paige: c.j. anderson, bradley roby come up big for broncos...
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Paige: C.J. Anderson, Bradley Roby
come up big for Broncos in win over
Raiders
By Woody Paige
The Denver Post
November 9, 2014
OAKLAND, calif. —In less than a minute, two yearlings grew into full-fledged
Broncos.
Bradley Roby, 21, and Contrell Javon Anderson, 22, saved what had begun as a
dismal day by the Bay.
With halftime approaching and the discombobulated Broncos trailing the wretched
Raiders 10-7 — "Just win once, baby" — the rookie Roby pulled off an acrobatic
interception at the Denver 47-yard line. Seconds later, Anderson, an afterthought
on a pass play, made a tough catch and broke out of five tackles and zigged,
zagged and zipped for 51 yards and a touchdown that would transform a tense
state of affairs into a stampede.
Wild, wild horses, the Rolling Stones sang.
"That's what I play for, to make the big plays and help us win," Roby said.
The initial guy, C.J., said: "I feel blessed. This is what I've prepared hard for. We all
want to be like Peyton (Manning) and Wes (Welker) some day."
This day.
The first-round cornerback of 2014 and the free agent running back from 2013 —
neither 18 hands high — are now joined at the tip and standing tall.
Manning called Anderson's reception and run "as fine a play as I've seen so far this
season ...It could have easily been a catch for minus-2 yards or something. The
next thing you know he breaks the tackle. I don't know how many guys he made
miss. Truly an incredible effort play."
And Roby's effort on the interception was equally remarkable. The pass from
Oakland's young quarterback was a Carr wreck. Derek's ball fluttered and flapped.
"I don't know if it was tipped or wobbly, but I mistimed my jump and had to try to
stay in the air long enough and reach back past my shoulder. That's a pick I've got
to make," Roby said.
Great hang time, I said.
"Yeah, I like that description. I'm athletic. You have to be an athlete to play in the
secondary."
But cornerbacks would be wide receivers if they could catch the ball better. "Wide
receivers would be cornerbacks if they could defend and tackle," Roby replied. "We
must be better than receivers."
Up until Roby's interception, the Broncos looked as sorry as the Raiders, who
haven't won in their past 15 games. The Broncos were in hangover mode after the
loss at New England.
Roby was beat by his friend and former teammate Brice Butler for a touchdown
early in the second quarter, and the Broncos were behind 10-6. Uh-oh.
But Roby made his third big play of the season. He deflected the pass on the Colts'
final play in the season opener. He intercepted a pass by Tom Brady a week ago.
"The Broncos showed so much faith by drafting me, and I'm doing everything I can
to prove they made the right decision," he said.
Anderson wasn't drafted by anybody last year. He impressed everybody in Denver,
though, in the exhibitions before getting hurt. This year he had virtually fallen off
the radar. He was fourth on the depth chart until injuries to others gave him a
chance.
"I practice every day as if I'm going to get a chance. I thought I might play some
on third down in this game," he said.
For that reason he bought 40 tickets for family and friends in his town of Vallejo,
Calif., 25 miles up I-80. The folks from back home were in for a shock.
Anderson was inserted early and often and finished with 13 carries for 90 yards and
seven catches for 73 yards, including that touchdown you normally only see in high
school highlights.
"I don't have the speed of Ronnie (Hillman) or the size of the other guys, but I
make the best of what I've got," he said.
He runs hard and fast, like a bronco.
On the reception he thought because the linebackers had deepened, Manning might
check down to him, but he hadn't finished his route when the ball was on him like a
mortgage payment. "You're not allowed to miss that one. I couldn't hear the crowd.
I wasn't thinking about anything except just keep running and hang on."
"C.J. was sensational," Roby said.
At the other end of the locker room Anderson said his touchdown "wouldn't have
happened if Bradley hadn't made such a great interception." Reciprocal admiration
from two bright, clever, gifted players.
The Broncos' future was present Sunday.
C.J. and Bradley, Anderson and Roby, are grown-up Broncos now.
Broncos turn slow start into blowout win
vs. Raiders
By Mike Klis
The Denver Post
November 9, 2014
OAKLAND — — John Elway once had a rocket arm, lately has displayed a magic
touch, and is now showing potential as a motivational speaker.
The Broncos' general manager and former quarterback addressed his Broncos in a
full team meeting Wednesday. The gist of his message: You guys are 6-2, but
you're coasting. Elway spoke about how the room was bursting with talent. But
more accountability and discipline would be needed if that talent would be
nourished into a championship.
Boss Elway had spoken. The Broncos then went out and played terrible offensive
football for 27 minutes against the hapless, winless Oakland Raiders.
Hey, if speeches and meetings always worked, they'd have them a couple times a
week.
The Broncos eventually would rally behind some young, unexpected contributors
and whip the Raiders, 41-17 on a spectacularly warm and sunny Sunday afternoon
in November at O.co Coliseum, which is code for The Black Hole.
But any credit going Elway's way should be for his role as football operations
executive, not orator.
With the clock ticking down to the 3-minute mark in the first half, Broncos
quarterback Peyton Manning was struggling. His revamped offensive line was
allowing considerable push in his pocket, the Raiders' linemen were tipping his
passes and Manning threw two interceptions that led to 10 Raiders points.
The inept Raiders were leading 10-6. They had third-and-2 at their 40 with 3:37 left
in the half, a good situation to take control when
Bradley Roby, the Broncos' rookie cornerback whom Elway selected with his first-
round draft pick, stepped in front of a pass thrown by Raiders rookie quarterback
Derek Carr.
It was turning point No. 1. Turning point No. 2 came three plays later. The Broncos
were facing third-and-8 when Manning dumped the ball off to C.J. Anderson, a
seldom-used running back whom the Broncos signed as an undrafted rookie out of
the University of California-Berkeley.
Anderson was hit immediately and punter Britton Colquitt wouldn't have been
blamed if he started running on to the field. Instead, Anderson broke the tackle,
maneuvered his way down the left sideline for a first down, then cut back right and
ran all the way across the field until he reached the far side of the end zone for a
51-yard touchdown catch-and-run. And run and run.
Anderson's incredible individual effort gave the Broncos a 13-10 lead and they
never to trailed again. The Raiders continued on with their 0-9 comedy show while
Manning settled down to lead the rout everyone had expected.
With 1:40 left in the half, Anderson burst through nice holes formed by a revised
line that included new starting center Will Montgomery, and a shift in positions by
Manny Ramirez (from center to right guard) and Louis Vasquez (from right guard to
right tackle).
Anderson gained 17 and 12 yards on his two runs and Manning took it from there.
With 28 seconds left in the half, Manning threw one of his perfect-touch beauties to
Emmanuel Sanders for a 32-yard touchdown play.
Then to start the second half, Carr panicked and dumped a pass to, of all people,
right tackle Khalif Barnes. Reacting as only an offensive lineman can, Barnes
started running with the ball. When he was whacked by Broncos defensive lineman
Malik Jackson, Barnes fumbled and Chris Harris recovered.
It didn't take long for Manning to throw a well-designed 10-yard slant-and-pick
touchdown pass to tight end Julius Thomas. The Broncos were up 27-10.
The Broncos' next drive finished with another touchdown. This time the Broncos
lured the Oakland defense in by going for it on fourth-and-1 from the Raiders' 32. A
play-action left Thomas wide open in the flat to take the pass and ramble in for his
second touchdown in two drives, and NFL-best 12th touchdown of the season.
Manning threw his fifth touchdown pass of the game, second to Sanders, with 1:01
left in the third quarter
In the span of 16 minutes, 43 seconds of game clock, the Broncos outscored the
Raiders, 35-0. That's not coasting. That's pouring it on.
As for Elway's midweek talk, it was clear Denver's defense got the message.
Through three quarters, with the Broncos leading 41-10 and Manning giving way to
Brock Osweiler for some fourth-quarter work, the Raiders had only six first downs
and 113 yards of offense.
Carr has a strong arm and decent mobility, but his inexperienced, quarterback
aptitude left him with no chance against a Broncos defense that matched its talent
with a dominating performance.
Broncos' offensive line shift pays
dividends in victory at Oakland
By Mike Klis
The Denver Post
November 9, 2014
OAKLAND — —At 6-foot-5, 335 pounds, Louis Vasquez doesn't look like a guy who
gets intimidation.
Still, he made a rather frightening move Sunday when he shifted from right guard,
where he was so comfortable he was named All Pro last season, to right tackle, a
position on the edge where it's just him against the opponents' best pass rushers.
"You can't play this game being scared," Vasquez said. "I learned that at an early
age. You play scared you're going to get hurt or not play very well."
The Broncos mixed up their dance partners along their offensive line for their AFC
West game Sunday against the Oakland Raiders. Will Montgomery, a starter the
previous 3 ½ seasons for Mike Shanahan in Washington, became Peyton Manning's
new snapper.
Was Montgomery rusty?
"No, I'm kind of like a bottle of wine," Montgomery said, smiling. "I get better with
time."
As Montgomery went into center, Manny Ramirez moved from center to right guard
and Vasquez went from right guard to right tackle.
Paul Cornick, who started at right tackle the previous three games, did not play
against the Raiders because of a shoulder injury that occurred during the Broncos'
practice Wednesday. The re-alignment up front had taken place during the week of
practice before Cornick suffered his injury.
"Have to do what's best for the team," Vasquez said. "Not even thinking about it.
The coaches made the move that they felt was best for the team and you got to
ride with it."
The Broncos made the move because they had been dissatisfied with their running
game as a whole and right tackle in particular. They entered this game ranked 26th
in the league with 3.7 yards per carry. They were much more efficient Sunday as
backup running back C.J. Anderson ran for 90 yards on 13 carries, a 6.9-yard
average.
"Any time you mix it up it's going to take a while to come together," Vasquez said.
"What's good is that Manny and I are still next to each other. We still play well
together and we added a guy in the middle with experience. We'll get better the
more reps we get."
Briefs: Ben Garland's debut perfect
timing for Broncos
Mike Klis and Troy E. Renck
The Denver Post
November 10, 2014
OAKLAND, Calif. —Peyton Manning threw five more touchdown passes. C.J.
Anderson had a breakout game with a total of 163 yards rushing and receiving. And
backup guard Ben Garland wore the biggest smile in the Broncos' locker room.
As the nation celebrates military veterans this weekend and through Tuesday, it
was fitting that Garland, a former Air Force Academy star, played in his first NFL
game Sunday against the Oakland Raiders.
"That was awesome," Garland said. "That my first game came on service day, that
meant a little more to me."
Garland, 26, graduated in 2010 from the Air Force Academy, where he was a
defensive tackle. He signed with the Broncos as an undrafted free agent, then spent
his next two years serving a military commitment.
He returned to the Broncos in 2012 and spent two years on their practice squad —
one as a defensive lineman, the second as a converted guard on offense.
Garland made the Broncos' season-opening, 53-man roster this year but was
inactive through the first eight games. He played Sunday not because of his military
ties — he continues to serve with the Colorado Air National Guard — but because
the Broncos need him as their lone backup guard and to play on special teams.
In previous games, Will Montgomery was the Broncos' backup center and guard,
but he made a start Sunday.
Osweiler in action. With the Broncos leading 41-10 after the third quarter, Broncos
coach John Fox pulled Manning and let backup QB Brock Osweiler play the fourth
quarter.
Broncos guard Ben Garland will play in
first NFL game on Military Appreciation
Day
By Mike Klis
The Denver Post
November 9, 2014
OAKLAND — As our nation celebrates military veterans this weekend and through
Tuesday, it’s only fitting that former Air Force Academy standout Ben Garland will
dress and play in his first NFL game here Sunday against the Oakland Raiders.
Garland, 26, graduated from Air Force, where he was a defensive tackle, in 2010,
signed with the Broncos as an undrafted free agent, then spent his next two years
serving a military commitment. He returned to the Broncos in 2012 and spent two
years on their practice squad — one as a defensive lineman, the second as a
converted offensive guard.
Garland made the Broncos’ season-opening 53-man roster this year but has been
inactive through the first eight games. He is playing today not because of his
military ties — he continues to serve with the Colorado Air National Guard — but
because the Broncos need him as their lone backup guard and to play special
teams.
In previous games, Will Montgomery was the Broncos’ backup center/guard but he
is starting Sunday. That Garland gets his chance as the NFL celebrates the military
this weekend is a happy coincidence.
Hochman: Peyton Manning gets the last
laugh (sorry, Brock)
By Benjamin Hochman
The Denver Post
November 9, 2014
OAKLAND, Calif. — This was it, the kid's big moment, a chance to play in a real NFL
game! Denver led Oakland 41-10 late in the third quarter Sunday, so backup
quarterback Brock Osweiler scurried to the bench, took off his ball cap and was
about to put on his helmet ... when he spotted Peyton Manning, jogging onto the
field.
Really? Really?
Osweiler was reduced to throwing a hand into the air.
This is how good things had become for Manning — just yearning to get back out
there and keep on stickin' it to Charles Woodson and the Raiders, scoreboard,
schmoreboard. (He'll never say it, but I bet Peyton still holds a grudge against
Woodson for swiping his Heisman Trophy.) In the third quarter, Manning was 11-
for-12 for 131 yards and two touchdowns.
That makes you forget just how spectacularly mortal Manning had looked early in
the game. He looked, dare I say, human. A week ago, Manning threw an untimely
interception against New England but also notched 438 passing yards. After which,
he said he "stunk." Then what was this Sunday's first half? Thunder the horse after
a bucket of beans?
Manning threw two interceptions in the early going, received an intentional
grounding penalty, botched some passes that forced Denver to settle for field goals,
had four passes batted down and most bonkers of all, played so regularly that
Raiders fans actually had reason to cheer.
Should we be worried that Manning actually stunk for a half against a terrible team?
Or is it a testament to Manning and the coaching staff for figuring things out,
finding a rhythm and burying the Raiders in the third quarter? I say the latter. It's
good to grow in moments like these, and Manning, teammates said afterward,
remained even-keeled on the sideline. And the Broncos proved that on the road (I
know it was just the Raiders), they could grind and thrive when Manning was
mediocre.
Oh, and when Denver needed a big play, it didn't have to come from Manning. On
this day, it came from running back C.J. Anderson, who suddenly looked like former
Raider Bo Jackson, running for a 51-yard score while flying past seven Oakland
defenders, three Raiderettes and rapper Too $hort.
"That play really gave us a spark," Manning said after the 41-17 victory against the
winless Raiders. "The whole sideline was fired up."
We know what happened next. Perhaps receiver Emmanuel Sanders said it best:
"We got back to the Broncos' offense that I know. We just made adjustments.
Obviously when you come out, you've got to wait and see what card they're
playing. It took us a little while to see it, and after we started making adjustments,
things started clicking."
So, wait, what were the adjustments?
"Just the play-calling," Sanders said. "I'm not saying he was calling bad plays, but
their defensive coordinator was making some good checks, based off the calls we
were doing. So we had to make an adjustment."
What was happening early? Well, without blocking tight end Virgil Green playing,
Denver was forced to often go with three wideouts. In addition, Manning had three
offensive linemen playing in new spots, and there were numerous false starts. And,
yes, Peyton Williams Manning actually made some poor decisions.
But then, he was back. Peyton's third quarter reminded me of that Doug Williams
second quarter in Super Bowl XXII, when the Washington quarterback essentially
ended the game by halftime. When Manning had tossed his fifth touchdown, this
game was essentially over. But in the most-Peyton Manning thing ever, Peyton
Manning trotted out to get some more snaps, late in the third quarter.
Mercifully, when the third quarter ended, Denver put in the kid.
Julius Thomas back running pass routes,
and catching TDs
By Troy E. Renck
The Denver Post
November 9, 2014
OAKLAND, Calif. — Julius Thomas jogged around the field two hours before the
game Sunday. He looked like a defensive end, and ran like a power forward.
Squinting isn't necessary to understand why teams struggle to cover the Broncos 6-
foot-5, 250-pound tight end.
But for that matchup to be exploited, he needs to actually run pass routes. Broncos
offensive coordinator Adam Gase blamed himself last week for Thomas' mysterious
disappearance against the Patriots. With backup tight end Virgil Green sidelined
with a calf injury, Thomas was employed as a blocker more than a receiver.
It's akin to asking Mick Jagger to play bass guitar.
Back in patterns, Thomas resumed his assault on the record books Sunday. He
hauled in two touchdown passes, giving him 12. If that seems like an unusually
high number, it is. It ties him with five players for the most receiving touchdowns
after nine games. Ever.
Bill Groman first accomplished it in 1961. Randy Moss last pulled it off in 2007 with
the Patriots.
"I wasn't thinking about numbers. We just needed a win," said Thomas, who
finished with 63 yards on six catches. "We know that we will make big plays and
have big wins. We just needed to get back on track."
After Thomas scored his first touchdown, he let loose the "Schmoney" dance, which
includes hand waving and wiggles. Then he jogged over to the corner, the Black
Hole fans lustily booing him, and handed the football to his family. Many made the
trip from Stockton, Sacramento and San Jose. Thomas used to wake up at dawn
and drive from Stockton with his family to Raiders' games. He still remembers
playing catch in the parking lot.
He was open on Sunday, no cars or defenders around. On his 32-yard score, it
looked like the Raiders forgot that Thomas was an eligible receiver. It provided an
easy score, welcomed after his two-catch, two-target, 33-yard performance a week
ago. And there was a back story to that play.
"We have been working on that in practice. I got yelled at because I messed it up
every time," Thomas said. "To execute it the right way in the game was a nice way
to make up for it."
Green hopes to return against the Rams on Sunday. He provides the Broncos even
more balance in blocking, freeing Thomas to go from a decoy to a comforting target
for Peyton Manning.
"He's a tough matchup. There are multiple good offenses in this league that require
those types of talents, and Julius is tremendous," Broncos coach John Fox said.
"Peyton has a lot of confidence in him. He's gifted, a great young man who works
hard at it."
C.J. Anderson's dazzling run propels
Broncos to big win
By Troy E. Renck
The Denver Post
November 9, 2014
OAKLAND, calif — During game week, Broncos coaches arrive at Dove Valley at 5
a.m. They pour over game film, reconfigure lineups, find mismatches.
Here Sunday, on a simple dump pass to an emergency outlet, football provides a
reminder that sudden bursts of improvisation can trump intense preparation.
The play appeared ordinary. On third-and-eight at the 49-yard line, the Broncos'
offense in full hiccup, pressure greeted quarterback Peyton Manning. He flipped the
ball to running back C.J. Anderson, a paint-by-the-numbers checkdown to the left.
Then Anderson began coloring outside the lines.
In 11 seconds, covering 51 yards, he delivered the best play of this season, and,
frankly, of many Broncos' seasons.
"I am not the fastest guy. I am not the best at giving the one,two in the open field
like (Philadelphia's) LeSean McCoy," Anderson said. "I just try to get the most out
of my ability."
An unsettling beginning turned into Manning wearing a baseball cap by the fourth
quarter, a 41-17 thrashing of Oakland defined by Anderson's gallop.
Anderson caught the pass near midfield. He headed downhill, and turned the
Raiders into a slalom course. A first down became a potential touchdown when he
broke Khalil Mack's push tackle at his own 48-yard line and shed Charles Woodson's
flailing arm punch at the 46.
"That boy was hungry," raved Broncos defensive tackle Malik Jackson.
A long gain became breathtaking when Anderson put his foot in the turf at the 34-
yard line. Justin Ellis, Sio Moore and Miles Burris were in pursuit but lost the angle
in the madness. Anderson cut across the field from left to right, spanning more
ground than Derek Jeter fielding and flipping a misguided relay throw to erase
Jeremy Giambi at the plate in a memorable playoff moment in this stadium.
The scene represented a replay of what Broncos insist they see during closed
practices.
"He was balling today. But we know he can do that," cornerback Chris Harris said.
