Caldwell

DP - Dumervil still a rush job - Jeff Legwold

DP - Tall tasks for Broncos' special teams - Lindsay Jones

DP - Bears-Broncos game breakdown - Jeff Legwold

DP - Broncos fans singing the boos - Lindsay Jones

DP - Chicago "D" notices Orton, but that's it - Adrian Dater
Says Tommie Harris, "Jay is Mr. Consistent. He's going to give you a great game every week."

DP - Orton's finger injury puts QB spot on the spot
The Patriots are going to waive QB Kevin O'Connell, who Josh McDaniels worked out before New England drafted him in 2008. Sounds like a short stay for Ingle Martin, if you ask me. Meanwhile, X-rays were negative on Chris Kuper's ankle, although he will have an MRI today.

DP - Paige: This act won't fly come regular season

SI - Jay Cutler's Mile High reunion, 10 Things I Think and more - Peter King
Ron Turner apparently thinks Jay Cutler the QB is all growns up. On page 4, PK has some interesting thoughts on what the dumping of Kevin O'Connell means in New England (and thinks he'll end up in Denver). Plus, he starts to consider the case of Floyd Little.

CSG - Broncos QB Orton leaves with cut finger - Frank Schwab

CSG - Ramsey: Cutler won, Broncos nothing

CSG - Broncos notes: Injuries are piling up - Frank Schwab

CSG - Bears-Broncos: Three things we looked for - Frank Schwab

AP - Jay Cutler Beats Denver Broncos In Mile High Return - Arnie Stapleton

DB - Bears vs. Broncos: First Half Live Blog - Chris Gentilviso

DB - Bears vs. Broncos: Second Half Live Blog - Chris Gentilviso

CBS - Cutler's success might be start of season-long nightmare for Broncos fans - Aaron J. Lopez

FOX - Cutler vs. Orton: It's no contest - Alex Marvez

ESPN - Greenberg: Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler impresses in his return to Denver

ESPN - Bears take it to the Broncos - Kevin Seifert

ESPN - Denver is shaking mad over Cutler - Bill Williamson

SI - Former NFL player Lennie Friedman adjusts to regular life - Jeff Pearlman
Old friend Lennie Friedman is back at Duke to get his MBA and has lost 70! pounds.

AFC West News

KCS - Chiefs mum on Cassel - Adam Teicher

Y! - Chiefs QB Cassel could miss opener - Jason Cole

PFW - Chargers' hard decisions just beginning - Michael Blunda

SFG - Raiders Silver and Black Blog : (Non) Progress report - David White

NFL News

NFL - Patriots' Bruschi to announce retirement after 13 seasons

NFL - Bengals sign first-round pick Smith, ending lengthy holdout

NFL - Pats considering adding a veteran backup QB

NFL - With Bradley out for season, Eagles moving LB Gaither back to middle

NFL - 49ers S Lewis to be evaluated after second concussion in 11 days

PFW - NFC Whispers - Saints may part ways with Hartley

NFL Opinion

NFL - Crabtree hurting himself more than 49ers by holding out - Steve Wyche

FOX - Preseason points: Daunte should get nod - Ed Thompson

NYT - The Belichick Way: Still the Best - KC Joyner

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Comments

If McD worked with this O'Connell before

then we’re guaranteed KC will snatch him up before he gets to us.

This is what we wanted...
Hey, look what we got!

by pubkeeper on Aug 31, 2009 7:11 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs

The Chefs already have a logjam of QBs; remember, they were talking about trading Tyler Thigpen, plus they’ve got Brodie Croyle and Matt Gutierrez (another former Patriot) behind Cassel.

by Douglas A. Lee on Aug 31, 2009 7:27 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

i’d take Thigpen too, come to think of it. he’s not bad.

by thedoctor on Aug 31, 2009 9:48 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

They Are Going to

need Thigpen. He is the only guy with the mobility to survive behind their offensive line this season.

Tis better not to throw it to the deep receiver but the open receiver.

by Kfustud on Aug 31, 2009 10:35 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

I hope you're right

But with Cassell down for a few weeks and Pioli’s history with O’Connel and the ability to prevent the Broncos from getting someone familiar with the system, it would seem to me a no-brainer for them. They’ll just get rid of Thigpen.

