Archives for December 2008

‘By the end of the day, Denver had 532 yards, the most allowed by the Bills since Indianapolis gained 555 yards early in the forgettable 2001 season against one of the worst Buffalo teams of all time.’

‘And while one victory over a tremendously skittish Denver team isn’t exactly cause to greet the team en masse when it finally arrives at the Buffalo airport this afternoon, it sure was a nice Christmas present for a fan base that has done some serious suffering the past two months.’

‘Lee Evans might be the prime weapon, but it has become clear that Reed is Trent Edwards’ favorite target. Reed found seams all day on the Broncos shaky defense and caught a career-high nine passes for 79 yards.’

COACHING – B-: Give credit where credit is due, and it hasn’t been due him too often lately, but Dick Jauron said his team would give an all-out effort and it did. The Bills started terribly and it looked like the game was going to become an embarrassment, but they turned it around. The Bills were gouged on defense for 532 yards, but they made plays when they had to. On offense, Turk Schonert tried to use the running game to set up the play-action game and it worked as Edwards had some success on those plays in the second half.’

‘”To have a chance to clinch at home today, we couldn’t have had a better scenario than what we had today,” cornerback Dre Bly said. “But Buffalo, man, they came out and played. They got down 13-0, but mentally they stayed in it. They were able to bounce back and make some plays.”‘

‘”To get seven on the board was a big thing,” Bills coach Dick Jauron said. “To go into (halftime) 13-3 or 13-6 would have been OK – it really would have been OK after the way (the half) went – but to take it down and put it in the end zone was huge for us. There was a real good feeling in the locker room at halftime.”‘

‘Prater said his range going toward the north end zone was 52 or 53 yards. Shanahan said with the wind blowing north, he had the confidence to let Prater attempt the kick. “I felt like it was a 10-yard difference, so I didn’t feel the distance was a question,” Shanahan said. “Obviously it didn’t turn out to be the right decision.”‘

Broncos fallen, trying to get back up (Denver Rocky Mountain News)

Broncos fall to Bills 30-23 (Denver Rocky Mountain News)

Bills bounce back against reeling Broncos defense (Denver Rocky Mountain News)

Cutler has team record, but . . . (Denver Rocky Mountain News)

No time for Broncos to lament missed chances (Denver Rocky Mountain News)

Broncos’ dream dissolving (Denver Rocky Mountain News)

Loss sets up meeting of pretenders (Denver Rocky Mountain News)

Broncos report: Bailey, Kuper, Clady wouldn’t give in (Denver Rocky Mountain News)

Broncos replay: Down to the nail-biting (Denver Rocky Mountain News)

Photo gallery: First Quarter (Denver Rocky Mountain News)

Photo gallery: Second Quarter (Denver Rocky Mountain News)

Photo gallery: Third Quarter (Denver Rocky Mountain News)

Photo gallery: Fourth Quarter (Denver Rocky Mountain News)

One or done for Broncos (Denver Post)

Stokley’s botched catch one of many blown opportunities (Denver Post)

Missed FG was cue for Buffalo (Denver Post)

Bailey led team amid pain (Denver Post)

Biggest fall of all puts Denver in a pall (Denver Post)

… life goes on, Broncs! (Denver Post)

Thumbs up for stiff O-line (Denver Post)

QB Cutler sets records, but one big goal remains (Denver Post)

Bests: Champ makes an impact (Denver Post)

Worsts: Worst-case scenario? Yup (Denver Post)

The grades (Denver Post)

Photo gallery (Denver Post)

Playoff shot lost? (Denver Daily News)

Broncos lose at home to Bills (Colorado Springs Gazette)

Field goal miscalculation turns game in Bills’ favor (Colorado Springs Gazette)

Same story, different name: Pope injured (Colorado Springs Gazette)

He might be a trooper, but not yet Champ (Colorado Springs Gazette)

Broncos to play Chargers in prime time (Colorado Springs Gazette)

Bills at Broncos: Bests and worsts (Colorado Springs Gazette)

Bills at Broncos: By the numbers (Colorado Springs Gazette)

Photo gallery (Colorado Springs Gazette)

Unable to finish (Longmont Times Call)

Denver takes the hard way (Longmont Times Call)

Bailey makes return (Longmont Times Call)

Broncos’ sixth starting RB leaves early (Longmont Times Call)

Photo gallery (Longmont Times Call)

Browns, Broncos watch injury bug strike again (AP)

Broncos-Chargers game moved to prime time (AP)

Broncos/Chargers moved to prime time (The Sports Network)

Falling Just Short (DenverBroncos.com)

Loss Sets Up San Diego Showdown (DenverBroncos.com)

Photo gallery 1 (DenverBroncos.com)

Photo gallery 2 (DenverBroncos.com)

‘That left the Broncos little choice but to throw on nearly every down after Buffalo took a 16-13 lead with 5:02 remaining in the third quarter. Only four of the Broncos’ 35 plays throughout the rest of the game were running plays – two by Cutler.’

‘Henceforth, when San Diegans speak of Buffalo wings, they should specify whether they mean spicy chicken or the adornment of angels.’

‘I needed to see something like that from Trent Edwards. If he can perform well against New England, you’ll be looking at three nice wins, two of which were on the road, with a groin-hampered half against San Francisco mixed in. His personality in press conferences bothers the heck out of me, but that doesn’t matter when you can throw footballs where they are supposed to be thrown. I’m excited to watch him play next week for sure. Funny how this mediocre NFL football works these days.’

‘As with the offense, Buffalo’s defenders eventually acted like every play counts: It was nice to see that they weren’t going to lie around and expose themselves to a steel-toed kicking after getting knocked down. Taking a knee on the final play instead of attempting to trick the Broncos with some play-action action was just another sign that the Bills kept working and thinking even with the season’s hopes dashed.’

‘The Bills are scheduled to depart Denver on Monday morning.’

‘Coaching: This team plays hard for Dick Jauron and they showed character by rallying around him and coming back after a pitiful first quarter. Perry Fewell had his defense ready down in the red zone and made adjustments against the running game after a lousy first quarter. Turk Schonert found an answer for the early blitzes by the Broncos and the offense really hummed better with Edwards at the controls. Grade B+: Nice adjustments after first quarter disaster.’

‘It was a great accomplishment for this team to comeback and win on the road and for the first time this year against a team with a winning record and everything to play for. The Bills players to a man have said how much they love and respect Coach Jauron. They sure showed it on the field after sleep walking through the first quarter. They knew they had a chance to play hard and help save the man’s job. They played with tremendous emotion in the second half and may have just saved the job of the man they respect so much. It’s a shame that emotion wasn’t there earlier in the season or else they may still be playing for something more than pride. At least they showed pride and high character in getting this win.’