"The thing about C.J. is that it seems like he always makes somebody miss."
As Anderson looped toward the end zone, a convoy of teammates arrived. Linemen
Orlando Franklin and Manny Ramirez and receivers Demaryius Thomas and Wes
Welker shielded defenders as Anderson scooted inside the right pylon.
Anderson provided seven Raiders an opportunity to tackle him. Safety Larry Asante
had the last, best chance, but couldn't manage to even scrape Anderson on the
longest reception by a Broncos running back since Mike Anderson's catch and run in
2005.
"It happened so fast," said Anderson, who kept the football. "It was really special."
Such a run would resonate in the street or the playground. This meant more
because Anderson attended 11 Raiders' games growing up, making the 25-mile trip
from Vallejo, aptly coined "The City of Opportunity." He cheered the likes of Tyrone
Wheatley, Charlie Garner, Tim Brown, Rich Gannon, the names rolling quickly off
his tongue. He went to a Raiders' camp as a kid. When former Raiders punter
Shane Lechler visited Dove Valley with the Houston Texans, he recognized
Anderson from one of those clinics.
Anderson's parabolic run brought him full circle.
"I used to be the one sitting in those stands," Anderson said. "It was so fun and
enjoyable as a kid, hearing everything they were saying and yelling right along. I
was one of them."
What this means for Anderson becomes interesting. When the Broncos needed a
play, with Manning sputtering, Anderson caffeinated the offense. Montee Ball, who
began the season as the starter, is expected to return Sunday against the Rams,
and Ronnie Hillman has been Denver's most consistent performer on the ground.
But Anderson creates pause. The Broncos scored 35 consecutive points, sparked by
his run. By the fourth quarter, Miley Cyrus' "Party in the USA" replaced Black
Sabbath's "Iron Man," the Raiders left comfortably numb and winless.
"When did the momentum shift? It was that swing pass. When that running back
took it the house. Was that (Ronnie) Hillman or another runningback?" said Raiders
defensive end Justin Tuck. "It completely took the wind out of our sails."
Anderson received extra and early reps as Hillman battled a sore right ankle. The
former Cal star finished with 90 yards rushing on 13 carries and also had 73 yards
receiving. He's the seventh Bronco to reach 70 yards rushing and receiving in the
same game.
Anderson, a gregarious personality with a big smile, said the running backs were
challenged to make more plays, to gash the defense. His statistics defined his
effort, but the 51-yard run provided the defining imprint.
"Yeah, that's as fine a play as I have seen so far this season I have to tell you,"
Manning said. "I thought they had pretty good coverage. I didn't want to take a
sack there. It easily could have been a catch for minus two yards. The next thing
you know he breaks a tackle, and starts making guys miss. Truly incredible on his
part."
Broncos vs. Raiders: Highs, lows of
Denver’s Week 10 win
By Troy E. Renck
The Denver Post
November 9, 2014
A bad start to Sunday’s game (see: Peyton Manning’s two interceptions) quickly
turned into a rout, with Manning finishing with five touchdowns and C.J. Anderson
having one of his finest performances to date in a 41-17 Broncos win over the
Raiders. Here were the notable and not-so-notable moments from the Week 10
game in Oakland.
BESTS
C.J. A-OK: C.J. Anderson fought to get a uniform on game day earlier this season.
He delivered a 51-yard touchdown that wasn’t just the best play this season, but of
most Broncos’ seasons. He broke tackles down the sideline and cut back across the
entire field, shoving Denver ahead 13-10.
Running into a wall: The Broncos’ defense held the Raiders to 11 yards rushing in
the first half during a battery of three-and-out drives.
Warm it up Chris: Cornerback Chris Harris continues to show why he’s one of the
Broncos’ best players. He locked down receivers and recovered a fumble.
WORSTS
Line it up: The Broncos used the halfway point of the season and a Paul Cornick
shoulder injury as a reason to reshuffle the offensive line. Will Montgomery started
at center, Manny Ramirez moved from center to right guard and Louis Vasquez
shifted from right guard to right tackle. The running game returned, but the
Broncos’ linemen had four penalties in the red zone.
Manning mortal: For a brief stretch during the first half, Manning made mistakes,
throwing two interceptions and nearly a third, and four of his passes were
deflected.
THUMBS UP, THUMBS DOWN
Offense: A suspect start with two Peyton Manning interceptions changed quickly
because of C.J. Anderson. The backup running back romped and stomped for a 51-
yard score after taking a short pass from Manning. The play siphoned the life out of
a hostile crowd. The Broncos never glanced back, and Manning delivering four more
touchdown passes — two each to Emmanuel Sanders and Julius Thomas — before
exiting after three quarters. Grade: A
Defense: Looking nothing like the confused unit in New England, the Broncos’ D
swarmed the ball, creating turnovers and general havoc. Rookie Bradley Roby
intercepted a pass for the second consecutive game, and Chris Harris recovered a
fumble. Both plays set up quick scores. Grade: A+
Special Teams: Isaiah Burse showed an improved burst playing in front of friends
and family. However, he could have called for a fair catch to create a field goal
chance at the end of the half. Corey Nelson was called for a blocking-in-the-back
penalty. Brandon McManus, with no margin for error at this point, converted two
chip shot field goals. Grade: B
Coaching: The Broncos responded to their worst loss since the Super Bowl with
their most dominant performance this season. It came against a winless team, but
the communication in pass coverage improved, and coordinator Adam Gase wisely
fed Anderson the ball when he started rumbling. Grade: A
GAME BALLS
C.J. Anderson: Turned game with spectacular long TD.
Chris Harris: Plastic coverage and pounced on a turnover.
Julius Thomas: Tight end back on record pace with 12 touchdowns.
Saunders: Broncos' local audience big,
but not NFL's biggest
By Dusty Saunders
The Denver Post
November 10, 2014
A question for fans who have orange and blue wardrobes:
Which NFL city has the largest local audience during games?
For Broncos fans, the answer seems logical. It's Denver by a large margin,
considering all of the local print and electronic coverage the team receives.
Actually, at the midway point of the 2014 season, Denver ranks third behind New
Orleans and Green Bay (Milwaukee), according to Nielsen and NFL Network figures.
The numbers: 45.2 audience rating for New Orleans, 42.8 for Green Bay
(Milwaukee) and 42.1 for Denver. A rating represents a percentage of households in
a given area tuned to a particular program from the total available in the area.
The Broncos have had audience shares of more than 70 percent during the first
eight games, meaning that nearly two-thirds of the local TV households are actually
viewing the games.
Denver has nearly 1.6 million TV homes.
Other national ratings figures in the top five at midseason: Seattle (40.4) and
Pittsburgh (37.6).
Dallas, once the home of "America's team," is in 11th place with a 36.6 audience
rating.
The smallest TV audience? Oakland (9.9 rating).
New York, the nation's largest TV market, has lost faith in the Giants (15.1) and
Jets (12.1) They rank 30th and 31st in the 32-team league, just ahead of the
Raiders.
To answer an often-asked question: Nielsen, with its sophisticated electronic know-
how, has not found a way to provide sports audience ratings in bars, restaurants
and personalized viewing.
Nationally, the NFL, at the half-way point, is en route to its most successful season
ever in audience figures.
Six NFL telecasts have averaged more than 27 million viewers, compared with three
games at this time last season.
The most-watched TV games this season: Cowboys vs. Seahawks on Fox (30
million), followed by Broncos vs. Patriots on CBS (29.1 million).
The Broncos are a big hit nationally, playing in five of the of the 10 most-watched
games.
The other four: Broncos vs. Seahawks on CBS (27.3 million), Broncos vs. Chiefs on
CBS (25 million), Broncos vs. 49ers on NBC (23.8 million) and Broncos vs. Colts on
NBC (23.8 million).
Prime time continues to be fertile NFL territory. NBC's Sunday night schedule shows
an overall 21.4 audience rating, making it the most-viewed series in prime-time
television.
ESPN's "Monday Night Football" has an average audience of 13.9 million viewers,
compared with 13.4 million at the midway point a year ago.
The CBS-NFL Network package led all prime-time programming on Thursday night.
Perhaps the most telling statistic: All NFL games have won their time periods
against all programming.
And here's a reason baseball no longer is America's pastime:
Fox's telecast of World Series Game 7 had 23.7 million viewers in prime time —
fewer than the network's Broncos-Seahawks battle on a Sunday afternoon.
Preview: Broncos shake up O-Line vs.
Raiders; Montee Ball inactive
By Troy E. Renck and Mike Klis
The Denver Post
November 9, 2014
After a tough loss to the Patriots in Week 9, the Broncos (6-2) have decided to
shake up their offensive line for their Week 10 game in Oakland against the Raiders
(0-8).
INACTIVES
Running back Montee Ball will be among the seven players on the Broncos' inactive
list for the game Sunday against the Oakland Raiders.
It will be the fifth game Ball has missed because of a strained groin. Ball opened
the season as the Broncos' starting running back but an appendectomy in training
camp and the strained groin has set him back. He has just 172 yards rushing on
3.1 yards per carry.
There is a decent chance Ball will return to play next week at St. Louis.
Ronnie Hillman will be the Broncos' starting running back against the Raiders. The
question is who will be his primary backup. Juwan Thompson, an undrafted rookie,
has been the Broncos' No. 2 back the previous four games but second-year player
C.J. Anderson was the most effective back last week at New England.
The other six inactives for Denver: right tackle Paul Cornick (shoulder), linebacker
Nate Irving (knee), running back Kapri Bibbs, cornerback Tony Carter, tight end
Virgil Green and tackle Michael Schofield.
Meanwhile, Broncos guard Ben Garland, a former Air Force Academy standout, will
dress and play in his first NFL game Sunday as the nation celebrates military
veterans this weekend and through Tuesday.
In previous games, Will Montgomery was the Broncos' backup center/guard, but he
is starting Sunday.
That Garland gets his chance as the NFL celebrates the military this weekend is a
happy coincidence.
The Oakland Raiders are without three of their top four cornerbacks Sunday.
Starter Carlos Rogers (knee) and backups TJ Carrie (ankle) and Chimdi Chekwa
(hamstring) are all inactive with injuries Sunday. DJ Hayden will likely start
alongside Tarell Brown with Neiko Thorpe and rookie Keith McGill playing as
backups.
The other inactives for Oakland are quarterback Matt McGloin, tight end David
Ausberry and offensive linemen Gabe Jackson and Tony Bergstrom.
LINEUP CHANGES
Will Montgomery and a step to the right.
The Broncos are mixing up their dance partners along their offensive line for their
AFC West game Sunday against the Oakland Raiders.
Montgomery, a starter the previous 3 1/2 seasons for Mike Shanahan in
Washington, will be Peyton Manning's new snapper.
As Montgomery goes in, Manny Ramirez will move from center to right guard and
Louis Vasquez, an all-pro right guard, shifts from right guard to right tackle. Read
more
WHO HAS THE EDGE?
When the Broncos run:
Ronnie Hillman walked out of the tunnel two hours before game time and sprinted
through the cold. It was his only long run against the Patriots, rendered ineffective
by poor blocking. Hillman averaged 94.3 yards in the previous three games. He
finished with 16 last Sunday, meaning another tweak on the offensive line should
not come as a surprise. This becomes an important week to secure the starting job
with Montee Ball's return looming. Edge: Broncos
When the Raiders run:
They rarely run, but when they do, it's not spectacular. They rush 32 percent of the
time, the third lowest percentage in 20 years, according to the Associated Press.
The star formerly known as Darren McFadden has 358 yards rushing. The Broncos'
rush defense should pad its stats in this matchup. Denver did slow the Patriots'
rush attack. Edge: Broncos
When the Broncos pass:
Peyton Manning throwing 50-plus times predicts a loss. The Broncos need chunk
plays, quality over quantity. Oakland's secondary continues to deal with injuries.
Manning will find mismatches, not unlike in the Chargers' game. Demaryius Thomas
and Emmanuel Sanders are twin threats, but the passing game could use more
balance with additional targets for Wes Welker and Julius Thomas. Edge: Broncos
When the Raiders pass:
Raiders coach Tony Sparano says Derek Carr is a franchise quarterback. He throws
rockets and demonstrates a high football IQ. The Raiders, however, do him no
favors by forcing him to throw on nearly every down. Star left tackle Donald Penn
saves Carr from repeated punishment. It would be a surprise if DeMarcus Ware
doesn't register at least two sacks going against the right tackle. Edge: Broncos
Special teams:
Manning's brilliance camouflages weaknesses. He shouldn't have to play well for the
Broncos to win. How about a short field for him once in awhile? Or a clutch kick?
Britton Colquitt continues to perform, his dropped snap last week notwithstanding.
The Broncos need more from punt returner Isaiah Burse, who has been close to
breaking loose. And Brandon McManus treads on a slippery slope, potentially
another miss from becoming an ex-Broncos kicker. He ranks near the bottom in
accuracy. He is six-for-nine, and has yet to make a kick of more than 50 yards.
Edge: Raiders
SCOUTING REPORT
1. Find Julius Thomas
Peyton Manning insisted he 'stunk' against the Patriots. He made a single awful
pass. The Broncos' offense became one-dimensional, and the passing attack
compromised. Julius Thomas needs to be more involved in the aerial attack. It
seems futile to leave him into block when he doesn't do it well enough to warrant
the assignment. Even if Virgil Green doesn't come back, the Broncos should tweak
the formations to get Thomas back in the mix.
2. Create turnovers
The Raiders run the ball less than anyone in the league. The Broncos own the best
run defense. Oakland starts a rookie quarterback. If ever a game set up to blitz and
create takeways, this is it. The secondary seemed so bent on disguising coverages
last Sunday, the players confused themselves. The Broncos need a 7-1 finish. For
that to happen, the defense must turn its swarming nature into turnovers.
3. Explore depth
Good teams win games they are supposed to win. The Broncos should jump out to
an early lead, allowing for important snaps for role players such as linebackers
Steven Johnson, Lamin Barrow, receiver Cody Latimer and possibly Montee Ball,
though it's a push that he will be ready to return. The Broncos were exposed on
special teams because of injuries, but should improve. Kicker Brandon McManus
needs to do better as the ground beneath him is becoming quicksand.
HOW TO WATCH
Date, Time, Location: Sunday, Nov. 9, 2:05 p.m. MT, O.co Coliseum, Oakland,
Calif.
TV: CBS, NFL RedZone
Announcers: Greg Gumbel (play-by-play), Trent Green (color commentary), Evan
Washburn (sideline reporting)
Radio: Denver: 850 AM KOA, 103.5 FM The Fox; Oakland: 95.7 The Game
Online: NFL Game Rewind (not live)
Odds: The Broncos opened as 10.5-point favorites vs. the Raiders, according to
Oddshark
Broncos shake up offensive line for Week
10 game vs. Raiders
By Mike Klis
The Denver Post
November 9, 2014
OAKLAND — Will Montgomery and a step to the right.
The Broncos are mixing up their dance partners along their offensive line for their
AFC West game here Sunday against the Oakland Raiders.
Montgomery, a starter the previous 3 1/2 seasons for Mike Shanahan in
Washington, will be Peyton Manning’s new snapper.
As Montgomery goes in, Manny Ramirez will move from center to right guard and
Louis Vasquez, an all-pro right guard, shifts from right guard to right tackle.
Paul Cornick, who started at right tackle the previous three games, will not play
against the Raiders because of a shoulder injury that occurred during the Broncos’
practice Wednesday. The re-alignment up front had taken place during the week of
practice before Cornick suffered his injury.
Essentially, this new offensive alignment amounts to Montgomery replacing
Cornick. The Broncos have been dissatisfied with their running game as a whole
and right tackle play in particular.
Even with Ronnie Hillman getting two 100-yard rushing games, the Broncos rank
26th in the league with 3.7 yards per carry.
The hope is that Montgomery, 31, can bring a little more agility to the Broncos’
offensive line, particularly in the second level. Once a walk-on defensive tackle at
Virginia Tech, Montgomery was selected in the seventh round of the 2006 draft by
John Fox’s Carolina Panthers.
Montgomery was cut by the Panthers in 2007, then played sparingly with the New
York Jets before catching on with Washington in 2008.
With Montgomery at center, Ramirez will move to his more natural guard position.
Ramirez played center for the first time last year, starting all 19 games including
postseason, for the Broncos in 2013 and the first eight this year.
He was a college teammate of Vasquez and receiver Wes Welker at Texas Tech.
Vasquez is a 6-foot-5, 335-pound guard who played one game at right tackle last
season in place of the injured Orlando Franklin.
By moving Vasquez to right tackle, the Broncos bypassed the options of re-inserting
early season starter Chris Clark, or moving Franklin from left guard back to the
position he played in his first three NFL seasons.
Clark, who played well at left tackle last season, started the Broncos’ first five
games this year at right tackle.
Raiders lose 15th straight game, 41-17
to Broncos
By Josh Dubow
Associated Press
November 9, 2014
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — All the good work the Oakland Raiders did on defense in
the first 26 minutes was erased in an instant when C.J. Anderson broke three
tackles and weaved through the entire unit on the way to a long touchdown.
Peyton Manning followed that score with another four touchdown passes on the
next four drives and the Denver Broncos handed the Raiders their 15th straight
loss, 41-17 on Sunday.
"There seems to be a play every game that happens to us and then everything kind
of snowballs from there," safety Charles Woodson said. "There were a couple
missed tackles, mine included, which I feel like, man, 'I'm part of the play that
really turned the game around.' That's one I'll be thinking about all night."
Manning had looked rather ordinary before that touchdown, throwing two
interceptions and failing to lead Denver (7-2) into the end zone.
But he was his usual self after it, throwing two passes to Julius Thomas and two
more to Emmanuel Sanders as the Broncos rebounded from last week's loss at New
England by beating up on the Raiders (0-9).
Manning threw for 340 yards and extended his record with at least two touchdown
passes to 15 straight games.
"Obviously, he adjusted," Raiders defensive lineman Justin Tuck said. "That's why,
if he is not the best quarterback to ever play this game, he's definitely one of the
best. He adjusted and we weren't able to adjust well enough to keep up."
Anderson, who grew up in nearby Vallejo and attended college at California,
finished with 90 yards rushing and 73 receiving. Demaryius Thomas had 11 catches
for 108 yards.
There was almost nothing positive from the Raiders in their first blowout loss since
interim coach Tony Sparano replaced the fired Dennis Allen after four games.
Derek Carr threw for 192 yards on 47 attempts, most of the production coming on
a meaningless touchdown drive in the closing minutes. He also had two
interceptions. The running game was limited to 30 yards on 15 carries and the
defense was completely overmatched after a spirited start.
"They're looking for the gold at the end of the rainbow and it hasn't been there,"
Sparano said. "We have to stay the course and believe in the things that we're
doing and we're getting better as a football team. I know this is not an indicator of
that."
The game — and season — could be summed up in one play for Oakland early in
the third quarter. Carr was under pressure when he dumped off a pass to offensive
lineman Khalif Barnes. Barnes looked shocked when he caught the ball, but ran
with it despite an ineligible receiver. Malik Jackson knocked the ball loose and Chris
Harris Jr. recovered at the 18.
Carr said he expected running back Darren McFadden to be in that spot so he threw
the ball without looking.
"It's just one of those things, you know where your guy's at, you react," Carr said.
"Everything is happening so fast. It's just one of those things. Obviously, where
we're at right now, it just looks ugly, but it's just one of those things that happens."
That set up a 10-yard touchdown pass to Julius Thomas that put the Broncos up
28-10 and in control.
Manning struggled early, throwing an interception on the second play from
scrimmage to DJ Hayden. That set up a 41-yard field goal by Sebastian Janikowski
that gave the Raiders their first lead against the Broncos since Tim Tebow was the
Denver quarterback in 2011.
The Broncos then got field goals on a pair of drives inside the Oakland 20 as
Manning struggled to get into rhythm. The problems for Manning got worse when
Tuck made an athletic interception, jumping to tip a pass and then catching it
himself to give Oakland the ball at the 12.