This is what we wanted...
Hey, look what we got!

by pubkeeper on Aug 31, 2009 11:58 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Good Morning nyc, Thank You for all you do on Horse Tracks...

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

by UB3 on Aug 31, 2009 7:13 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Any Kool-Aid I drank after games one and two, got puked up after last night. Unlike the 1st two games when the better team was clearly Denver, the better team last night was not us, not even close.

Orton has lead our 1st team offense to 10 total points in 6 quarters of football (13 if you assume we kick a FG last week). That is 7 points less than Cutler, 4 points less than Hasselback and the same amount of points as Shaun Hill managed in score on us in two quarters of football. And 4 points less than Simms managed in his two quarters as our QB.

Our O took a big step back last night. We can’t run the ball! And not just because Buckhalter is ineffective (which he is), but because our O-line is also ineffective. Weigmann was the worst player on the field last night, Clady was a close 2nd.

Last night we looked poorly coached on offense (O-linemen running around down the field, 1st string WRs and RBs running the wrong routes, penalties galore, and silly coach’s challenges).

I’m thrilled the D looks much improved, but the O looks much worse than the 2008 version. The special teams looks fine until they give up what was essentially a TD return (why do we kick to Hester?).

The 1st string D looked good for the most part (lots of 3 and outs). Yet no sacks or turnovers and we were still losing 17-3 at halftime. Andra Davis is a huge liability in the passing game and Haggan is begging to be replaced (except that Ayers brought nothing, again). Alphonso Smith was brutally bad in coverage (vs a fellow rookie) and whiffed with some very lazy efforts in run support. McBath = nothing. Right now, our best rookies look like McKinley and Burton. In fact, McKinley has been our only big play skill position player all preseason.

I’m sure this game will get plenty of sugar coating over the next few days here at MHR, but we got our asses kicked at INVESCO. Big step back for our team. The Broncos I saw in games 1 and 2 looked like a competitive NFL football team. Last night’s version of the Broncos is a 4-12 team. Offensively, this Bronco team is not ready for week one, but we are too banged up to play our starters vs Arizona. Last night was a big big bummer.

Love the Broncos, don't like their Coach.

by McGeorge on Aug 31, 2009 7:38 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs

It was a tough night

I had to turn off the computer and put away the twitter feed and just finish the game by myself.

The offense never got going because of inconsistency. Injuries to WRs and RBs threw them off. The O-line had an inexcusable performance, no matter that Kuper went down. And the penalites! Geez. It wasn’t an individual performance that kept us down last night, it was a team effort.

It is getting harder and harder to find excuses for the Broncos. Josh McDaniels knows it. Just read his comments in the Peter King MMQB article today. He knows that eventually you have to put it all together on the field. Eventually you have to put it all on the field. You have to give fans and journalists the facts, the evidence that you’re good.

That said, I think this game will get a fair airing on MHR. It will be balanced. There will be some sky-is-falling and some sugarcoating, but there will be moderate comment too.

I did see some positives. Eddie Royal is still awesome. Andre Goodman can play. Dumerville is adjusting well. These 3 things aren’t enough to win games, but it’s something.

It was a bad night. We lost. We lost the game. We lost the Cutler vs. Orton/McD/Fans/Denver battle. We lost Kuper. We lost a lot. But what we didn’t lose was the determination to work hard and our potential. In MMQB, McD talks about how the locker room is still strong and that this is a team that can bounce back. We also still have our potential. We still have a chance to be good if we work hard and learn from mistakes. There’s still talent here. It’s not like were last years Lions. If the lions had played up to their potential, they probably still would’ve lost at least 12 games. We still have the opportunity to be better and win 9.

by jwkcsu on Aug 31, 2009 7:55 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

I was very disappointed with the Offensive(pun) penalties

and I definitely agree, we need to trade Marshall for a good LB. Brandstater showed that he has the stronger arm of the 3, and that with more reps, he looks promising.The lack of turnovers is concerning me, but I don’t have a solution to offer. I know they practice stripping the ballcarrier, but something has to give. There was improvement shown,and more mistakes showed up that need to be addressed. the short yard running game needs either better blocking or a different look, because it ain’t making it. Hillis showed that he can run off tackle so you naysayers can stop harping about that. C Buck had a few nice runs that reminded my of what I saw him do in early camp. I hope his knees can hold up. And if the injury curse follows us this year, it will be another long season. I’m still drinking the Kool Aid , but I didn’t see the same level of improvement from the last two games and we are running out of preseason.
That said, did anyone else notice that Cris Collinsworth contradicted himself all evening?

