Good Morning, MHR Friends. Well, the first 20 minutes yesterday were pretty rough. The day was marred by plenty of mistakes and missed chances on the Broncos' side of the ledger, but they sure did hang tough when it would've been quite easy to lose by 40+. I'm sure most of you had flashbacks to those playoff debacles of years past (I know I did). The decision to defer the opening kickoff was bizarre, to say the least; both the Broncos' offen have been shaky on opening possessions (if not 1st quarters in their entirety) all year long, so I was quite puzzled. No, it's clearly not why they lost; there were plenty of opportunities later on, and the Broncos were in it late. But it was a strange decision which I immediately disliked. Well, apparently Orton and BMarsh have gotten used to each other; remarkable performance from Brandon. Unfortunately, Kyle still can't seem to connect with Eddie Royal. Hopefully Buck isn't too banged up, although we're fortunate to have Jokeland heading to town next week.
DB - Broncos-Colts Highlights - Video highlights with radio calls
DB - Colts Postgame: Report - Broncos TV
DB - Marshall sets new single-game receptions record - Video
DB - Colts Postgame: McDaniels - Broncos TV
DB - Colts Postgame: Marshall - Broncos TV
NFL - Denver Broncos 16 at Indianapolis Colts 28 - Box Score
DB - Comeback Bid Falls Short - Zach Eisendrath
DB - 'Bittersweet' Record - Gray Caldwell
DPP - Colts clip Broncos 28-16 in Indy - Mike Klis
"McDaniels' research had shown that the team that kicks off at the start usually has the final possession of the first half, and then gets the ball again to start the second half." This is a strange explanation. Why is the goal to gather momentum at halftime? We're talking about Peyton Manning here, and a Broncos defense that has struggled early in many games, especially against quality teams...
DPP - Short yardage, big problem - Lindsay Jones
"The Broncos converted only 1-of-6 opportunities on third or fourth down when they needed fewer than 3 yards. They converted only 6-of-17 third downs overall. The Broncos also were stopped three times on fourth down, including twice on fourth-and-1."
DPP - Briefs: D.J. positive part of defense's soft first-half effort
"Running back Correll Buckhalter and starting safety Renaldo Hill were on crutches after the game because of injuries to their right ankles, and rookie safety Darcel McBath — who had replaced Hill in the second half — had his right arm in a sling after injuring his shoulder late in the fourth quarter."
"A charged-up Reid briefly took his helmet off to celebrate, then quickly jammed it back on. "That's a prime example of things we can't do," Reid said. "We could have got three points out of that drive."" Yeah, that was a big one. UGH.
DPP - A glimpse at the best of the Beast - Mark Kiszla
This is a terrific story, and that sure is one lucky Broncos fan.
DPP - Head-scratching logic can hurt - Dave Krieger
DPP - Analysis: Subpar Manning still enough - Jeff Legwold
DPP - Broncos, Colts could meet again - Mike Klis
DP - Coming up short in short yardage - Jim Armstrong
DPP - Offense lets Broncos down - Jim Armstrong
CSG - Colts break records with 28-16 victory over Denver - Frank Schwab
CSG - Marshall's record 21-catch game is wasted - Frank Schwab
CSG - Broncos almost had emergency at safety - Frank Schwab
AP - Marshall Sets NFL Record, Not Enough To Top Colts - Michael Marot
KUSA - Public memorial planned for 'Barrel Man' - Dan Boniface
Thanks to Randy for the link!