Carr capitalized with a 5-yard pass to Brice Butler that put the Raiders up 10-6.
The game quickly changed after Carr was intercepted by Bradley Roby on a poor
pass over the middle.
On third-and-8, Manning threw a short pass to Anderson, who immediately broke a
tackle from Miles Burris. He then ran attempts by Khalil Mack and Woodson on his
way to the end zone.
"Just a truly incredible effort play on his part to take a potentially catch for a loss
and turn it into a 50-something-yard touchdown," Manning said. "That really gave
us a spark."
After a three-and-out by Oakland, Manning added a 32-yard touchdown pass to
Sanders that put Denver up 20-10 at the half.
NOTES: The Raiders failed to gain a first down rushing for the first time since 2006.
... Hayden (groin) and RT Menelik Watson (head) left the game with injuries.
Manning's 5 TDs lead Broncos past
Raiders 41-17
By Josh Dubow
Associated Press
November 9, 2014
OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Interceptions, batted passes and a missed open receiver in
the end zone. Peyton Manning looked rather ordinary for the first 26 minutes.
That all changed with one short screen pass to C.J. Anderson that turned into a
spectacular touchdown and helped make the game a rout.
Anderson's 51-yard catch-and-run started a run of five touchdown passes in five
drives for Manning and the Denver Broncos overcame a shaky start to hand the
Oakland Raiders their 15th straight loss, 41-17 on Sunday.
"Just a truly incredible effort play on his part to take a potentially catch for a loss
and turn it into a 50-something-yard touchdown," Manning said. "That really gave
us a spark."
Manning threw a pair of early interceptions that put Denver (7-2) in a hole against
the NFL's only winless team. Anderson got them out of it when he broke three
tackles and weaved through the entire Oakland defense on his touchdown late in
the first half.
"It easily could have been maybe a catch for minus-2 yards," Manning said. "Next
thing you know he breaks a tackle and I don't know how many guys he made
miss."
Manning added two TD passes to Julius Thomas and two more to Emmanuel
Sanders as the Broncos rebounded from last week's loss at New England by beating
up on the Raiders (0-9).
Manning threw for 340 yards and extended his record with at least two touchdown
passes to 15 straight games.
"All week we had a bad taste in our mouths because that Patriots game was
definitely embarrassing," Sanders said. "It was something that we don't want to go
through again, obviously, in the rest of the season."
Anderson, who grew up in nearby Vallejo and attended college at California,
finished with 90 yards rushing and 73 receiving. Demaryius Thomas had 11 catches
for 108 yards.
There was almost nothing positive from the Raiders in their first blowout loss since
interim coach Tony Sparano replaced the fired Dennis Allen after four games.
Derek Carr threw for 192 yards on 47 attempts, most of the production coming on
a meaningless touchdown drive in the closing minutes. He also had two
interceptions. The running game was limited to 30 yards on 15 carries and the
defense was completely overmatched after a spirited start.
"They're looking for the gold at the end of the rainbow and it hasn't been there,"
Sparano said. "We have to stay the course and believe in the things that we're
doing and we're getting better as a football team. I know this is not an indicator of
that."
The game — and season — could be summed up in one play for Oakland early in
the third quarter. Carr was under pressure when he dumped off a pass to offensive
lineman Khalif Barnes. Barnes looked shocked when he caught the ball, but ran
with it despite an ineligible receiver. Malik Jackson knocked the ball loose and Chris
Harris Jr. recovered at the 18.
That set up a 10-yard touchdown pass to Julius Thomas that put the Broncos up
28-10 and in control.
Manning struggled early, throwing an interception on the second play from
scrimmage to DJ Hayden. That set up a 41-yard field goal by Sebastian Janikowski
that gave the Raiders their first lead against the Broncos since Tim Tebow was the
Denver quarterback in 2011.
The Broncos then got field goals on a pair of drives inside the Oakland 20 as
Manning struggled to get into rhythm. The problems for Manning got worse when
defensive end Justin Tuck made an athletic interception, jumping to tip a pass and
then catching it himself to give Oakland the ball at the 12.
Carr capitalized with a 5-yard pass to Brice Butler that put the Raiders up 10-6.
The game quickly changed after Carr was intercepted by Bradley Roby on a poor
pass over the middle.
On third-and-8, Manning threw a short pass to Anderson, who immediately broke a
tackle from Miles Burris. He then ran attempts by Khalil Mack and Charles Woodson
on his way to the end zone.
"There seems to be a play every game that happens to us and then everything kind
of snowballs from there," Woodson said. "There were a couple missed tackles, mine
included, which I feel like, man, 'I'm part of the play that really turned the game
around.' That's one I'll be thinking about all night."
After a three-and-out by Oakland, Manning added a 32-yard touchdown pass to
Sanders that put Denver up 20-10 at the half.
NOTES: Julius Thomas tied Randy Moss (2007) and three others for most
touchdown catches through nine games with 12. He is the first tight end in NFL
history with back-to-back 12-touchdown seasons. ... Hayden (groin) and RT
Menelik Watson (head) left the game with injuries.
CJ Anderson, Fantasy Star
By Eddie Pells
Associated Press
November 9, 2014
C.J. Anderson began the season as Denver's third-string running back.
On Sunday, he turned into a first-string fantasy star for the few who had him in the
lineup. Only 0.6 percent of players in ESPN's leagues had him as a starter.
The second-year player, undrafted last season out of California, returned to the Bay
Area and piled up numbers against the Raiders.
Getting touches while subbing for Ronnie Hillman, who is starting in place of injured
Montee Ball, Anderson had 90 yards rushing , along with 73 yards receiving that
included a screen pass he turned into a 51-yard touchdown.
The TD, on a pass in which Anderson looked trapped a few yards behind the line of
scrimmage, started a five-touchdown barrage by Peyton Manning and the Broncos
offense, and helped turn a 10-6 deficit into a 41-17 rout.
``That really gave us a spark,'' Manning said.
It's better when it takes a village for
victorious Broncos
By Jeff Legwold
ESPN.com
November 9, 2014
OAKLAND, Calif. – In a week that opened with John Elway speaking in a team
meeting and ended with the Denver Broncos thumping the Oakland Raiders 41-17
at O.co Coliseum with a five-touchdown day from quarterback Peyton Manning,
Elway's hope to have a team that doesn't need Manning "to feel like he has to do
everything" was on display.
“I think it’s one of those things when John Elway talks to us, we know he speaks
from experience," said cornerback Chris Harris Jr. “I think he just let us know
where things stand. It was good and bad, not just bad, but we got routed in New
England and we shouldn’t get routed by anybody. [Sunday] we just wanted to get it
all back together."
The Broncos defense held the Raiders to 192 yards, with 97 of those yards coming
on the Raiders' final possession of the game. The Raiders’ three longest plays of the
game came on that drive, and until that possession, the Broncos had allowed just
one play for double-digit yardage – a 10-yard Derek Carr pass to James Jones in
the first quarter.
Rookie cornerback Bradley Roby made his second interception of the year and T.J.
Ward had an interception. The Broncos’ No. 1 run defense feasted on the Raiders’
struggling offense, especially after the Broncos took a 20-10 lead just before
halftime.
The Raiders finished with 30 rushing yards on 15 carries. And with safety Quinton
Carter ’s return, the Broncos were able to use a dime package (six defensive backs)
on long-yardage situations that could muscle up when the Raiders tried to run the
ball against it.
Ward moved down to play what was essentially a weakside linebacker spot, next to
Brandon Marshall, and Carter played at safety deep. Roby played outside and Harris
moved into the slot.
It’s how the Broncos want that grouping to look and how they want it to play.
“We had everybody step up," Miller said. “We didn’t play the way we wanted, the
way we know we can last week. We wanted to get it going again; we want to play
with no drop-off and that takes all the guys -- offense, defense and special teams."
On offense it was running back C.J. Anderson, who has been the No. 3 back at
times this season. With Montee Ball still out and Ronnie Hillman having struggled a
bit and looking a bit dinged early – he was jogging for the Broncos trainers behind
the bench in the first half – Anderson seized opportunity with 163 total yards.
Will Montgomery started his first game at center for the Broncos and Emmanuel
Sanders and Julius Thomas finished with two touchdowns each in the it’s-always-
somebody’s-turn passing attack. Sanders did not have a touchdown catch in the
Broncos’ first five games; he now has had six in the last four games.
Julius Thomas now has as many touchdown catches (12) as he did all of last season
and Demaryius Thomas had his sixth consecutive 100-yard receiving game.
“It takes everybody," Demaryius Thomas said. “We didn’t win last week because we
didn’t get enough from everybody; we didn’t do enough to win that game. That’s
what we know. We need everybody all the time; it could be anybody’s day."
California native C.J. Anderson propels
Broncos to rout
By Jeff Legwold
ESPN.com
November 9, 2014
OAKLAND, Calif. -- The moment C.J. Anderson turned something that looked like it
was going to be bad into something exceptionally good -- something that even had
Peyton Manning shaking his head and smiling -- Anderson knew what he had done
to most of the faithful in O.co Coliseum.
He knew he had broken hearts and crushed spirits in the Denver Broncos' 41-17
win over the Oakland Raiders. Anderson knew because he used to sit in those seats
and scream the same chants. As a native of nearby Vallejo, Anderson resided in
Raider Nation for most of his childhood.
"Just sitting in the stands, like a bunch of the kids, a bunch of the fans [Sunday],"
Anderson said, "when I got to see Tyrone Wheatley make plays, Charlie Garner,
Jerry Rice, Tim Brown, Zack Crockett; [to] be on the same field as they played on
and have a good game was great."
A good game? How about being the player who made the game-saving catch?
Anderson's 51-yard catch-and-run for a second-quarter touchdown now has a spot
at, or near, the top of the list of important plays in whatever becomes of the
regular season for the Broncos. Because until that play the Broncos looked like they
left their offensive mojo in Denver.
Manning had two interceptions, four passes batted down, had been called for an
intentional grounding and the Broncos were losing 10-6 to the winless Raiders.
"That was as fine a play as I’ve seen so far this season, I have to tell you," Manning
said. "Thought they had pretty good coverage on the play across the board … felt
like I was feeling somebody kind of close to me, didn’t want to have a sack
certainly in that situation. It easily could have been a catch for minus-2 yards or
something. Next thing you know he breaks the tackle, I don’t know how many guys
he made miss, but … just truly an incredible effort play on his part."
Rookie cornerback Bradley Roby, who snared an interception with 3 minutes, 30
seconds to go in the first half, shook the Broncos awake a bit, giving Denver the
ball on the Broncos’ 47-yard line. Ronnie Hillman went for 2 yards on first down.
Manning then threw an incompletion.
"Our running backs coach, Coach [Eric] Studesville, said this week, that there are
plays out there for us," Anderson said.
Facing a third-and-8 and under some duress after the snap, Manning turned toward
Anderson, who had not yet finished his route, and lofted what looked to be another
incompletion. But Anderson snatched the ball out of the air with only his right hand.
He tucked it away quickly, making Raiders linebacker Miles Burris miss.
Then Anderson made linebacker Sio Moore miss as he turned up the Raiders'
sideline. Then Charles Woodson arrived slightly too late, sliding down Anderson’s
back. Raiders defensive tackle Justin Ellis was also late to shove him out of bounds.
And as Anderson, who finished with 163 total yards, cut back across the field,
Raiders cornerback Carlos Rogers missed another tackle.
"Third-and-forever and he came out and made a play, took it all the way," Broncos
wide receiver Demaryius Thomas said. "Some people were surprised, he made
about five, six people miss. He tries to tell everybody, I’m never going to go 80, but
I’ll run somebody over … We needed that. Once I saw him cut back … I knew it was
going to be a touchdown."
"Once I saw [Thomas] and Wes [Welker] go flying by me, I was like this has a good
chance, this could happen," Anderson said.
From that point the roof caved in on the Raiders. Justin Tuck said "it took the wind
out of our sails and we weren’t able to get it back." The Broncos scored one more
touchdown before the end of the first half to go with three more in the third quarter
to leave with another rout in hand.
"That play right there, that’s one busts everything out," linebacker Von Miller said.
"We needed a play and C.J., he gave it to us."
Demaryius Thomas doesn't want to know
about streak
By Jeff Legwold
ESPN.com
November 9, 2014
ALAMEDA, Calif. -- Observed and heard in the locker room after the Broncos’ 41-17
victory over Oakland:
Hot receiver: With 108 yards receiving in the win, Broncos wide receiver Demaryius
Thomas has six consecutive 100-yard receiving games. Thomas has 861 yards
receiving during the streak and 1,002 yards for the season. And he apparently
doesn’t want to jinx any of it.
Asked following the game about the streak, Thomas simply smiled and said: “I
don’t think about it, I don’t want to talk about it, I’m just glad we won.’’
Thomas is due to be an unrestricted free agent following the season and appears to
be building leverage week-by-week.
Working nine to five: Quarterback Peyton Manning had his ninth career five-
touchdown game, giving him yet another NFL record. It was his first five-touchdown
game of the season and his third since he signed with the Broncos in 2012 (he had
two last season). Manning also had his 15th consecutive regular-season game with
at least two touchdown passes. He hasn’t been held to just one touchdown pass in
a game since Nov. 17 last season in a win over the Chiefs. And Sunday was
Manning’s 48th consecutive game with a touchdown pass, passing Johnny Unitas
for second-longest streak all-time (Drew Brees has the record with 54 in a row).
“He only wants to win, but every time he plays there is a record he might set,’’
Thomas said.
New look nets TD: Tight end Julius Thomas took a fourth-and-1 pass for 32 yards
and touchdown in the third quarter. The Broncos knew it would be a bit of a
different look for them, but Thomas said it hadn’t gone that well in practice this
past week. But with 6 minutes, 59 seconds left in the third quarter and the Broncos
at the Raiders’ 32-yard line, Manning rushed the offense to the line of scrimmage in
a look where they have often run the ball. Instead, they threw and Thomas was
free.
“Kind of faked the run, Julius did a good job kind of selling the run,’’ Manning said.
“… We were looking for the first down, we didn’t think it would a touchdown.’’
RB carries: The Broncos reported no injuries following the game, but running back
Ronnie Hillman did briefly jog back and forth behind the Broncos’ bench in the
second quarter with the team’s trainers keeping an eye on him. Hillman did return,
but with C.J. Anderson having the hot hand, Hillman carried the ball just twice in
the second half.
Rapid Reaction: Denver Broncos
By Jeff Legwold
ESPN.com
November 9, 2014
OAKLAND, Calif. -- A few thoughts from the Denver Broncos' 41-17 win over the
Oakland Raiders in O.co Coliseum.
What it means: For almost two quarters, the Broncos looked as if the hangover
from the loss to the New England Patriots was still in the offensive huddle. Peyton
Manning threw two early interceptions and had at least four passes batted at the
line of scrimmage to go with an intentional grounding penalty. The Broncos hung in
with defense and finally kick-started things with a 51-yard catch-and-run
touchdown from running back C.J. Anderson. Denver closed the first half with two
touchdowns in the last 2:44 before halftime and won going away, pulling several
starters when the fourth quarter started, to keep a grip on first place in the AFC
West.
Stock watch: The Broncos, in search of more consistency in the run game, have
changed things up on the offensive line and tried a variety of players running the
ball. On Sunday, Anderson tossed his hat in the proverbial ring with a touchdown
that was his career-long play to go with 90 yards rushing. Anderson showed the
kind of physicality and explosiveness the Broncos had been looking for.
Jury is still out: The Broncos made three changes to the offensive line for Sunday’s
game when they moved Louis Vasquez from right guard to right tackle, shifted
Manny Ramirez from center to right guard and put Will Montgomery in at center. A
Raiders defense that was fairly gassed by midway through the third quarter may
not be the best gauge, but the trial run with the new look came with mixed results.
Oakland's pass-rushers got pressure on Manning early on. Manning had four passes
batted down and two interceptions. The starting linemen were flagged four times,
including three false starts, before the fourth quarter was two minutes old.
Game ball: Manning had the ninth five-touchdown game of his career -- and he did
it in three quarters. Demaryius Thomas had his sixth consecutive 100-yard
receiving game and Julius Thomas had a two-touchdown game, but it was Anderson
who made the right-place, right-time play to shake the game loose for the Broncos
as they turned what had the look of a road stumble in the first half into a rout.
What’s next: The Broncos (7-2) will make their third consecutive road trip as they
head to St. Louis to face the Rams in an early game next Sunday. It’s a rare 1 p.m.
ET kickoff for the Broncos (just their second this year), and they haven’t always
looked their best in recent seasons in the early time slot. The Rams, having seen
what the Raiders did against the Broncos' offensive front, figure to aggressively
rush Manning.
Broncos inactives against Raiders
By Jeff Legwold
ESPN.com
November 9, 2014
ALAMEDA, Calif. -- The Denver Broncos' game-day inactives Sunday included
running back Montee Ball and right tackle Paul Cornick.
Ball, who practiced on a limited basis this past week, may have a chance to play
next Sunday against the St. Louis Rams. Cornick practiced only on Wednesday and
he was limited in that practice.
He was held out both Thursday and Friday. The Broncos were slated to move him
out of the starting lineup even if Cornick had not been injured.
Linebacker Nate Irving, who suffered a sprained right MCL against the New England
Patriots last Sunday and expected to miss several weeks, was also among the
inactives.
The rest of the Broncos' inactives against the Raiders are: RB Kapri Bibbs, CB Tony
Carter, TE Virgil Green and T Michael Schofield.
Broncos to hold Montee Ball out
against Raiders
By Jeff Legwold
ESPN.com
November 9, 2014
ALAMEDA, Calif. -- The Denver Broncos like what they saw from running back
Montee Ball this past week, just not enough to put Ball in uniform for Sunday’s
game against the Oakland Raiders.
Ball was slated to be among the Broncos’ seven game-day inactives against the
Raiders. About three hours before kickoff at O.co Coliseum, Ball was running pass
routes for practice squad quarterback Zac Dysert. Dysert routinely goes through a
pre-game workout with quarterbacks coach Gregg Knapp each week.
Ball looking comfortable running and did some cuts as he ran. But this past week
was the first time Ball had practiced with the team since suffering a right groin
injury Oct. 5 against the Arizona Cardinals.
Ball took part in practice on a limited basis Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
After Friday’s practice, Broncos head coach John Fox was asked if he liked what he
saw from Ball during the week and said: “Definitely. I think he reshaped his body a
bit. He did have an earlier issue with an appendectomy. He’s had some time here to
get back to the weight and condition where he wanted to be, and that’s been a
positive."
The Broncos believe if he can practice fully at some point this coming week that Ball
would have a chance to be in uniform for next Sunday’s game against the St. Louis
Rams.
Ball has said when “they clear me to come back, I’m going to be ready to be back
100 percent." Ball also said last week that he’s down from 224 pounds at the time
of his injury to 212 pounds, far closer to the 214 pounds he weighed at the 2013
scouting combine.
“I feel great, feel like I’m quicker to the hole, quicker with the ball," Ball said last
week. Right tackle Paul Cornick, who started the last three games and did not
practice Thursday or Friday because of a shoulder injury, was also expected to be a
game-day active.
Bell: At NFL's command center, reviews
must be right
By Jarrett Bell
USAToday.com
November 10, 2014
NEW YORK – "Fumble!"
The voice, belonging to replay technician Jay Manahan, pierced through the NFL's
command center late Sunday afternoon with the urgency that fit the moment.
Ahmad Brooks had just slapped the football out of Drew Brees' hand at the
Mercedes-Benz Superdome. It was overtime.
The game that might save the San Francisco 49ers season hinged on the call, which
would either confirm the call on the field of a fumble or reverse it. If the video
evidence showed Brees' arm was moving forward with a pass, it would have been
ruled incomplete.