Thanks NYC.

"You give 100 percent in the first half of the game, and if that isn't enough, in the second half you give what's left." – Yogi Berra
"No, I'm from Iowa, I only work in outer space."

by KaptainKirk on Aug 31, 2009 9:24 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

What LB’s do you believe would be a viable option to trade Marshall for?

by Todd Jewell on Aug 31, 2009 11:20 AM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

You know

I haven’t pondered the teams that would possibly be interested in Marshall, but I did look at Lance Briggs numbers about a month ago when someone suggested that we should reunite Brandon with Cutler. I came away thinking that it wouldn’t be a fair trade straight up, because at that time Brandon had seemingly more value than he has now. I’m not sure how much value he has anymore. Chicago doesn’t really have too many picks left to spare either. I wonder if Marshall is trying intentionally to get cut so he can run to Jay. I will give it some thought and try to come up with something. Thanks for the challenging question Todd.

"You give 100 percent in the first half of the game, and if that isn't enough, in the second half you give what's left." – Yogi Berra
"No, I'm from Iowa, I only work in outer space."

by KaptainKirk on Aug 31, 2009 9:34 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Are team looked bad

im use to seeing football played like that in ohio. The stupid penalties and I hate the wise receciever screens. McD beeter make some changes and stop worrying about the drama off the field and pay attention to what is going on the field. Orton didnt do anything to impress me. I have a bad taste in my mouth for this up coming year. Im still drinking the kool aid and always will. I will be at the cincinnati game to support ARE team

live and die blue and orange

by jerry251 on Aug 31, 2009 10:29 AM MDT reply actions 0 recs

As much as I despise the MSM

I was glad to hear the unanimous “Brandon Marshall needs to grow up” theme. Even the recently retired R. Harrison piped up.

The thing that kills me is that this offense is tailor-made for Brandon Marshall. The short pass, focus on YAC is right in his wheelhouse. He could potentially put up HOF numbers in this offense.

The most glaring question raised last night was, “who, if anyone, is giving this kid advice?”

This is what we wanted...
Hey, look what we got!

by pubkeeper on Aug 31, 2009 12:04 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Wondering

If Collinsworth read the BMarh’s New Team Uniform post when he said Marshall was acting like a clown?

by Endzone on Aug 31, 2009 12:33 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Uniforms

I loved the orange uniforms! I always hated the predominantly blue new uniforms when they were adopted.

by Endzone on Aug 31, 2009 1:46 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Me too, Endzone.

"Two months."

by Tempestuous Binary on Aug 31, 2009 6:48 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs

Thanks for the Horse Tracks, NYC.

"Two months."

by Tempestuous Binary on Aug 31, 2009 6:41 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

Anyone else

find this bite from King interesting?

Top Winning Percentages, 2000-2008

1. New England 102-42 .703
2. Indianapolis 101-43 .701
3. Pittsburgh 94-49-1 .656
4. Philadelphia 92-51-1 .642
5. Denver 85-59 .590

Conversation nonstarters: hoping McDaniels fails, comparing Bears to Broncos, Cutler to Orton, apples to oranges, and casual drinkers to Raiders fans.

by broncosmontana on Sep 1, 2009 12:43 PM MDT reply actions 0 recs

admittedly quite a drop off

but a nice showing nonetheless.

Conversation nonstarters: hoping McDaniels fails, comparing Bears to Broncos, Cutler to Orton, apples to oranges, and casual drinkers to Raiders fans.

by broncosmontana on Sep 1, 2009 12:43 PM MDT up reply actions 0 recs