Colts News
NFL - Getting healthy, rather than keeping edge, is Colts' main goal - Vic Carucci
Y! - Colts defense comes up huge at crucial times - Jason Cole
CBS - Would rest mess with AFC's best? Let debate begin for Colts - Clark Judge
FH - Now's Not the Time for Colts to Go Easy - Greg Couch
FOX - With home-field clinched, question remains for Indy - John Oehser
IS - Colts secure home-field edge, record winning streak - Phil Richards
IS - Broncos' Marshall snags record - Philip Wilson
IS - Nice winning streak, guys! Now we'll see you in 34 days - Bob Kravitz
IS - Clark (3 TDs) leads red-zone attack - Mike Chappell
IS - Colts say let's keep playing - Mike Chappell
IS - Bob Kravitz's report card
NFL Results
NFL - San Diego Chargers 20 at Dallas Cowboys 17
NFL - Buffalo Bills 16 at Kansas City Chiefs 10
NFL - Washington Redskins 34 at Oakland Raiders 13
NFL - New Orleans Saints 26 at Atlanta Falcons 23
NFL - Detroit Lions 3 at Baltimore Ravens 48
NFL - Green Bay Packers 21 at Chicago Bears 14
NFL - Seattle Seahawks 7 at Houston Texans 34
NFL - Miami Dolphins 14 at Jacksonville Jaguars 10
NFL - Cincinnati Bengals 10 at Minnesota Vikings 30
NFL - Carolina Panthers 10 at New England Patriots 20
NFL - New York Jets 26 at Tampa Bay Buccaneers 3
NFL - St. Louis Rams 7 at Tennessee Titans 47
NFL - Philadelphia Eagles 45 at New York Giants 38
AFC West News
SDUT - Turner will be here for a while - Kevin Acee
CBS - Week 14 Judgements: Chargers are Colts' recurring nightmare - Clark Judge
FH - Cowboys Sinking and Chargers Soaring? Must Be December - Nancy Gay
FH - San Diego Charging as Contenders Come Into Focus - Dave Goldberg
SDUT - Bolts' big D smashes 'Boys - Kevin Acee
SDUT - Acting like they've been there before - Tim Sullivan
SDUT - Rivers gives Coach the game ball - Kevin Acee
SDUT - Power ball is finishing touch for win on road - Kevin Acee
SDUT - No such thing as weak side in goal-line stand - Chris Jenkins
SDUT - Tim Sullivan's report card
KCS - Chiefs can't overcome offensive mistakes in 16-10 loss to Bills - Adam Teicher
KCS - Chiefs should thank anyone who sat through this game - Jason Whitlock
KCS - Crucial decisions on fourth downs don't pan out for Chiefs - Randy Covitz
KCS - Charles has big day on offense and almost makes big play on defense - Randy Covitz
KCS - Chiefs' defense gets run over once again - Adam Teicher
KCS - Grading the Chiefs - Adam Teicher
FH - Gradkowski's Injuries Reopens Door for Russell in Oakland - Chris Burke
SFC - Cut off at the knees - David White
SFC - 49ers, Raiders will never share a stadium - Ray Ratto
SFC - Flags fly, but please, no saluting - David White
SFC - Game review - David White
SFC - Russell is the new Marc Wilson - Ray Ratto
SFC - Raiders eliminated from playoff contention - David White
Did anyone know the Raiders were IN playoff contention? Oh, that's right - Seymour guaranteed they'd make it...well, hopefully he's in Denver next year, just not saying stupid stuff like that.
OT - Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell seizing the day the wrong way - Gary Peterson
OT - How bad is it for the Raiders? The fans are calling for Charlie Frye - Monte Poole
NFL News
NFL - Cowboys' Ware sprains neck, hospitalized after collision
NFL Opinion
SI - Assessing the chances of AFC wild-card contenders - Don Banks
SN - Week 14 Checkdown: Scramble on for bottom seeds in AFC - Vinnie Iyer
ESPN - John Clayton's Last Call
"Despite their 28-16 loss to the Indianapolis Colts, the Broncos once again proved they are a playoff-caliber team."
NFL - Bengals will make playoffs, but loss to Vikings shows flaws - Steve Wyche
FH - Dominant Defense Lifts Favre's Vikings Into Playoffs - Dan Graziano
FOX - Favre winning battle against aging - Alex Marvez
SI - Vikings not perfect, but they may be close enough - Joe Posnanski
NFL - Confidence boost could have Ravens embarking on playoff run - Bucky Brooks
Y! - 'Fragile' Moss threatens to set back Patriots - Charles Robinson
CBS - Saints will throw caution to wind, make run at perfection - Pete Prisco
SN - When Reggie Bush goes airborne, Saints fly high - Ryan Fagan
SI - Philadelphia Eagles prove they're class of NFC East - Don Banks
FH - Reid Rules: Eagles Follow Coach's Lead - Thomas George
CBS - Giants can't contain Eagles' Jackson ... but Reid would be wise to - Mike Freeman