Dean Blandino, the NFL's vice president of officiating, and senior officiating director
Al Riveron rushed over to the bank of monitors carrying the game. Riveron quickly
put on a headset, which allowed instant communication with referee Bill Vinovich
and the replay official at the Dome.
"Let's stop it," Riveron said, flatly.
Then Blandino chimed in, with even more resolve: "Stop the game! Stop the
game!"
While roots of the NFL's use of replay can be traced to 1986, this is the first season
the decisions are being made from a centralized location – as is the case for Major
League Baseball and the National Hockey League -- rather than by the referee at
the stadium.
So as 70,000-plus fans at the Superdome more than 1,300 miles away waited,
along with millions of TV viewers, the supervisors calmly went to work on the fifth
floor of NFL headquarters in midtown Manhattan.
They had shots from four angles that could be reviewed. The images were frozen on
one of the four monitors at the station, the one that displayed the computer
software designed to arrange such options. With a tap of the touchscreen, Riveron
selected the shot chosen for further review.
"Nothing else came in, right?" Blandino asked Manahan, a staffer in the officiating
department.
After getting a clear look at the play in slow motion – ironically, the 49ers lost a
close game at the Superdome last year when a controversial roughing the passer
call on Brooks extended the winning drive – Blandino confirmed the fumble.
"It stands," he said.
Then Riveron informed Vinkovich, via the headset.
"We're going to go with 'stands,' Vinny," Riveron said.
The retired McNally, the former NFL officiating director called the "father of instant
replay" would be proud of the efficiency at work on several instances on Sunday at
the NFL's version of NASA Control.
There's no doubt that a centralized location can work, with the technicians
monitoring the games, flagging the plays and setting up the video clips for Blandino
or Riveron – and in some case both – making the final ruling.
I saw this happen repeatedly on Sunday, and observed a well-oiled machine.
It's no wonder that the games are shorter this season – averaging 3:06:23 through
nine weeks, even with the extra flags from the points of emphasis, compared to
3:08:36 last year – with the supervising officials never more than a few feet away
from seeing a replay.
Heading into Week 10, there were 221 reviews initiated by replay officials and
coaches challenges, plus 54 scoring plays and 66 turnovers reviewed, in 134
games. Those numbers are comparable to the past two seasons, but reversals are
down – 81 through nine weeks, compared to 100 at that point in 2013.
After the call on the Brees fumble, it was striking that Mike Pereira popped up on
the main screen at the back of the room and his voice filtered from the Bose
speakers in the ceiling. Pereira, another former NFL officiating director, is an
analyst for Fox, charged to interpret the key calls.
Asked on-air if the call was correct, Pereira replied, "Absolutely!"
The confirmation from one of their own produced no reaction. There is no emotion
expressed at McNally Central, a sterile place where there are 75 monitors – 53 in
the primary hub and 22 others on a bank on a side wall. Except for intermittent
alerts about situations that prompt movement from Blandino and Riveron
("Touchdown, Seattle") or advise the replay official at the stadium ("New York
confirms"), the darkened room is quiet enough to study for the bar exam.
Blandino, dressed casually in a sweater, corduroy slacks and loafers, typically stood
in the center of the room, watching the largest monitor along the back wall. That
monitor was split to show four games, then later to three games as the late games
on Sunday were played.
The boss also controls the remote, and with a push of a button switched the audio
that was heard softly through the speakers. Occasionally, he switched to hear the
broadcast feed when a situation popped up that involved a call.
The technicians, meanwhile, were locked into their individual games. The software
not only allows them to grab the replays, but to also mark plays that made be
reviewed later in the week for discipline or at some point down the road in
analyzing injuries.
Typically, the techs work in other departments. Austin Moss, who monitored
Broncos-Raiders, works in the player engagement department. Patrick Reynolds,
who worked Giants-Seahawks, comes from the management council. Matt Reinhart
handled Rams-Cardinals, but throughout the week works in the player personnel
department.
Reinhart issued an alert, "Long touchdown in Arizona."
It was Jared Cook's 59-yard romp with a pass from Austin Davis. Blandino quickly
shuffled over and put on a headset.
"Are we sure the ball is over the plane?" he said. "What about his left knee?"
With four replays to choose from, Blandino declared, "Just stop it."
In past years, the NFL monitored games from this room – but not with any
authority to make the calls on replay – with feeds from the TV networks. But unlike
the past when the video came in with a short delay, the video is live from the TV
trucks. Typically, the networks will have at least 10 cameras and for national
broadcasts, up to 30 cameras, at a game. The NFL can grab and examine any video
that passes through the trucks, even that which is not aired by the networks.
On the Cook touchdown – where he crashed into the pylon while falling to the turf –
there is not any evidence to cause Blandino to overturn the ruling on the field. It's
tough to see where Cook's knee and the football are in relation to the goal line.
"We don't have a look down the line," Blandino allowed, speaking into the headset.
There's been much discussion about the NFL placing stationary cameras on the goal
line, to supplement the network angles. On the Cook touchdown, one angle is from
behind the end zone, near the post. Another is from an overhead shot from behind.
There's still some gray area.
"Stands," Blandino rules.
There's a difference when officials announce that a play "stands" or is "confirmed."
When a play "stands," there's no evidence to overturn the ruling on the field.
Blandino would love to have those stationary cameras on the goal lines.
After the Cook score, he said, "That would be a situation where that could have
helped."
It's about making the right call – which still happens over and over with the vast
resources at hand.
Takeaways: What you need to know from
every NFL game
USAToday.com
November 9, 2014
Chicago 14, Green Bay 55
HOW THE PACKERS WON: Aaron Rodgers played at an MVP level, throwing for
touchdowns on each of Green Bay’s first six possessions. He finished the game 18
of 27 for 315 yards, and spent the last 22-plus minutes of the game on the
sidelines. Rodgers brilliance opened space in the running game. The Packers
combined for 132 yards rushing on 32 carries.
WHY THE BEARS LOST: Jay Cutler threw two interceptions, the defense couldn’t
stop Jordy Nelson and coach Marc Trestman didn’t have his team ready for its
biggest rival despite an extra week to prepare. Mel Tucker’s defense failed to get
pressure on Rodgers, who was able to sit in the pocket and pick apart Chicago’s
suspect secondary.
STAT THAT TELLS THE STORY: Rodgers had tied his single-game career high of six
TD passes before halftime.
TURNING POINT: Micah Hyde’s interception in the first quarter that set up Green
Bay’s second TD. The Bears were ineffective in their first series and Cutler was
already looking rattled, nearly getting picked off by Ha Ha Clinton-Dix on the
previous play. Still, they could have rebounded from being down 7-0. But after the
pick and quick score, the Bears were completely unhinged.
KEY PLAYER: Jordy Nelson. It’s no secret he’s Rodgers’ favorite receiver, yet the
Bears left him virtually uncovered. He made them pay with TD catches of 73 and 40
yards.
NEXT FOR THE PACKERS: Green Bay still trails Detroit in the NFC North, and has
games against Philadelphia next week and New England on Nov. 30. But three of its
next four are at home, where the Packers are unbeaten this year.
NEXT FOR THE BEARS: Therapy? Chicago had no excuse to come out of a bye
looking this bad and this rattled. This was already a team with a fragile psyche, and
another bad loss is only going to increase the pressure on Cutler and Trestman.
-From Nancy Armour in Green Bay, Wis.
New York Giants 17, Seattle 38
HOW THE SEAHAWKS WON: By following the same formula that won them a Super
Bowl last season: Riding Marshawn Lynch and the defense to a win. There’s no
reason Lynch should be running this well at this point in his career. He’s taken the
most wear-and-tear of any runner in the league but somehow gets stronger. His
four scores carried the Seahawks offense. Russell Wilson made plays at key points,
but his poor play of late has to worry Seahawks faithful. His wide receivers are
struggling to win on the outside, and Wilson’s lack of patience in the pocket hasn’t
helped. Seattle’s defense isn’t nearly as dangerous as it was last season, but it’s
still plenty good. when they got pressure on Eli Manning, the secondary looked
more like the Legion of Boom we got to know in 2013.
WHY THE GIANTS LOST: The Seahawks tested the discipline of the Giants D
throughout the game, and New York failed the test. When Lynch wasn’t running
over the Giants front seven, Wilson was breaking contain for huge gains. You’re not
going to beat Seattle without stopping the run -- especially at CenturyLink Field --
and the Giants gave up the best rushing performance of the NFL season. When
Seattle finally jumped out to a big lead, and the Giants had to pass to get back in
it, the offensive line couldn’t provide Manning with time.
STAT THAT TELLS THE STORY: The Seahawks ran for 350 yards and five
touchdowns on 45 carries. It was not only the most rushing yards produced by an
NFL team this year, but also a franchise best.
TURNING POINT: This was a close game before the Seahawks blew it open in the
fourth quarter. The game turned at the end of the third quarter when Eli Manning
forced a deep pass that was tipped by Odell Beckham Jr., and intercepted by Earl
Thomas. The big play sparked a 21-0 run for Seattle.
KEY PLAYER: Marshawn Lynch. He laughs in the face of the typical running back
aging curve, eating up 350-carry seasons like Skittles and coming back stronger.
Against the Giants, the indestructible Lynch ran for 140 yards and four
touchdowns..
NEXT FOR THE SEAHAWKS: Seattle travels to Kansas City for an interconference
game against the 6-3 Chiefs
NEXT FOR THE GIANTS: Losers of four-straight, the Giants get another NFC West
opponent with the 49ers coming to MetLife Stadium in Week 11.
St. Louis 14, Arizona 31
HOW ARIZONA WON: Arizona has the best record in football, and it showed why in
a surprisingly difficult win over the Rams. The Rams had the lead in the fourth
quarter, and Carson Palmer was carted off with a knee injury. But the Cardinals’
back-up quarterback and defense stepped up in Palmer’s absence to score three
touchdowns in the fourth quarter.
WHY ST. LOUIS LOST: The team’s inexperience showed in the fourth quarter.
Austin Davis lost the ball three times in the course of losing the game. It didn’t help
him that his line couldn’t stop the Cardinals’ defenders, and he was sacked four
times. It also didn’t help that the Rams’ defense, which was effective against
Carson Palmer, was completely flummoxed by back-up Drew Stanton.
STAT THAT TELLS THE STORY: The Rams had three fourth-quarter turnovers, and
two were returned for touchdowns. St. Louis held their own for most of the game,
even leading the best team in the league for much of the second half. But to hold
on for a tight win, the Rams needed to play perfectly. Giving the ball to the other
team three times is far from perfect.
TURNING POINT: Carson Palmer left the game in the fourth quarter with a knee
injury. The Cardinals were down by four. Drew Stanton, who had to fill in for Palmer
earlier in the season, didn’t need much time to warm up. On his first series, he hit
John Brown for a massive 48-yard touchdown, giving the Cardinals the lead and the
confidence they could go on without Palmer.
KEY PLAYER: Patrick Peterson was called for pass interference midway through the
fourth quarter, giving the Rams a fresh set of downs. He took out his anger on the
next play, picking off the Rams to stop the drive he had just rejuvenated. On the
next Rams series, Peterson picked off Austin Davis and returned it for a touchdown
to seal the win.
NEXT FOR ST. LOUIS: The Rams’ tough stretch continues as they will next face the
Broncos at home.
NEXT FOR ARIZONA: The Cardinals will welcome the NFC North-leading Detroit
Lions next week.
Broncos 41, Oakland 17
HOW THE BRONCOS WON: How they always win. Peyton Manning was far from
perfect -- had threw two interceptions -- but his teammates made him look good.
He completed 31-of-44 passes for 340 yards and five TDs and was done by the end
of the third quarter.
WHY THE RAIDERS LOST: Because they’re the Raiders. They are deficient in every
conceivable way except for having a young QB who appears capable of playing well
at this level. It’s difficult to get an accurate read on Derek carr, though, because
he’s surrounded by such mediocrity.
STAT THAT TELLS THE STORY: There are many to choose from, but first downs are
a good place to start. The Broncos had 25. The Raiders had 10. And remember that
the Broncos sort of stopped trying all the way at the end of the third quarter. Three
of Oakland’s first downs came on a late scoring drive.
TURNING POINT: Oakland appeared poised to take a lead to halftime for the first
time this season. Denver seemed disorganized, still reeling from being pushed
around by the Patriots last week and trailed 10-6. Raiders QB David Carr was
throwing into tight windows and looked confident. He faced a makeable 3rd-and-2
from his own 40 with 3:37 left in the second quarter … and promptly threw and
interception. Denver would lead 20-10, and the game was effectively over.
KEY PLAYER: Just what Peyton Manning needs: Another weapon to emerge.
Second-year running back C.J. Anderson had 13 carries for 90 yards and four
catches for 73 yards and a TD. He came into the game with 17 carries for 82 yards
this year, and four catches for 34 yards.
NEXT FOR THE BRONCOS: Denver goes to St. Louis next week, hosts Miami the
week after then travels to Kansas City for a game against the AFC WEST second-
place Chiefs.
NEXT FOR THE RAIDERS: Bargaining. Depression. Draft planning. A game at San
Diego next week.
San Francisco 27, New Orleans 24
HOW THE 49ERS WON: QB Colin Kaepernick made a classic Kaepernick play, buying
time outside the pocket and throwing a 51-yard strike to WR Michael Crabtree after
things broke down to set up the tying field goal with 44 seconds left in regulation.
CB Perrish Cox sold the offensive pass interference call that wiped out Saints TE
Jimmy Graham’s would-be 47-yard TD catch on a Hail Mary as time expired. And LB
Ahmad Brooks made the play the 49ers needed in overtime, knocking loose the ball
from Saints QB Drew Brees. The 49ers recovered, the call stood upon review and
coach Jim Harbaugh left nothing to chance, immediately bringing on PK Phil Dawson
for the 35-yard winner.
WHY THE SAINTS LOST: They started slow, with QB Drew Brees throwing two ugly
interceptions on the way to a 21-10 halftime hole. They dominated the second half
but had a breakdown in coverage on Kaepernick’s big throw to Crabtree, failing to
protect the lead. And the offense failed twice in overtime, with coach Sean Payton
opting to punt on fourth-and-1 from the San Francisco 43-yard line and Brees
fumbling when they got the ball back.
STAT THAT TELLS THE STORY: The 49ers still haven’t lost three games in a row
under Harbaugh, who had them ready to play in a building where the Saints hadn’t
lost since the 2012 season.
TURNING POINT: The 49ers led 21-10 midway through the third quarter when WR
Anquan Boldin beat coverage deep on third-and-15. Kaepernick’s pass was on
target and Boldin had nothing but open turf in front of him – an 85-yard TD waiting
to happen. But the ball bonked off Boldin’s hands, and the Saints drove for a TD on
their ensuing possession. Instead of an 18-point lead, the 49ers were up just four
and that wasn’t enough to keep the Saints from forcing overtime.
KEY PLAYER: It was fitting Brooks made the play to set up Dawson’s winning field
goal. He was called for a controversial unnecessary roughness penalty in last
season’s meeting with the Saints when he clotheslined Brees, wiping out a fumble
and recovery that could’ve sealed the game for the 49ers.
NEXT FOR THE 49ERS: They’ll try to build on the momentum when they visit the
New York Giants next Sunday.
NEXT FOR THE SAINTS: Their three-game homestand continues against two AFC
North foes: the Cincinnati Bengals next Sunday and then the Baltimore Ravens on
Monday Night Football.
-From Tom Pelissero in New Orleans
Pittsburgh 13, New York Jets 20
HOW THE JETS WON: Just when everyone thought there was no way the Jets could
win this game against the red-hot Steelers team, they did just that.
To pull off the upset, the Jets did four things. They forced turnovers, held onto the
ball when they had it, pressured Ben Roethlisberger and ran effectively.
From start to finish, it was the most complete game New York has played all
season.
WHY THE STEELERS LOST: Pittsburgh seemed like a team that underestimated its
opponent and the start of the game showed that.
The Steelers’ offense gained just five yards in the first quarter, while their defense
allowed the normally-anemic Jets to rack up 164.
Turnovers and missed opportunities widened Pittsburgh’s early deficit, and
Pittsburgh’s offense couldn’t get going until it was too late to make a difference.
STAT THAT TELLS THE STORY: There’s no question, the difference maker in this
one was turnovers. The Jets had entered the game as the team with the worst
turnover margin in the NFL.
Sunday, New York reversed the trend, forcing Pittsburgh into four turnovers, and
didn’t give up the ball once.
TURNING POINT: The jokes wrote themselves on Twitter as many blamed the
Steelers’ slow start on the #Biebercurse, after the pop star visited the franchise
over the weekend.
But the actual turning point came during the week, when Pittsburgh was crafting its
game plan against the Jets.
Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger played uninspired football and made countless
mistakes. The running game sputtered. The defense allowed New York’s offense to
make too many plays.
KEY PLAYER: Jets fans can officially wonder what might have been had the team
started the season with Michael Vick at quarterback, instead of handing the job to
Geno Smith in a half-hearted quarterback competition.
Vick showed that he can still play at a high level and moved the ball and led scoring
drives. He became the first quarterback in NFL history to surpass 6,000 rushing
yards.
He finished the day with 10-of-18 for 132 yards, two touchdowns and added 39
rushing yards on eight carries.
NEXT FOR THE STEELERS: Pittsburgh gets a chance to watch next Sunday’s slate of
games before traveling to Tennessee to face the Titans on Monday night.
NEXT FOR THE JETS: The Jets finally get a break from their losing streak and get
the bye week to enjoy the victory. The following week, New York faces a divisional
foe in Buffalo.
-From Lorenzo Reyes in East Rutherford, N.J.
Tennessee 7, Baltimore 21
HOW THE RAVENS WON: Baltimore sort of meandered through this game, trusting
that eventually a lousy team led by a rookie QB would muck things up enough. The
Titans obliged. Baltimore’s defense deserves some credit, as it buttoned up after
the first quarter and allowed only 210 yards.A week after falling into last place in
the AFC North the Ravens were helped by their own win and surprising losses by
Pittsburgh (to the Jets!?!) and Cincinnati (to the first-place Browns.)
WHY THE TITANS LOST: Because Shonn Green fumbled when he should have
scored, and this happened on the first drive of the game, and Tennessee is a fragile
team not accustomed to winning but prone to letting something like that set the
tone for an entire game. Zach Mettenberger, the sixth-round pick making his
second career start, looked Tom Brady on the opening drive, which lasted more
than eight minutes. Green ruined it by fumbling on 2nd-and-goal from the 1. Sure,
the Titans still scored the first TD of the game a few minutes later; they just
weren’t nearly as efficient for the rest of the game.
STAT THAT TELLS THE STORY: The Titans gained 142 of their 210 yards in the first
quarter. Ten of their 14 first downs came in the first quarter
TURNING POINT: Tennessee lost tight end Delanie Walker on a harrowing hit over
the middle late in the first half. He’d run a quick post and caught a perfect pass
about 12-yards down field before being smashed by safety Terrence Brooks. He
immediately fumbled and appeared to be unconscious. He sat up a few minutes
later but was ruled out with a concussion. He had already been targeted five times
and made three catches for 37 yards.
KEY PLAYER: Let’s call it a toss up between Ravens receiver Torrey Smith, who’s
been mostly ineffective this year but had 5 catches for 75 yards including a 32-yard
TD that made it 21-7 early in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, middle linebacker C.J.
Mosley continued his campaign for Defensive Rookie of the Year with five tackles
and a pass defense.
NEXT FOR THE RAVENS: Baltimore has a bye and does not return until Monday,
Nov. 24 against the Saints.
NEXT FOR THE TITANS: Tennessee heads home to host Pittsburgh on Monday
night.
Dallas 31, Jacksonville 17
HOW THE COWBOYS WON: The Cowboys team that was getting Super Bowl buzz
just weeks ago showed up again in London. The offensive line dominated a good
Jaguars front seven in both the running and passing games. Tony Romo, coming off
a back injury, was sacked just once on his way to throwing for 247 yards and three
touchdowns. DeMarco Murray chipped in with yet another 100-yard running game.
Dallas’ defense left some plays on the field but were solid for the most part. The
Cowboys sacked Blake Bortles three times, but there were opportunities for
interceptions that the secondary failed to haul in. It’s hard to put too much stock in
this performance, but the fact that Romo looked like himself is encouraging after
two-straight losses.
WHY THE JAGUARS LOST: Jacksonville's young defense has had its ups and downs
throughout this season, and this performance certainly qualifies as a down. The
Jags defensive line, which has been so good in 2014, was overwhelmed by the
Cowboys offensive line, and Romo took advantage of a clean pocket. Poor tackling
was problem for a second-straight week, as was the immense talent gap between
the two units. The Jaguars simply could not contain Dez Bryant, and Murray had no
problem finding running lanes against the Jacksonville front seven. QB Blake Bortles
has handicapped the offense with a mix of poor decision-making and erratic
accuracy, and that was again the case in London. The Cowboys defense bailed him
out a few times by not taking advantage of dangerous throws, but he did manage
to throw his 14th interception. Denard Robinson continues to impress as a running
back -- his 30-yard touchdown run was the highlight of the day for the Jags.
STAT THAT TELLS THE STORY: When the Jaguars D has been good, the defensive
line has been the catalyst. Against the Cowboys, Jacksonville managed only one
sack and three QB hits on 27 dropbacks.
TURNING POINT: The Jaguars led 7-3 early in this game and had forced the
Cowboys offense off the field. But Jacksonville punt returner Ace Sanders muffed
the punt, giving Dallas the ball back six yards away from paydirt. That sparked a
28-0 onslaught for the Cowboys.
KEY PLAYER: The Cowboys offensive line was the key. As it has been all season, the
Cowboys line was dominant. The Cowboys’ skill players will get the headlines, but
the foundation of this offense can be found in the trenches.
NEXT FOR THE COWBOYS: Dallas gets some time to rest after its trip to London.
After a bye week, the Cowboys get back into the division with a Sunday night affair
against the Giants.
NEXT FOR THE JAGUARS: Jacksonville is idle next week before taking on the
division rival Indianapolis Colts.
Kansas City 17, Buffalo 13
HOW KANSAS CITY WON: The Chiefs played a smart game offensively and on
defense, took advantage of Buffalo’s mistakes. Using both Dwayne Bowe and
Jamaal Charles, the Chiefs used their two best weapons to pick up yardage and pick
apart the Bills’ vaunted defense. It didn’t matter that Alex Smith was sacked six
times because of what the other stars on offense could do.
WHY BUFFALO LOST: Quite simply, the Bills offense could not get in the end zone.
They led the Chiefs in overall yardage, and Kyle Orton had a much better game
than Alex Smith. But turnovers at key times stopped the Bills before they could
start.
STAT THAT TELLS THE STORY: Buffalo led on offensive yardage and third-down
efficiency, but turnovers undid every good thing Kyle Orton’s offense did. Bryce
Brown fumbled twice -- once on the way to the end zone -- and Chris Hogan added
another drop. The Bills couldn’t overcome these mistakes.
TURNING POINT: Early in the third quarter, Bryce Brown was on his way to a
touchdown. He was steps away from the end zone, but he lost the ball. It rolled
forward, but no Bills player could get his hands on the ball in the end zone. After it
rolled out the back, the Chiefs were awarded the ball in a touchback. It was the
kind of demoralizing play that said everything about the Bills day -- really good play
undermined by a dumb mistake.
KEY PLAYER: Jamaal Charles had 118 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown. The
touchdown was scored on a 39-yard run that showed what the running back is
capable of. He’ll need to have more games like this as the Chiefs push for a wild
card spot in the playoffs.
NEXT FOR KANSAS CITY: The Chiefs have a tough test with the Seattle Seahawks
at home next week.
NEXT FOR BUFFALO: The Bills won’t get much rest as they face the Dolphins on
Thursday night in Miami.
Atlanta 27, Tampa Bay 17
HOW THE FALCONS WON: Matt Bryant kicked four field goals to help an Atlanta
offense that sputtered at times but ultimately was good enough to get past the
Bucs. Matt Ryan completed 20-of-31 passes for 219 yards and a TD. Running back
Steven Jackson showed some of his old burst with 81 yards on 16 carries. Kroy
Biermann and Osi Umenyiora troubled Tampa’s ends all day; each had 1.5 sacks
and 3 QB hits.
WHY THE BUCCANEERS LOST: Tampa Bay was sloppy in many facets of the game.
The Bucs were called for 10 penalties. They gave Atlanta good starting field position
-- their own 49 -- thanks to a 31-yard punt in the fourth quarter. Josh McCown
threw for over 300 yards but also had two interceptions, and there was no support
from the run game; the less-than-nimble McCown led the team with five runs for 39
yards.
STAT THAT TELLS THE STORY: Tampa Bay punter Michael Koenen had three punts
for a total of 91 yards.
TURNING POINT: Oddly, this game seemed to turn in favor of the Falcons on a
Tampa Bay touchdown. Austin Seferian-Jenkins caught the score, then placed the
ball on the ground and put his foot on top of it, apparently mimicking the Capt.
Morgan pose. He was called for a personal foul, and the Falcons would end up
starting their next drive from the 35 and driving for an easy touchdown.
KEY PLAYERS: Julio Jones (8 catches, 119 yards) and Roddy White (6 catches, 72
yards, 1 TD) were actually out-dueled by Tampa’s tandem of Mike Evans (7
catches, 125 yards, 1 TD) and Vincent Jackson (8 catches, 75 yards) but were
dynamic enough to remind you why everybody thought the Falcons could be the
comeback team of the year (and just maybe still could be.)
NEXT FOR THE FALCONS: Atlanta plays at Carolina next weekend and is still,
almost unfathomably, alive in the playoff hunt. The Falcons will be no more than
three games back after this weeks’ games; they play NFC South-leading New
Orleans in Week 16 and Carolina again in Week 17.
NEXT FOR THE BUCCANEERS: Tampa Bay heads to Washington next week.
Miami 16, Detroit 20
HOW THE LIONS WON: It was the kind of game that showed who the Lions really
are. They are a team with a great defense -- Miami had a total of just 222 yards --
a persistent offense -- Detroit scored half of their 20 points in the fourth quarter --
and just enough talent to wipe out mistakes -- Detroit was flagged 10 times for 98
yards.
WHY THE DOLPHINS LOST: The Dolphins made a huge play in the third quarter,
blocking a field goal that set up a touchdown. Then, they made a huge play in the
final minute, as Dion Jordan knocked the ball out of Calvin Johnson’s hands in the
end zone. The problem? The Dolphins couldn’t follow-up one great play with
another good one. Without consistency, the Dolphins aren’t going to get far in the
AFC East.
STAT THAT TELLS THE STORY: The Lions went for it three times on fourth down,
and converted twice. They made the audacious plays to keep drives going -- like a
fake punt in the first half -- which is part of the reason why the Dolphins had such a
hard time putting the Lions away.
TURNING POINT: This game wasn’t decided until the final minute. The Lions were
down a field goal to Miami with less than five minutes left in the game. On his final
drive, Matthew Stafford first tried to connect with Calvin Johnson in the end zone,
but when that didn’t work, he targeted running back Theo Riddick. Considering
Riddick hasn’t been used as a receiver much this season, he was not a sure bet in
the end zone. But with 29 seconds left in the game, Riddick made the catch and the
Lions won the game.
KEY PLAYER: Matthew Stafford threw an interception and was sacked three times.
This is not a game that will go on his highlight reel. But with the game on the line,
Stafford calmly led his team down the field before finding Riddick for the win.
NEXT FOR MIAMI: The Dolphins will host the Bills for an AFC East matchup on
Thursday night.
NEXT FOR DETROIT: Are the Lions for real? Next Sunday’s game in Arizona should
give us a good idea.
Klee: Kicking and yelling, Peyton
Manning and Broncos embarrass Raiders
By Pual Klee
Colorado Springs Gazette
November 10, 2014
OAKLAND, Calif. - Those were seagulls floating above O.co Coliseum, tentative
home of the Raiders. They were not buzzards, but the Raiders are barely bird bait.
For the record, Peyton Manning did not yell at the seagulls. On the NFL's Salute to
Service Day, he did not throw his camouflage hand towel, or throw one of his five
touchdown passes, or any of his 340 passing yards at them. His Broncos won, 41-
17.
It seems Manning has yelled at just about everyone else. Doesn't it? The NFL's
reigning MVP has yelled at Texans safety D.J. Swearinger (earning a taunting
penalty), Julius Thomas (a lot), a scoreboard operator(!), even himself.
"I don't usually stink, but I stunk today," Manning said after last week's loss at New
England.
Do the Broncos get tired of being yelled at all the time?
"He's not doing it just to be a (jerk). He's doing it because he wants to win," wide
receiver Emmanuel Sanders told The Gazette. "So we're going to have some
arguments and things of that sort, but as long as they get corrected and it's not
hurting the team, I think it's all positive."
In most professions an employer might suggest anger-management classes, or a
Boulder yoga session to center his Zen. I don't believe Manning is an angry person,
just an extremely driven one, and I guess he sees a Broncos team that is too gifted
to "stink" up the room like it did at New England - even when it's him who stinks.
Manning stunk for a while again Sunday. He threw six passes into the hands of
Raiders; four were batted to the turf and two were caught for interceptions. The
Raiders actually led the game, 10-6, and a fan chanted, "Let's go, Raiders!"
Then the second quarter unfolded. From there, Oakland's highlights were limited to
Slayer guitarist Kerry King being shown on the JumboTron, and the Jumbotron
blaring this unlikely message: "Broncos and Raiders Fans: Let's All Enjoy This Game
Together."
Three seconds into the fourth quarter, Manning had removed his helmet and let
Brock Osweiler play. Manning had led the Broncos to 35 unanswered points, and
backup running back C.J. Anderson had more total yards (163) than the entire
Raiders team (112). The Raiders eventually totaled 222 yards in all.
Later, that lone Raiders fan chanted, "Let's go, Raiders!" and a response was
hollered across from a nearby section: "They're gone!"
But even on the pivotal play, Manning was ready to yell at someone. Anderson had
sprinted around the left end, an option in the passing game.
"Peyton looked at me to finish my route," Anderson said.
While the play was going on?
"I wasn't even in the middle of my route!" he continued. "That's (No.) 18, though."
Then, Manning hit Anderson, who raced 51 yards for a touchdown. No, really.
"That was as fine a play as I've seen so far this season," Manning said.
Anderson grew up 40 miles away from the Coliseum and played his college ball at
nearby Cal. He was a fan of Raiders like Tyrone Wheatley and Zack Crockett.
Fourteen months ago he blew out a knee in training camp and told The Gazette, "I
cried all night." Sunday, Manning yelled at Anderson until the tailback scored the
key touchdown.
Maybe the Manning Method is finally becoming clear. He yells and demands and
nags until the undrafted guy (Anderson) or the untouchable guy (Demaryius
Thomas) or the big guy (Julius Thomas) or the new guy (Sanders) score
touchdowns. And in a span of 15 minutes, 45 seconds, those guys scored five
touchdowns.
Just like that, the bashing by the Bay went from "Raiders 10, Broncos 6" to
"Broncos 41, Raiders 10."
"He stays pretty even-keeled the whole time," Wes Welker said.
The Broncos own a six-game winning streak over the Raiders, only the second time
that's happened in 54 years of rivalry.
The Raiders were penalized when they threw a red challenge flag on a play that
couldn't be challenged. That was their highlight, since it burned a timeout and
shortened the game. The highlights for the Broncos continued until the seagulls
arrived.
One was Ben Garland, the burly, bearded man from Grand Junction, who was
activated for an NFL game for the first time. In the locker room, Garland beamed.
"It's a dream come true, especially when it's Salute to Service Day and everybody
is respecting the troops," Garland said.
Big Ben is a captain in the Air Force, so Manning can't yell at him. We think.
Broncos vs. Raiders: Quarter by quarter
By Paul Klee
Colorado Springs Gazette
November 9, 2014
The Broncos are still in Foxborough mode. Despite quadrupling the Raiders in total
yards (127 to 31) and first downs (eight to two), the Broncos were tied, 3-3.
What’s the issue? The new-look offensive line suffered a pair of penalties in the red
zone, and, out of character, Peyton Manning missed a couple of passes he usually
completes in his sleep. That’s assuming, of course, that Peyton Manning sleeps. The
Raiders also snagged an interception on the second play from scrimmage. The full-
house home crowd cheered.
Key play: Brandon McManus booted a field goal from 20 yards — a good sign for
the new kicker, a bad sign for the Broncos’ red-zone offense.
Spotted from press box: Exiting the BART train at the Coliseum, I saw a band of
Raiders fans dancing to “Highway to the Danger Zone.” Yep, we’re definitely in
Oakland now.
Tweet of the quarter: Peyton had 16 pass attempts in the first quarter —
@PFF_Steve (Steve Palazzolo, an expert analyist for Pro Football Focus)
Score: Broncos 3, Raiders 3
Second quarter
With an unexpected lift from C.J. Anderson, the Broncos escaped a rough start and
entered halftime with a double-digit lead. Anderson, the undrafted free agent out of
nearby Cal, made a one-handed reception and jived and juked 51 yards for a
scoring play that doubled as a gut punch to the Raiders. Oakland had Denver in a
third-and-long situation before Anderson’s magic. The touchdown seemed to throw
a breath of wind into the Broncos, whose offense was stumbling along before the
critical play.
Key play: Anderson’s, of course. But if there’s another one, it was Bradley Roby’s
interception of Derek Carr. The rookie from Ohio State is gradually coming along.
Spotted from press box: Carr, the rookie quarterback, getting into the face of his
offense on the Raiders sideline. We’ll see if he can withstand the losing, but there’s
no doubt Carr is a spirited leader who has the ear of his teammates.
Tweet of the quarter: C.J. Anderson has 123 yards, 41 more than the Raiders team.
—@TroyRenck (Troy Renck, Broncos beat writer for the Denver Post)
Score: Broncos 20, Raiders 10
Third quarter
What, Peyton Manning worry? This, O.co Coliseum, is where worries go to die. The
Broncos quarterback finished off another memorable day at the home of the
Raiders with a two-quarter stretch that included five touchdown passes. That’s
interesting enough, but then I throw in this nugget: In two quarters here last year,
Manning threw four touchdown passes. (That makes nine touchdown passes against
the Raiders in what would amount to a full game.). Manning exited the game to
close the third quarter.
Key play: T.J. Ward, the big-splash free agent signing from the Browns, intercepted
Derek Carr and gave the Broncos a first down in Raiders territory.
Spotted from press box: A whole bunch of Raiders fans leaving the stadium.
Tweet of the quarter: Under center for the Broncos: Brock Osweiler —
@NFLRedZone
Score: Broncos 41, Raiders 10
Fourth quarter
This game turned so fast, but it’s hard to say a late touchdown made the score
sound closer than the game really was when it was a 41-17 victory. Denver allowed
Oakland to score a late TD for its first points since early in the second quarter.
Denver righted the ship when it was listing early in the second quarter and coasted
to what turned out to be a comfortable AFC West victory. It needs to continue to
cruise through games like this and get fired up for more challenging contests.
Every team should be tougher than the Raiders and capable of beating Denver, just
think back to the second quarter ...
Key play: When quarterback Brock Osweiler was inserted before the quarter, it was
a smart move by the Broncos to preserve Peyton Manning for times that really
count
Tweet of the quarter: w/today’s game, @CjAndersonRB9 is only 6th RB in the NFL
this year w/70+yds rushing & receiving in a game. Only 7th Bronco in club history.
— Patrick Smyth @psmyth12 (Broncos media relations)
Score: Broncos 41, Raiders 17
Klee: Bring back the old Raiders, not the
helpless Raiders
By Paul Klee
Colorado Springs Gazette
November 9, 2014
OAKLAND, Calif. - The Raiders once were a party, a wedding bash with live music
and a top-shelf open bar. Now they are the hangover.
There is a certain curiosity to watching the misery of a hangover, as long as it's
from a distance. Someday it will end; hopefully, at least, since the Broncos and
Raiders should be testy rivals, a twice or thrice annual loathe-fest. It's more fun
that way.
Now the rivalry means more to the fans who wear Raider Hater T-shirts than to the
players who bounce from team to team with the conscience of football mercenaries.
We could say it wasn't that long ago that Raiders Week summoned vitriol into
Colorado, a valid reason to leave Sunday morning church and forget the lessons
you just learned. Now it just summons a win. When the Broncos play the Raiders at
O.co Coliseum on Sunday, Denver will be 11- to 12-point favorites to beat Oakland
for the sixth straight time. In a series that dates to 1960, that's happened only
once.
In Denver, they target a third-straight No. 1 seed in the AFC. In Oakland, they
haven't won three straight games since November 2011.
"We treat every opponent the same, so we'll treat them as if they're 8-0," Terrance
Knighton said.
The Raiders should not be treated the same. They should be loathed; those are the
rules. But it's hard to loathe the helpless.
"I really don't look at their record," Peyton Manning said.
Here it is, then: Finishing 0-16 is a real possibility for the Raiders. Enough time has
passed that some folks might have forgotten the Raiders once were excellent,
excellent enough they own 12 AFC West title's to Denver's 13, and that's without
enjoying a winning season since 2002. That year they appeared in a Super Bowl
with an MVP quarterback, Rich Gannon. Since then they've had 17 starting
quarterbacks, by my count, and if you count Terrelle Pryor. Since then they've had
seven head coaches who weren't tagged with an interim label.
Enough time has passed, again, that Broncos are unsure if it's a rivalry. Imagine
that.
"I don't hear about it much, but I still feel it's a rivalry game, or one of them,"
Demaryius Thomas said. "You don't hear many guys talk about rivalry games."
There's one man who gives this rivalry a chance, an opportunity to become what it
used to be, and he's 23. Oakland quarterback Derek Carr looks like a player. Maybe
just as important he looks confident enough to withstand the losing and not break.
"It doesn't look like it's too big for him, or anything like that," Broncos defensive
coordinator Jack Del Rio said.
"He's one of those quarterbacks where he's more athletic than he looks," DeMarcus
Ware added.
About halfway through his first season, Carr's rating is 79.8, higher than Andrew
Luck's rookie rating of 76.5. That's not to say Carr is superior to Luck, just that he
has a chance. Maybe Carr is the answer to the hangover; hopefully, at least,
because it was more fun when the Raiders were the old Raiders, not the helpless
Raiders.
Brock Osweiler was sad Peyton Manning
stayed in the Broncos game
By Will Brinson
CBSSports.com
November 9, 2014
Brock Osweiler has the easiest job in America. He backs up one of the best
quarterbacks on the planet in Peyton Manning, a guy who only misses time when
he needs multiple neck surgeries.
He rarely has to actually "work." Not that he's trying to avoid it, though. On
Sunday, with the Broncos up 41-10 en route to a 41-17 victory over the Raiders,
Osweiler thought he was going to get some game action in the third quarter.
So with the Broncos offense coming back on the field he gleefully grabbed his
helmet and turned to run on the field ... only to see Manning already sprinting out
to lead the offense.
His reaction was pure gold.
Garafolo: NFLPA to file grievance in
effort to get Peterson reinstated
By Mike Garafolo
CBSSports.com
November 9, 2014
In an attempt to get Adrian Peterson reinstated by next Sunday, the NFL Players
Association is preparing to file an expedited non-injury grievance early this week,
alleging the NFL should have removed Peterson from the commissioner's exempt
list when his legal process wrapped up, sources tell FOX Sports.
The union's move would be in response to a letter the NFL sent the Minnesota
Vikings' running back last week, stating he would remain on the exempt list while
the league reviews his case under the personal-conduct policy. The NFL asked
Peterson to produce documents on his case, told him independent experts would
review his case and informed him he has a right to a hearing with Commissioner
Roger Goodell before discipline is enacted.
A source said the union and Peterson's camp believe the process the league
outlined in the letter to Peterson would take weeks, thus leaving him inactive for
several games. (Peterson has been paid the full installments of his $11.75 million
salary while on the exempt list.)
Based on the language of the collective bargaining agreement, an expedited
grievance is to be held within seven days of its filing, with the sides expected to
"engage in good faith efforts" to wrap up the process by the player's next game.
The Vikings, who are on a bye this week, face the Chicago Bears next Sunday.
Peterson's situation is unique in that the league usually lets the legal process play
out for first-time offenders before taking a player off the field. But Peterson was
part of an handful of off-field situations that developed early in the season and
resulted in public pressure for the league and the team to do something to quell the
controversy. All parties agreed the rarely-used commissioner's exempt list would
allow Peterson and the Carolina Panthers' Greg Hardy to step out of the spotlight
while they handled their legal issues.
The NFLPA and Peterson's camp claim the terms of the agreement stated he would
remain on the exempt list only through the completion of his legal process.
Peterson last week pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of reckless assault
after initially facing felony child-abuse charges.
FOX Sports has reported Peterson's camp and the union informed the NFL a plea
deal was coming and tried to reach an agreement with the league to reinstate him
immediately or at least lay out a process for him to get back on the field in short
order. The NFL rejected those advances.
It's clear the NFL isn't planning to let Peterson back onto the field without some
kind of punishment, though that could bring about another grievance from the
union. A source said the union will argue his being taken off the field at all is a form
of punishment and therefore time served. The league would likely counter that
claim by noting Peterson agreed to go on the exempt list and was paid in full while
on it.
Peyton Manning won't let Brock Osweiler
play
By Jay Busbee
YahooSports.com
November 9, 2014
It's the smile that breaks your heart.
Look at Brock Osweiler, Denver Broncos backup QB, in that video above. He's so
dang excited to be getting into an NFL game he can't stop grinning. IT'S GONNA
HAPPEN, MA! I'M GOING IN THE GAME! But then Peyton Manning does to Osweiler
what Manning does to so many opposing teams' fans: DENIAL.
The backstory: the Broncos were up by more than four scores on the Oakland
Raiders with more than 15 minutes to play. That's the definition of "garbage time."
(And given the occasionally filthy conditions at O.Co Coliseum, a literal definition.)
Osweiler sure seemed like he was prepped to go in and get a few snaps, maybe
impress his lady with a Real Live NFL Touchdown.
Alas, it was not to be. Peyton plays as long as Peyton wants to play. You don't get
to a thousand touchdowns by tapping out early, after all.
Osweiler eventually got into the game, going 2-of-5 for 13 yards. He remains
sports' greatest paradox: the invisible man who is just one bad play away from
being the most watched man in the NFL.
Don't Count Out the Cards
By Peter King
MMQB/SI.com
November 10, 2014
An early Happy Veterans Day to all in uniform, past and present. Thanks to all in
the military who make it possible for us to enjoy the lives we lead and feel safe
while doing it. And congratulations to Air Force Capt. Ben Garland, the 2010 Air
Force Academy grad who worked out seven days a week for two years, chasing his
NFL dream while fulfilling his military service requirement. “The chances of me
making the NFL were tiny. Tiny,” he said in the summer. But Ben Garland made the
Broncos this summer, and on Sunday, the Broncos’ real-life veteran made his NFL
debut, playing five snaps at right guard against the Raiders.
That is a cool story. The rest today pale in comparison. Way to go, Captain.
* * *
Every NFL season has its eccentricities. The Arizona Cardinals own the most in
2014—and we’ll get to the backup quarterback-turned-Sunday-savior who almost
missed his star turn when his overdue wife texted him Sunday morning to say she
hoped the game went fast, because her contractions were coming. We’ve got you
covered, Lions fans, with how Jim Caldwell has turned this team from outlaws to
outliers; these are not the usual find-a-way-to-lose Leos. Jay Cutler’s horrible
history versus Green Bay was highlighted in another Wisconsin nightmare. After
Chicago allowed 106 points the past two games, is Marc Trestman in trouble? After
the Giants allowed 350 rushing yards to the Seahawks, is Tom Coughlin in trouble?
After the Jets bashed Ben Roethlisberger around for three hours and stunned the
Steelers, is Rex Ryan out of trouble?
Ten Uniquely 2014 Things About Week 10
1. Cleveland is in sole possession of first place in the AFC North. Last time that was
the case after 10 weeks: In 1994, when Bill Belichick coached and Vinny Testaverde
quarterbacked.
2. Brian Hoyer’s agent, Joe Linta, told me Sunday he hasn’t had any discussions
about a new contract for the 2015 free-agent-to-be since May. Six months. Hoyer is
the most desirable veteran quarterback among a weak crop. There is time for Hoyer
to fall to earth, of course, but I’ll be amazed if the Browns, seeking a long-term
answer at quarterback since forever, let him walk.
3. Arizona and Detroit meet next Sunday in Glendale. It’s the kind of November
matchup that would usually merit FOX’s sixth crew. These two teams are a
combined 15-3. Joe Buck, anyone?
4. If the season ended this morning, Green Bay (6-3) wouldn’t be in the playoffs.
True fact. Detroit (7-2) has them beat for the division, and Dallas (7-3) and Seattle
(6-3 with the head-to-head tiebreaker over Green Bay) would be wild cards.
5. The Raiders have lost 15 in a row. (You’re right. That’s actually not stunning at
all.)
6. The best team in the NFC South, New Orleans, would be 1.5 games out of last
place in the AFC North.
7. Atlanta has won once in the last 53 days and is a game out of first in the NFC
South.
8. The best rookie in football was the 91st pick by Arizona in the May draft, played
for a college team with the nickname “Gorillas,” and caught the winning touchdown
pass in the last eight minutes against San Diego, Philadelphia, and, on Sunday, St.
Louis. John Brown of Pittsburg (Kans.) State, you’re the man.
9. The Thursday-nighter this week reminds me and my fellow ancients of the old
Runnerup Bowl. The 5-4 Bills are at the 5-4 Dolphins, and the wheat will be
separated from the chaff.
10. As if anyone needed another lesson, gambling on football is fool’s gold; the
Steelers looked like the ’07 Patriots the last two weeks and came to the
Meadowlands to play a team on an eight-game losing streak—and Pittsburgh got
drilled. We wake this morning to learn the 2014 Patriots, nearly flawless the past
five games, are field-goal ‘dogs at Indianapolis Sunday night. Keep your money in
your pocket. I repeat, keep your money in your pocket.
* * *
While Carson Palmer gently weeps.
It seems particularly cruel this morning to write about the team with the best
record in football in a life-goes-on sort of way. Carson Palmer was the quarterback
coach Bruce Arians and GM Steve Keim chose to be their franchise leader when
they got their jobs in January 2013. Palmer finally felt like he was in football
nirvana. He quit football at 31 rather than continue playing for a franchise he didn’t
trust to put a winner on the field, Cincinnati. He was traded to the Raiders, another
pit of despair, and played two years there. Then the Cardinals plucked him away for
a song 19 months ago. “It’s the most important acquisition we made,” Keim said a
couple of weeks ago, and the Cardinals went out and put a backbone to that: On
Friday, Arizona signed Palmer to a three-year contract extension worth $50 million.
On Sunday, against St. Louis, it appeared that Palmer, on a play early in the fourth
quarter, tried to change his protection just before the snap to account for an extra
rusher. As the play progressed, Palmer’s left knee caved in as he tried to avoid the
rush on a sack, and he lay on the field, writhing in agony. Nothing is official, and
Arians told me Sunday night he wasn’t sure of anything, but all signs point to a torn
ACL in Palmer’s left knee, the second time he has suffered that injury, to that knee,
in his career.
“We just did the contract, and everybody was on cloud nine,” Arians said from
Arizona. “Now this.”
Backup Drew Stanton entered the game with 9:45 left and Arizona trailing 14-10.
“Being around Carson now for the last couple of years,” Stanton said Sunday night,
“I knew something was wrong when he stayed down. That is not Carson.”
“We can win the Super Bowl with Drew Stanton,” Arians said. “There is no doubt in
my mind.”
This was the second bit of major drama in Stanton’s day. He and his wife, Kristin,
are expecting a child. She was due last Wednesday. He got a text from her Sunday
morning, when he’d arrived at the stadium for the game. “The text basically said,
Just so you know, you might want to get home pretty quick after the game. She felt
like the contractions were coming,” Stanton said.
This was an hour or so after the game, and Stanton had ducked into a Whole Foods
on his way home, shopping for dinner. And champagne, in case the baby came. As
he checked out and got in his car, Stanton explained the strangeness of the day.
“All week at practice, Carson loved this deep throw to John Brown,” Stanton said.
“We had it in the game plan, and at halftime we said, ‘We want to take our shot
with this play. It’s going to be there.'” Arians is famous for not dumbing-down his
game plan; whoever is in the game is going to run the stuff they planned for the
week. So even though Stanton was shaken to the core by the injury to Palmer, he
listened to Arians before he went out for his first play, first-and-10 at the Arizona
11. We’re gonna stay with what we planned. Just try to put some points on the
board. Nothing different from what Arians would have said to anyone subbing for an
injured player.
I did an interview with Arians for The MMQB that ran last week, and what he said
about dealing with injured players impressed me. He said: “Injuries happen to
everybody. Free-agent losses happen to everybody. I preach and preach and
preach, ‘The most valuable player on the team is not Larry Fitzgerald. It’s who’s
gonna take his place after Larry Fitzgerald gets hurt.’ It happened to me. I was the
next man up. I was the assistant coach in Indianapolis, and 20 hours after Chuck
[Pagano] goes down [with leukemia] I am running the team. I always tell the Wally
Pipp story, even though the players never know who he is, that he’s the guy Lou
Gehrig replaced and Wally Pipp could never get his job back. The worst part? They
don’t know who Lou Gehrig is.”
Stanton came in and found two quick completions to his tight ends, who often are
the forgotten men in the Arizona offense because of the wideout threats the
Cardinals have. On first down from the Rams’ 48, Arians thought he’d get the
single-high safety look the Rams had shown on similar plays at similar points of the
field. He called the play for Brown. In it, the Cards flank Brown and Fitzgerald left.
Fitzgerald takes a corner with him trolling across the field. Brown presses his corner
toward the left corner, then sprints inside toward the post. If he’s right, Brown will
have beaten the corner already, then will outrun the safety on the way to the ball.
That’s exactly what happened.
“I didn’t know if I had enough arm on the throw,” said Stanton. “John’s so fast.”
Stanton definitely had enough arm. For the third time this season, Brown made the
game-winning catch on a fourth-quarter deep ball. Arizona added two late
defensive touchdowns, and this improbable 8-1 team had a muted celebration,
players going into the trainers’ room to pay their respects to Palmer. “You try to be
respectful,” said Stanton. “You know he’s down. It’s so tough to see someone in
pain like that.”
I asked Arians how many more body blows his team could take and still keep
ticking. Daryl Washington and Karlos Dansby at linebacker, gone. Darnell Dockett,
gone. Calais Campbell, missing for a month. Now the quarterback they’d built the
offense around, most likely gone. “It’s not gonna stop,” Arians said. “It’s football.
There’s gonna be another one, I just don’t know who and when. That’s what we
believe. We don’t let up, and we don’t make excuses.”
One more thing.
“We can win the Super Bowl with Drew Stanton,” Arians said. “There is no doubt in
my mind.”
There will be a few people in the Cardinals’ offices today pulling for Kristin Stanton
to have that baby early in the week. Her husband’s got another big job this week.
The football calendar is unforgiving that way.
The Lions don’t make the dumb mistakes anymore.
Detroit has been winning the games they lost a year ago, and Sunday against
Miami was a perfect example.
Tie game, 4:31 to play, Miami ball, third-and-goal at the Detroit two. Ryan
Tannehill slid right, looking for an open receiver in the end zone, and tight end
Charles Clay suddenly clapped his hands. I’m open! Tannehill threw a dart. Clay
caught it—but in flew safety James Ihedigbo, the former Belichick and John
Harbaugh safety, to punch the ball out of Clay’s hands. Miami settled for a field
goal.
Trailing 16-13, Detroit at its 27, second-and-nine. Stafford was at the line for eight,
10, 12 seconds, trying to read the seven men who juked and stopped and started
at the line. The blitz was on. “They had eight up,” Stafford said from Detroit. (I
counted seven, but found out Stafford was right on NFL Game Rewind early this
morning. Safety Reshad Jones left his perch over the right tackle when Stafford
changed the protection, and it turned out five men rushed and two more dropped at
the snap.) “I ended up switching protections three times, and then Golden [Tate]
did a great job beating the coverage over the middle.”
At the two-minute warning, Detroit had advanced to the Miami 38, and Stafford and
offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi met at the sideline. “We’re close, and we’re
almost in field-goal range” Lombardi told him, “but let’s try to go win this thing
now.”
Stafford worked his way down to the Miami 11 with 36 seconds left. If he could, he
was going to try to find a sliver of space to get the ball into Calvin Johnson (who
wouldn’t?). Again, the Dolphins put eight men near the line. This time, they
dropped eight and rushed only three. Off the line, Dion Jordan—who spent some
time actually covering Johnson in this game—was on Johnson here, on the biggest
play of the game, as he left the right flank and began running upfield. Jordan was
joined by a safety. “Looked like a blitz at first, but only three came, and they
doubled Calvin,” said Stafford. “So I had to do something else.”
What followed is not a play many quarterbacks can make. Stafford is a different
breed on the run. He can throw going to his left and his right accurately, on the run
and making sudden stops. “He’s got more ability to throw the ball from different
angles than any quarterback in the league,’’ Dan Fouts said on CBS, and I agree.
This time the rush forced him left. Stafford spied running back Theo Riddick, the
2013 sixth-round back from Notre Dame, with maybe a quarter-step of an edge on
Reshad Jones inside the five-yard line along the left sideline. “Theo’s a confident
kid,’’ Stafford said, “And I can count on him to make the right decision, be in the
right spot. When I start to run around, it becomes a little bit of backyard football,
and I thought I could get the ball into him.”
Stafford, moving laterally left, flicked the ball sidearm. Perfect spiral. Landed right
in a sliding Riddick’s gut five yards into the end zone. Touchdown. Ballgame.
Caldwell would let the players pick the restaurants, then spend hours getting to
know them. “Their favorite movies, their favorite book, their families. I’d ask them,
‘Who’s the best point guard in the NBA?’ ”
For the third straight game, the Lions won a game they’d trailed late in the fourth
quarter. And that, players and staff say, is a direct result of some of the mind
games new coach Jim Caldwell is playing.
Caldwell might be one of those rarities in the NFL—a coach who is better-suited to
be a head coach than a coordinator. He worked to mixed reviews as Baltimore’s
offensive coordinator last year (the Ravens were 25th in the NFL in scoring at a
paltry 20 points per game), but the Lions saw him as the perfect remedy to the up-
and-down, discipline-challenged team that he would inherit. Caldwell can be an
impassioned speaker, but much like one of his career mentors, Tony Dungy, he’s a
flat-liner who doesn’t threaten loudly. If you don’t do things his way, you’ll be
gone—but it will be done civilly.
Detroit led in the fourth quarter of its last seven games last season—and won one.
This year, the Lions are turning it over less (last nine games last year: 26
turnovers; first nine games this year: 12 turnovers) and winning more. They are 7-
2 and heading to the desert this week for a showdown with the 8-1 Cardinals.
“We were frank and honest with the players from the moment we walked in the
door,’’ Caldwell said from his office the other day. “In this league, we see it every
year: Teams lose games in the NFL more than they win them. We brought in
players and coaches from winning backgrounds—James Ihedigbo and Glover Quin
[from Houston], Golden Tate from Seattle, [coordinators] Joe Lombardi from the
Saints and Teryl Austin from the Ravens.”
Caldwell introduced a twice-weekly part of team meetings: The High Cost of Low
Living. Each meeting, he’d have an example, culled from the internet or newspaper
by longtime senior VP of communications Bill Keenist or someone else on staff, of
an athlete or famous person being arrested or doing something stupid publicly.
“Common-sense lessons,” said Caldwell. “Like, ‘Don’t be out after 1 a.m.’ Tony
[Dungy] used to do something like this. He’d say, ‘If you want to stay out of the
USA Today, don’t do this,’ and he’d show guys who made mistakes. They’re all
things that happen that can be avoided. It’s education that helps your players stay
on the field.”
And when they mess up, as defensive tackle C.J. Mosley did in London, reportedly
smoking marijuana on the trip, but absent of a test proving it, Caldwell acted
quickly. He sent Mosley home and benched him for two games.
“I just think discipline is important,” he said. “It shows up in games.”
Caldwell also took all positions groups out to dinner, one a week, during the
offseason. He’d let the players pick the restaurants, then spend two to three hours
getting to know them. “Their favorite movies, their favorite book, their families. I’d
ask them, ‘Who’s the best point guard in the NBA?’ We’d get some great
discussions going. Just to get to know the players as men, as people, is so
important. I read a lot, and I always have believed something General Patton says
is important: ‘Take care of your men.’ ”
Stafford said he feels the respect from Caldwell. “He teaches the important things,”
Stafford said. “Poise and confidence. Those are really important traits to him.”
Those are traits these Lions are playing with now. We’ll see if they last for the long
haul. Last season, Detroit was 6-2 after eight games and it didn’t last. The proof
with Caldwell will be known in a couple of months.
Who is Jaiquawn Jarrett, and why did he dominate Big Ben?
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Jaiquawn Jarrett, a 2011 second-round pick of the
Philadelphia Eagles, couldn’t remember ever playing like this in the pros. The last
time he played as well as he did in the Jets’ 20-13 upset of the Steelers? “Probably
in college,” the Jets safety said. “It was a great feeling to finally get my first NFL
interception.”
Think about that: A defensive back, drafted 54th overall, gets his first pro
interception during his fourth season. Jarrett’s career so far has been a bumpy ride.
He was cut by the Eagles one game into his second season, a humbling fate for a
high draft pick, and spent the rest of the season out of the league. The Jets took a
flier on him. (Sports Quiz: What was Mike Tannenbaum’s last move before he was
fired as Jets’ general manager? Answer: Signing Jarrett to a futures contract days
after the ugly 2012 season ended.) Their evaluation at the time: Good character,
smart, tough, and close friends with Muhammad Wilkerson. Why not?
Sunday’s performance was fueled in part by one of the lowlights of his Eagles
tenure. Jarrett recalled a 2012 preseason game when the Eagles played the
Steelers, and he whiffed on an opportunity to make an impression in the starting
lineup. Missed tackles, poor angles, blown coverages. A few weeks later, he was
cut. “My first time playing (Ben Roethlisberger) in 2012, I didn’t have a great
game,” Jarrett said. “I was going to make sure I came out here and did my job.”
He did more than that. Told on Friday he’d be starting over first-round pick Calvin
Pryor, Jarrett was the main reason the Jets finally secured their second win. He
ended the Steelers’ first drive with a sack of Roethlisberger. He ended their second
possession by recovering receiver Antonio Brown’s fumble on a screen pass. Then
came a pair of interceptions: the first a diving scoop on the ricochet of teammate
Marcus Williams’ batted pass on the goal line, and the second on Roethlisberger’s
overthrow of wideout Markus Wheaton over the middle. Jarrett noticed
Roethlisberger point to Wheaton before he made the throw, so he broke on the ball
with a brisk sprint. “I saw Ben direct him, and when he floated it, I was like, ‘I
gotta come down with it,'” he said.
Jarrett’s takeaway tally yesterday: three. The Jets’ takeaway tally over their first
nine games: three.
With a ring of reporters around Jarrett’s locker after the game, Geno Smith,
another second-round pick who knows what it’s like to be humbled, came over and
slipped in a hug. “Good game, bro,” Smith said. If Jarrett was ever going to make
an impact in the NFL, the time is now. The Jets have been playing musical chairs in
the secondary, looking for someone to emerge among a deficient unit depleted
even further by injuries. “It’s an amazing feeling,” Jarrett said. “You go through a
lot of adversity and you’ve just got to continue to keep your faith.” Obviously,
Jarrett kept his.
* * *
Five quick questions, five quick answers…
With Chris Simms, the former quarterback and NFL quality-control coach, now
analyzing the NFL for Bleacher Report and CBS Sports. I reached out because I’ve
liked his direct, blunt analysis this season. He said, for instance, that the Eagles
may be better off with Mark Sanchez than Nick Foles; and when the Jets’
quarterbacks were struggling mightily, he said he didn’t think his brother, Matt, the
third-stringer with the team, should be playing over Michael Vick. (Seems obvious
after Vick’s play Sunday against Pittsburgh, but it didn’t seem so obvious a couple
of weeks ago, particularly to Matt’s flesh and blood.)
The MMQB: Why the media gig?
Simms: I wanted to get into coaching or get on the track to be a GM. But for the
last three years, I was basically a bitch boy, a quality-control coach and part-time
scouting assistant, working with Josh McDaniels and the Patriots [most recently]. I
loved it, but I couldn’t stomach all the time I’d be away from my family. I’m going
to put all my efforts into being good at this. Like my dad [Phil] told me, “If you’re
going to do this, you can’t fake it.” So I put in the work. I watch the tape. I talk to
people I know in the league. I really work at it.
The MMQB: How did you like working for Bill Belichick?
Simms: Loved it. He’s the smartest person I’ve ever been around. His attention to
detail just blows me away. What I noticed about him is that the grind of coaching is
not a grind to him. He loves it. It’s a way of life.
The MMQB: Best five quarterbacks in the NFL today.
Simms: I hate how everybody just says Tom Brady and Peyton Manning are the
best two quarterbacks in football. They’re not. Are they gonna be 65 years old and
we’ll all be saying, “Brady and Manning are still the best?” Tom Brady’s not in my
top five. I mean, he’s still really good, but I like other guys better. I’d go Aaron
Rodgers one, Andrew Luck two, Ben Roethlisberger three, Russell Wilson four and
Peyton five.
The MMQB: Best player in the league we don’t know yet.
Simms: [Oakland linebacker] Khalil Mack. He’ll be a superstar for a long time. He’s
Von Miller-esque.
The MMQB: Ever wonder what would have happened to you if you didn’t rupture
your spleen in that game? [Simms suffered a rupture spleen in a 2006 game
against Carolina, and started only one game the rest of his career. He retired in
2009, at age 29.]
Simms: Never a week goes by that I don’t wonder about that. The injury ruined my
career.
* * *
Four issues, four quick opinions.
The Bears will not recover this year. The decisiveness of the 55-14 loss in Green
Bay Sunday night said much more about the Bears’ deficiencies than it did about
the Packers’ greatness. The Bears’ secondary was abominable. The only worse thing
in this football weekend was Andy Dalton—and I’m not even certain about that.
NBC had a great graphic during the game that showed how wide open Jordy Nelson
was on one of his long gains. I don’t generally advocate panic moves, but giving up
106 points in two games? This is professional football. Someone has to pay, and I
believe it should be a good man whose players are somnambulant right now,
defensive coordinator Mel Tucker. But make no mistake: GM Phil Emery and coach
Marc Trestman will ultimately be responsible. We’ll see how the season ends (the 3-
6 Bears are paying for pride, and jobs, now), and I doubt Chicago will fire either
man, but that depends how much this team embarrasses the franchise. The level of
humiliation cannot get much worse.
The Niners save their season, and need to play more like Chris Borland. “Just a
little dumb luck,’’ said linebacker Chris Borland, after he recovered a fumble in
overtime and Phil Dawson followed with a game-winning field goal in New Orleans.
There’s some truth to what Borland says, but to see how he attacked the loose ball,
swan-diving in from five feet away, no regard for his own health, is a good lesson
for the seasoned pros on the Niners who might not be playing the same sense of
desperation. “I didn’t give it a lot of thought,’’ Borland said. “I just reacted. That’s
the game right there, that ball on the ground.” San Francisco now faces a clear
path to the playoffs, with games against the Giants, Washington and Seattle
(Thanksgiving Night) in the next 18 days. Pass-rusher Aldon Smith returns from his
suspension Sunday in New Jersey, and his fresh legs are needed.
I think Ray Rice wins his appeal. That doesn’t mean he’ll find a job. I haven’t
spoken to anyone who thinks the NFL will be able to keep Ray Rice suspended; it’s
a clear and elongated version of double-jeopardy, and I presume judge Barbara
Jones will rule thusly in about two weeks. But while it’s tempting to think a thumb-
their-nose-at-the-league team like New Orleans could take a shot at Rice in
December if its backfield is beat up then, I hear nothing reliable about specific
teams intending to try to sign him if the suspension is dropped.
Tony Romo should have played Sunday. It’s not complicated. Players who are
cleared to play by team doctors play. If you want to dispute whether the team
doctors are acting in the players’ best interests in Dallas, that’s fine. But the fact is
you don’t know anything about that and neither do I—at least not enough to
question their care for Romo. Now, having said that, I can be critical of the
Cowboys for two things: Keeping Romo and DeMarco Murray in the game for any
part of Sunday’s fourth quarter with a 24-point lead was unnecessarily risky, and I
think Romo shouldn’t have gone back in the Monday night game two weeks ago.
The Fine Fifteen
1. New England (7-2). Average points per game during current 5-0 streak: 40.3.
Average points per game by Denver in 2013, when the Broncos set the NFL single-
season scoring record: 37.9.
2. Arizona (8-1). Game of Week 11: Detroit (7-2) at Arizona (8-1). Seems the
Cards play one of these prove-it games every two or three weeks. Even without
Carson Palmer, this just looks like Arizona’s year.
3. Denver (7-2). Broncos are now 15-1 in AFC West games with Peyton Manning
behind center. A couple of good tests in division remaining: at Kansas City in Week
13, at San Diego in Week 15.
4. Green Bay (6-3). No words, except for these: The Packers are really good, and
the Bears, who have allowed 106 points in the past two games, ought to be
ashamed of themselves.
5. Philadelphia (6-2). Eagles defensive MVP DeMeco Ryans lost for the year with a
torn Achilles. Casey Matthews, who has been gathering cobwebs much of the past
three years on defense, starts for him tonight against the Panthers. All eyes are on
Matthews holding the point against physical runners.
6. Indianapolis (6-3). Worked out well that the NFL gave the Patriots and Colts the
Week 10 bye and a Week 11 meeting. Competitive fairness.
7. Kansas City (6-3). Four-game winning streak now, and toughest one was Sunday
in Orchard Park. Look for good analysis on this one from The MMQB’s Greg Bedard
later this morning.
8. Detroit (7-2). Lions have won the past three by 1, 1 and 4 points. I say last
year’s Lions would have lost two of those. “We don’t think about that,” Matthew
Stafford told me after the tight win over Miami. I do.
9. Dallas (7-3). There wasn’t too much pressure on Tony Romo to play competently
with two broken bones and screaming pain in his back Sunday at Wembley, was
there?
10. Seattle (6-3). I don’t want to deflate any win by any NFL team, and I don’t
mean to make light of the Giants’ secondary Sunday at Century Link Field, but I do
believe that was Elvis “Toast” Patterson playing nickel for the beleaguered and
beat-up New York secondary.
11. Pittsburgh (6-4). Two things happened in the Meadowlands on Sunday: Steelers
got outplayed. Steelers gave the game away about 13 different ways. Most
misleading quarterback line of the day is Ben Roethlisberger going 30 of 43 for 343
yards.
12. Baltimore (6-4). Biggest event in their week wasn’t the easy win over the
Titans. It was the IR-ing of ace cornerback Jimmy Smith on Friday. That’s a big
blow for a secondary that’s going to have to beat Peyton Manning or Tom Brady or
Ben Roethlisberger, or some of the above or all of the above if the Ravens get to
January.
13. Miami (5-4). Left tackle Branden Albert gone, probably for the season, with a
knee injury. Huge loss. Just a bummer of a day in Detroit.
14. San Francisco (5-4). There are elements to criticize in Colin Kaepernick’s game
Sunday in New Orleans, but he kept the vital play alive at the end of regulation,
saving the season with a 51-yard bomb to Michael Crabtree on fourth-and-10 from
the Niners’ 22. Now the Niners (at New York Giants, Washington at home) can be
relevant for their Thanksgiving Night showdown with Seattle at Levi’s Stadium if
they take care of business in two winnable games.
T-15. Cleveland (6-3). Still not sure the Browns are playoff-worthy, but the
schedule is friendly enough to keep them in the hunt until December. Next three:
Houston (in The Tom Brady Backup Bowl … Brian Hoyer versus Ryan Mallett), at
Atlanta, at Buffalo.
T-15. Buffalo (5-4). The offense is really limiting the growth of this team. Points in
last seven games: 10, 17, 17, 22, 17, 43 (against the Jets) and 13. That’s not
going to get it done.
The Award Section
Offensive Player of the Week
Michael Vick, quarterback, New York Jets. A Jets quarterback, player of the week?
Heresy! Classic Vick game, doing just enough with his legs (39 yards rushing,
including a nifty 18-yarder), an efficient 10 of 18 for 132 and two touchdowns
(including a well-thrown 67-yarder to T.J. Graham). Best things: No interceptions,
no fumbles lost, no fumbles period. The Jets, with that oppressive defense, will
make it very interesting on foes down the stretch.
Marshawn Lynch, running back, Seattle. On a day when the Seahawks shredded the
Giants’ run defense with a franchise-record 350 rushing yards (on 45 carries, a
ridiculous 7.8-yard average), Lynch led the way with 140 yards and four
touchdowns in the 38-17 Seattle victory. Whether Lynch is around in 2015 is
unimportant right now; he’ll be the focus of the Seahawks offense down the stretch
this season.
Defensive Players of the Week
I lied when I promised I’d only give a max of two awards in any category. I cannot
whittle down the defensive men from Week 10.
Jaiquawn Jarrett, safety, New York Jets. The first of the anonymous Defensive
Players of the Week, Jarrett came to the Jets in 2013, originally drafted by the
Eagles in 2011 out of Temple. And Sunday, he had the best game of his short
career—and one of the best games by any defensive player in the league this year.
Ten tackles, a sack of Ben Roethlisberger, two interceptions of Roethlisberger, and
a forced fumble. Jarrett was huge in a game where the Jets needed a great
defensive day.
Ron Parker, cornerback, Kansas City. Two very big reasons I’m giving this to the
unknown cornerback from tiny Newberry (S.C.) College. Buffalo was driving to take
a 17-3 lead on the first series of the third quarter, and Parker forced a Bryce Brown
fumble that bounced out of the end zone for a touchback. Huge play. Also, on the
last Buffalo series of the day, the Bills trailing 17-13, Kyle Orton got the Bills to the
Chiefs’ 15-yard line, with 2:47 to play. Plenty of time. Momentum in Buffalo’s favor.
On first, third and fourth downs, Parker was the man in coverage who prevented a
completion. He had a team-high eight tackles, but those four plays were the biggest
of his day.
Chris Borland, linebacker, San Francisco. Well, he did recover the Ahmad Brooks
strip of Drew Brees in overtime at the Saints’ 17, and the Niners kicked the winning
field goal on the next play. But that was just the cherry on the sundae. Borland had
17 tackles in the 27-24 win over the Saints, on the heels of his 18-tackle day
against St. Louis last week. Not bad for a rookie. Not bad for Niners GM Trent
Baalke, who used the 77th pick in the draft on him last May and is getting one of the
bargain rookies of the season.
Special Teams Player of the Week
Earl Mitchell, defensive tackle, Miami. With the Lions lining up to kick a field goal to
expand their second-half lead to 13-6 over Miami, Mitchell forced his way through
the center-guard gap, stuck his meaty right arm up and blocked the Matt Prater
field-goal try. Dion Jordan picked it up, ran it back inside the Lions’ five, and set up
the go-ahead touchdown for Miami. But, sadly for Dolfans, ultimately not the
winning touchdown for Miami.
Coach of the Week
Kyle Shanahan, offensive coordinator, Cleveland. The Browns have gone 3-0,
averaging 23 points a game over the past three weeks, without their best offensive
weapon, wideout Josh Gordon, and without Pro Bowl center Alex Mack, and, in
Thursday’s game at Cincinnati, without starting tight end Jordan Cameron and
jitterbug wideout Andrew Hawkins—all either hurt or suspended. Shanahan is
playing survival-ball with a cast of low-round picks and training-camp finds, with a
quarterback who may or may not be the answer. It’s a strange brew and Shanahan,
who got run out of Washington with his father last year, is on his way to proving he
can make do with less—which is one way to get a head-coaching job in the NFL.
That’s multiple years down the road, if ever, but this has been a terrific job by the
Cleveland offense, playing competently when almost every week the sum of the
offensive talent is less than the team across the field.
Goat of the Week
Andy Dalton, quarterback, Cincinnati. It was one of the most mind-numbingly awful
performances by a quarterback of this, or any, NFL season. Dalton’s 10-for-33, no-
touchdown, three-interception game Thursday in the 24-3 loss to Cleveland
reinforced the belief among Bengal partisans that Dalton’s not the man to lead the
Bengals out of the football wilderness. The worst eight NFL games Dalton has
played, measured by passer rating, leave no doubt that Thursday night was the
worst performance of his 61-game NFL career:
Career Game No. Result Passer rating
61 L, 24-3 Cleveland 2.0
3 L, 13-8 San Francisco 40.8
34 L, 19-13 Houston (playoffs) 44.7
17 L, 31-10 Houston (playoffs) 51.4
44 L, 20-17 Baltimore 52.2
43 L, 22-20 Miami 55.4
57 L, 27-0 Indianapolis 55.4
24 L, 24-17 Pittsburgh 56.4
Quotes of the Week
I
“It was definitely not a push-off. I’m running down the field telling myself,
‘Whatever you do, don’t push off.’ It’s interesting how guys grab me everywhere on
the field and I put literally two fingers on somebody, and they make that kind of
call.”
—New Orleans tight end Jimmy Graham, on the offensive pass interference call at
the end of the fourth quarter that negated what would have been the winning
touchdown.
I mean, I have great admiration for Graham the player. But that is just crazy.
Graham pushed off, the defender hit the ground, and it enabled him to catch a
touchdown pass that rightfully was flagged and called back.
II
“How ‘bout those Chieeeeeeefs! That was a beautiful thing. You kept pounding and
pounding and pounding!”
—Kansas City coach Andy Reid, to his team in the visitors’ locker room after the 17-
13 win over Buffalo.
III
“This is the most American thing you can do. This is apple pie right here.”
—Steve Shukie, the football coach at Kents Hill School, a prep school in Readfield,
Maine.
Greg Bedard of The MMQB spent three days with the team and wrote this story on
the meaning of football. Our video crew produced this piece on the team.
What’s cool about the Kents Hill team: The four captains are from four different
countries, and in Bedard’s piece and in the video, they speak about how important
football has been in their development and maturation. The story is well worth your
time.
IV
“It’s a bit extreme.”
—Jets quarterback Michael Vick, on the “Fire John Idzik” banner that was flown over
the team’s practice session last Wednesday. Idzik was on the field to see it.
V
“Jets Rebuilding Since 1969.”
—Banner toted by a plane flying over the Meadowlands before the Steelers-Jets
game Sunday
VI
“I have given my heart and soul to the game that I love, and it’s time for me to
move on to the next chapter of my life and help others. I have given every ounce of
my energy toward making a full recovery from my knee injury, and I have made a
lot of progress. Unfortunately, getting my knee fully back to the level the NFL
demands has proven to be insurmountable. I am grateful for the entire 49ers
organization. Their decision to draft me was the realization of a lifelong dream to be
an NFL player, and I cannot thank them enough for believing in me and for doing
everything in their power to assist in my recovery. Though I am proud of what I
have accomplished throughout my football career, I am sincerely disappointed that
it must end, but I trust that God has a great plan for my future. As for what’s next,
I will be returning to the University of South Carolina to complete my degree.”
—From the retirement statement of San Francisco running back Marcus Lattimore,
who suffered a debilitating knee injury as a South Carolina player in 2012 and,
obviously, couldn’t come back from it.
ESPN reported he will be able to collect on a $1.7 million insurance policy that he
bought for around $10-15,000 while at South Carolina. Lattimore was a
tremendous talent. A shame he never got to show that talent in the NFL. In one
training-camp encounter with Lattimore in 2013 and in speaking with 49ers people
over the last couple of years, I think Lattimore’s going to be okay in life. Class guy.
VII
“We gave a game ball to specialist Andrew Martin, who was out at the coin toss and
is certainly serving our country. We gave it to him as a symbolic representation of
all the men and women that serve in the armed forces and he’s going to be
deployed to South Korea. We certainly wanted to give him something to
remember.”
—Lions coach Jim Caldwell, who invited the serviceman into the postgame locker
room, gave him the game ball and made sure he got an ovation from his team,
after Detroit’s 20-16 win over Miami. Sunday was the day the NFL recognized all
branches of the military.
Stat of the Week
I
Prior to the Bears’ eighth game of the season, at New England, Chicago had played
1,313 games in the 95-season history of the franchise.
In game 1,314, against the Patriots last week, the Bears allowed 38 points in the
first half, the most points they’d ever allowed in a first half in their history.
In game 1,315, against the Packers on Sunday night, the Bears allowed 42 points
in the first half, the most points they’d ever allowed in a first half in their history.
II
All four teams in the AFC North have four wins at home, and one loss at home.
Factoid of the Week That May Interest Only Me
Many of you have wondered about the NFL’s love affair for the London games. Not
surprisingly, it has to do with money, and exposure, and a bet on the globalization
of football. There will be three more games at Wembley Stadium next season (Jets-
Dolphins, Lions-Chiefs, Bills-Jaguars), so the experiment clearly is not going away.
The average ticket price of the London games is 80 pounds, the equivalent of $127.
Each of the three games this year, including Cowboys-Jags on Sunday, was a
sellout. Which set up this financial bonanza for the NFL moving three of its 256
regular-season overseas:
Game Attendance Ticket revenue
Miami-Oakland 83,436 $10,596,372
Detroit-Atlanta 83,532 $10,608,564
Dallas-Jacksonville 83,603 $10,617,581
Total 250,571 $31,822,517
The bigger question, probably, is how much more can the Jacksonville Jaguars
make from a home game in London versus a home game in North Florida. Assume
the Jags would have sold out the game Sunday against Dallas—67,297 seats, at an
average ticket price of about $58. The gate at Wembley Stadium would be about
$6.7 million more than the gate they’d have earned if the game was played in
Jacksonville.
Chip Kelly Wisdom of the Week
“I had it all mapped out actually. Seriously. I wrote it down. I said, ‘When I’m the
head coach of the Eagles, I’m going to make sure I get that guy on my team.’ And
then guy next to me was like, ‘You’re only the offensive coordinator at
New Hampshire.’ I said, ‘Don’t worry about it. Minor details. But it’s going to
work.’ ”
—Kelly, the Eagles’ coach, asked prior to Sanchez’s first start under Kelly whether,
a decade ago when he was a college recruiter at New Hampshire, he had any
feeling that he might one day actually coach Sanchez.
Sometimes I wonder about these questions NFL coaches get asked.
Mr. Starwood Preferred Member Travel Note of the Week
I
I had to drive from Manhattan to Boston on Thursday morning for a breakfast
meeting. It’s about 208 miles from point to point. I left Manhattan at 4:50 sharp.
Stopped once, briefly—at a drive-thru Starbucks on the Merritt Parkway in
Woodbridge (near New Haven), and, at that hour, managed to avoid traffic
everywhere for the first 170 miles … and I started imagining: This could be my
first-ever New York-to-Boston drive in less than three hours. I was 33 miles out
when, on the Mass Pike, my dream died. Morning rush into Boston—not good. That
traffic is as soul-sucking as the FDR Drive in the morning. Three hours, 33 minutes.
Bummer.
The only way to break the three-hour barrier, I’m convinced, is to leave at 2:30
a.m. Which is something I’ll probably never do.
II
Not a travel note, but a life one I thought you might enjoy.
Most mornings when I am home, I walk out of my apartment on the east side of
Manhattan and head over to a bodega a block away and buy the New York Post and
New York Daily News. (We get the New York Times and Wall Street Journal home-
delivered.) We are watching daughter Mary Beth’s dog Lucy for a spell, and so this
affords me the chance to take the black lab/shepherd/maybe-a-few-other-
ancestries mix around the block for her morning walk.
The front pages of the papers are always … interesting. None moreso than
Saturday’s Post. I like the Seinfeldian details at the bottom of the story.
Ten Things I Think I Think
1. I think this is what I liked about Week 10:
a. Great coverage by Richard Sherman on Odell Beckham on the goal line, forcing a
deflected interception into the arms of safety Earl Thomas—and a gutsy return by
Thomas. He could have taken a knee eight yards deep in the end zone, but Thomas
had the presence to take it out, and he got it out to the Seattle 42.
b. Receiver Preston Parker of the Giants. A more physical receiver than I’d thought.
c. The three-sack day by Marcell Dareus of the Bills. “If I’m going to take over the
league, then I’m going to do it,” said Dareus. “One of the goals that I wanted to
reach when I came out of college was to be the best player and be the best person
I can possibly be. Why wait until a contract year like most guys do?”
d. Patrick Peterson’s two interceptions in two and a half minutes in the fourth
quarter. If this had been a baseball game, Peterson would have been credited with
a six-out save.
e. The incredible interception, leaping and with one hand, by Miami’s Brent Grimes,
in the end zone at Detroit.
f. The Andy Reid coaching lookalike in the stands in Buffalo. Perfect. But what was
that as his play sheet? Looked like a menu from a Chinese restaurant.
g. The first defensive series for Buffalo: Kyle Williams blowing up Jamaal Charles,
loss of three; Jerry Hughes nabbing Charles behind the line, loss of two. Seven-
yard completion, with a Williams tackle. Dominant start of the game for Buffalo.
h. Dallas kicker Dan Bailey, who is the most efficient kicker of all-time, with a 54-
yard field goal in London.
i. Denard Robinson, with more explosiveness than I thought he had, on a 32-yard
touchdown burst against Dallas.
j. Johnthan Banks with a touchdown-saving pass-breakup for the Bucs on Julio
Jones.
k. Great on-field ceremony remembering the troops on two continents in London.
l. Joique Bell with his shoulder lowered.
m. Are you kidding me with that flip-pass while getting dragged down, Ben
Roethlisberger?
n. Anquan Boldin: best physical receiver in football.
o. Mike Evans: heir to best physical receiver in football.
p. Tremendous significant disruptive play by New Orleans defensive end Tyrunn
Walker, poking the ball out from a scrambling Colin Kaepernick and giving the
Saints a final chance in the first half to whittle down an 11-point deficit. (Which
they didn’t do.)
q. Dan Fouts’ line on Calvin Johnson, who bobbled twice and then caught a pass in
the third quarter under duress. “He’s so good he can catch the ball three times!”
r. Great hold by Andy Lee on the game-tying field goal in New Orleans.
2. I think this is what I didn’t like about Week 10:
a. Every single thing about Andy Dalton’s game Thursday night.
b. Antonio Brown. Two lost fumbles in his prior four-and-a-half NFL seasons. Two
Sunday, helping doom the Steelers.
c. The Giants, on the brink of their fifth playoff-less season in the past six years,
falling to 3-6 with the loss at Seattle. The Giants’ record in the regular season since
2009: 46-43.
d. Come on, Blake Bortles. Ever throw a touch pass?
e. Alex Rodriguez.
f. I know. Alex Rodriguez is a baseball player. Or used to be. I just wanted to
emphasize how much I don’t like him. I also cannot figure out how he can keep
track of so many lies to so many people.
g. Can’t lead with your helmet and try to spear Alex Smith, Aaron Williams. Cost
Buffalo 15 big yards.
h. Shonn Greene, fumbling at the goal line for Tennessee. Absurd turnover. You’ve
got to know foes will be clawing to try to get the ball out, and the Ravens obviously
were.
i. Looked like another rolled ankle for Reggie Bush. Just can’t stay healthy.
j. Terrible non-reversal in the Jets-Steelers game at the two-minute warning of the
first half. Mike Vick fumbled. The ball stayed in bounds. The Steelers recovered.
What’s to dispute?
k. Please, De’Anthony Thomas. You’re good. You’re not Superman. You cannot field
punts at the 2-yard line in the National Football League.
l. Buffalo’s fifth running back, Anthony Dixon, turning the corner and making
positive yards against the Chiefs.
m. The thieves who burglarized the home of Texans linebackers coach Mike Vrabel.
Included in the items stolen from his Houston area home: Vrabel’s three Super
Bowl rings from New England.
3. I think the call of the day belongs to back judge Jim Quirk, in the San Francisco-
New Orleans game. The push-off on Jimmy Graham was real, and should have been
called under any circumstances. The fact that it happened on the last play of the
fourth quarter and led to Graham catching what would have been the game-
winning touchdown pass … meaningless. A penalty is a penalty, and Quirk was
definitive, decisive and correct.
4. I think two very reliable Saints will be kicking themselves this morning, and
maybe all week, for their performances at the end of the first half in the loss to San
Francisco. It was ridiculous for Drew Brees to throw into the middle of three 49ers,
trying to find Jimmy Graham. Chris Culliver picked it off in the end zone. And coach
Sean Payton keeping two timeouts in his pocket, so the Saints couldn’t take full
advantage of having the ball at the Niners’ 42 with 66 seconds left in the half. He
used one of his three timeouts on the drive. Too much wasted time.
5. I think this should be required reading for you this week, whether you love
football unconditionally or whether you are having queasy thoughts about football’s
place in our society. The title of writer Michael Sokolove’s piece is, “Is football the
next tobacco?” Good question, and a thoughtful story.
6. I think Carson Palmer re-signing Friday is a tremendous boost to Brian Hoyer’s
prospective new deal, wherever it ends up being done. There is not a marquee
quarterback (is there ever?) in the 2015 free-agent quarterback pool. The two most
interesting—which could change, depending on how Ryan Mallett does with his
chance in Houston in the last half of the season—are Hoyer and restricted free-
agent Austin Davis of the Rams. How I would rate the top five prospective
quarterback free-agents-to-be, in order:
• Brian Hoyer, Cleveland. Quick release, ability to process info. Has made some big
throws under pressure for the Browns during their surprising 6-3 start, and the
Browns have had zero conversations about a new contract for Hoyer since May,
agent Joe Linta said Sunday. Linta also had Joe Flacco a couple of years ago. Flacco
played out his deal and was rewarded after the Ravens won the Super Bowl. Hoyer
has nowhere near the résumé of Flacco, of course. But he’s got one thing in
common with Flacco. “He’s like Joe,” Linta said. “He’s bet on himself.”
• Mark Sanchez, Philadelphia. Much to see in the next two months, but in the right
system, running a fast-paced offense (more to his liking), I think he has a chance
to compete to be someone’s starter for a few years.
• Austin Davis, St. Louis. He’s restricted, meaning the Rams will have the right to
match any offer he gets. But Davis has been impressive under tough
circumstances, and much more accurate than the Rams had any right to expect.
He’s had 76 percent, 71 percent and 85 percent passing games in the past two
months.
• Drew Stanton, Arizona. Can he take Bruce Arians with him?
• Ryan Mallett, Houston. Just a hunch, because I’ve soured so much on Jake
Locker.
• Jake Locker, Tennessee. Maybe, just maybe, the right coach can work on his
accuracy issues, which are major. I don’t know what anyone can do about his injury
issues, which also are many.
7. I think these would be my questions about the Dallas Cowboys and player usage
Sunday: Why, oh why, is DeMarco Murray in until the end of the third quarter?
Ditto Tony Romo? The Cowboys have talked openly about conserving Murray, and
he’s in the game, running it, with a 33-7 lead in the last minute of the third
quarter? And Romo too? With two broken bones in his back? Get the man out of a
24-point game with 15 minutes left.
8. I think this is the most damning stat coming out of Sunday’s games: As Bears
quarterback, Jay Cutler is 1-10 against the arch-rival Packers, with 22
interceptions. He has never played a game against Green Bay as a Bear without
throwing an interception. This is the quarterback you’re married to for the next six
years, Chicago?
9. I think this was a refreshing take from Tony Romo on the future of football in
London. He loved the week, said he loves London, and said, “As far as a team in
London, I would recommend it for sure. I loved it here.” Music to Roger Goodell’s
ears.
10. I think these are my non-football thoughts of the week:
a. Happy 35th birthday, NPR’s Morning Edition. Can’t say I’ve been with you every
step of the way, but Bob Edwards was my morning companion for many a year.
b. Story of the week: Tyler Dunne of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel with a few
thousand interesting words on Brett Favre. Said he doesn’t want to do a TV gig, in
part because of the travel and in part because, as he says, “I don’t want to sit
around the set all day and hear Warren Sapp tell stories.”
c. This could be prominent among the Things I’ll Never Figure Out About College
Football: Why, in the midst of the home stretch of the college football season, was
Ole Miss hosting the Presbyterian College Blue Hose (enrollment 1,172)? And why
was Mississippi State hosting the Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks?
d. Another long year for the Devils, eh, Tom Mantzouranis?
e. Do these Navy SEALS take a vow of silence about what they do on their
missions? If so, what kind of people trained to do some of the most important work
our country can do break that vow and go yapping for money, as these apparent
bin Laden triggermen are doing?
f. RIP, Tom Magliozzi, the first man to consistently laugh on NPR. He was half of the
Car Talk brothers, and he died the other day of Alzheimer’s Disease. Amazing that
the duo hadn’t done new shows for the past two years, but the audience kept
coming back for weekly Saturday morning Car Talk re-runs.
g. Funny how Tom Magliozzi came to do this Car Talk show. He explained in the MIT
commencement speech in 1998: “I graduated from here and I went to work as an
engineer. And I will tell you about my defining moment. I was driving—I lived in
Cambridge at the time—I was driving from Cambridge to my job in Foxboro, Mass.,
and I was driving in a little MG. It weighed about 50 pounds and on Route 128 I
was cut off by a semi and I almost, as they say, bought the farm. And as I
continued my drive, I said to myself, if I had in fact bought the farm out there on
Route 128, how ticked off would I be that I spent all my life going to this job, living
a life of quiet desperation. So, I pulled into the parking lot, walked into my boss’s
office and I quit, on the spot. I became a bum. I spent two years sitting in Harvard
Square drinking coffee. I invented the concept of the do-it-yourself auto repair shop
and I met my lovely wife.”
h. Something to be said for being happy in one’s job.
i. Sid Hartman, the prolific columnist for the Minneapolis Star Tribune, celebrated
his 70th anniversary working for the paper this week by … working. His Friday
column discussed the Twins’ free-agent budget this off-season, the Gophers’
biggest game of the season (Saturday, against Iowa), and the fact that Robin Yount
won’t be joining the coaching staff of his buddy and new Twins manager Paul
Molitor. Just your normal 1,221-word day for the 94-year-old Hartman.
j. Never knew this until the weekend: Sid Hartman was a Bernie Madoff ponzi-
scheme victim. That’s the Media Factoid of the Week That May Interest Only Me.
k. Coffeenerdness:
l. Beernerdness: Found a poor man’s Pliny The Elder in a west side bar in
Manhattan on Saturday: Harpoon 100 Barrel series #51, Cambridge Uncommon
Pale Lager. The name is long. The beer is worth it. It’s a cool beer—as the name
implies, a combination of IPA with lager, leaving a bit of pine taste on the pallet.
m. This is not a misprint: Five miles, treadmill, all flat, Saturday, in 39:50.
n. I am finally reaching the limit of what my 57-year-old legs—and my 57-year-old
will—can do. I am pretty pleased about it.
o. Running and writing have something in common. Mark Twain said the best thing
about writing is having written. (Which I agree with.) I also think the best thing
about running is having run.
p. The basketball season is about 314 games long, and people are worried that the
Cavaliers started 1-3? Sheesh.
Who I Like Tonight
Philadelphia 23, Carolina 16. Funny how all the focus in this game is whether Mark
Sanchez can play competently enough for the Eagles to win. I wonder if Cam
Newton (last three games: 48.1 percent completions, one touchdown pass) can.
Carolina needs Newton to form a better bond with Kelvin Benjamin (last three: 23
targets, nine completions). Maybe getting back DeAngelo Williams will help, so the
quarterback doesn’t have to put so much of the run game on his own shoulder
pads.
The Adieu Haiku
The Cards: 8 and 1.
Even with Carson injured,
still NFC’s best.
Peyton Manning throws five TDs in rout
of Raiders
By Dan Hanzus
NFL.com
November 9, 2014
A matchup between the mighty Denver Broncos and the winless Oakland Raiders
ended exactly how you might expect. Our takeaways from a 41-17 Broncos win on
Sunday:
1. Oakland's defense gave Peyton Manning fits early on, forcing the quarterback
into two interceptions that led to 10 Raiders points. Things turned in the second
quarter, when C.J. Anderson hauled in a third-down checkdown pass and made
nearly every Oakland defender miss on a 51-yard touchdown. It was the first of five
touchdown passes for Manning, who now has 29 on the season.
2. The game was over early in the third quarter when Derek Carr panicked in the
face of Denver's pass rush and shoveled a pass to right tackle Khalif Barnes, who
fumbled while attempting to extend the play (which would have been negated by a
penalty for illegal touching). Four plays later, Julius Thomas scored a back-breaking
touchdown to put Denver ahead, 27-10.
3. As you might expect, Derek Carr isn't ready to go toe-to-toe with the great
Manning. The rookie saved his stat line with a long touchdown drive in garbage
time, but lacked accuracy and tossed two interceptions.
4. Justin Tuck has been more active in Subway commercials than on the field this
season, but he made his presence felt early with a deflection and interception of
Manning in the first half. The athletic play summoned memories of Tuck's glory
days in New York. The Raiders expected more of that this season.
5. The depth of the Broncos' passing attack is unreal. Julius Thomas and Emmanuel
Sanders had two touchdowns apiece. Demaryius Thomas had 11 catches for 108
yards. Wes Welker is barely on the radar in this offense, which tells you a lot.
After encouraging start, Raiders
flattened in loss to Broncos
By Vic Tafur
San Francisco Chronicle
November 9, 2014
The Raiders played their best football of the season for the first quarter and a half
Sunday against Denver. Their defense was not only tugging on Peyton Manning’s
cape, but it was deflecting his passes at the line of scrimmage.
When Brice Butler pulled in a Derek Carr touchdown pass, the league’s only winless
team was up 10-6 midway through the second quarter and the Coliseum crowd was
in shock.
What happened next was just fan cruelty. In the time it took one of the Raiders’
faithful to text his friends that that they were ahead, the Broncos scored 14 points
in the last 2:44 of the first half and then the first 21 points of the second half.
The Raiders did score again — they own garbage time with five touchdowns in the
last two minutes of games — and punched out after a 41-17 loss left them 0-9.
They have lost 15 straight games dating to last season after the first blowout loss in
interim head coach Tony Sparano’s five-game span.
The first 2x4 in the Broncos’ 35-point run hurt the most. Cal alum C.J. Anderson
took a short pass on 3rd-and-8 and was about to be tackled for no gain by
linebacker Miles Burris. Burris has been plagued by an inability to get off blocks and
wrap up ball carriers, and he whiffed.
Khalil Mack, who gets a lot of positive attention despite having zero sacks, was next
and the linebacker missed, too. Charles Woodson, Oakland’s leader and second-
best defensive player, also couldn’t get Anderson down on the left sideline. At that
point, Anderson cut across the middle of the field and finished a 51-yard touchdown
reception.
That play was set up by a Carr interception, and after the Raiders went three-and-
out, Manning and the Broncos had the ball back at their 38 with 1:40 left. Anderson
— who finished with 163 yards rushing and receiving — had runs of 17 and 12
yards and then Manning dropped in a perfect 32-yard touchdown pass to Emmanuel
Sanders.
Raiders cornerback DJ Hayden was beaten on the play, and like the Raiders, the
2013 first-round pick overcame a good start to finish badly. He had an interception
on Manning’s second pass of the day, but was beat on the Sanders touchdown and
then on Julius Thomas’ first touchdown catch.
Thomas beat Hayden on a move inside, before Hayden was picked and gave up on
the play that gave Denver a 27-10 lead two minutes into the third quarter. Later,
after he broke up a pass intended for Demaryius Thomas, Hayden left the game
with a groin injury.
He missed the final eight games of last season with a groin injury.
In a season full of horrible plays, the worst might have come at the start of the
third quarter to set up that Thomas touchdown.
Carr was under pressure and decide to throw the ball to Khalif Barnes. First
problem, Barnes is a guard and is not an eligible receiver. Second problem, Barnes
is not Bo Jackson, and he rumbled right into a fumble. Third problem, the rules
don’t matter if a receiver is ineligible if the defense declines the ineligible-receiver
penalty, as the Broncos did. The fumble stood.
Carr finished 30-for-47 for 192 yards and two interceptions, and had no chance to
keep pace with Manning once he got rolling. Carr checks down a lot of passes to
play safe, and the Raiders’ offense is conservative, anyway.
All you have to know is that Oakalnd receiver James Jones had eight catches. For
20 yards.
GUEST COLUMN: Old AFC West rivals
polar opposites
By Ray Roybal
9news.com
November 9, 2014
These days, the only thing the Denver Broncos and Oakland Raiders have in
common is being in the AFC West. The Raiders are coming into week 10 win-less at
0-8, where the Broncos are in need of regaining their swagger after being exposed
in multiple areas against New England, but sit at 6-2.
Recent history suggests the Broncos will go into the Oakland Coliseum, do their
business, and leave, having a party on the flight home. Over the past three trips to
the Black Hole, the Broncos have gone 3-0, with an average margin of victory of
15.6 points. And that's including their 2011 victory, coming at the hands of Tim
Tebow. Even Raiders fans know how much of a laugher this game has become.
Every year, since 2011, the attendance has gone down by thousands of fans each
year at the Coliseum. Peyton Manning has much to prove in this game, not only to
the NFL but more importantly to himself. The reigning NFL MVP is harder on himself
than anyone and he knows the window is closing for he and the Broncos. With
many unknowns this coming off-season, he knows it's time to learn from his recent
failures and move on.
The Broncos have made it through the toughest part of their schedule and are
ready to make a strong statement. They need to start off on the right foot this
week, and win out the remainder of their schedule, leaving it up to no one but
themselves to get home-field advantage. Against the Raiders, there is no better
opponent to set that kind of tone and momentum.
The Raiders defense is 25th in the NFL in points allowed per game, with 24.6. When
they play at home, it's even worse, with an average of 30.7 PPG allowed. Not a
good stat, with a hungry Manning coming into town.
Oakland is giving up an average of 132 rushing yards per game. This plays directly
in the Broncos favor. All year, Denver has made a conscious effort to open up the
pass with a consistent running game, and this Sunday will be no different. Virgil
Green being active on Sunday will go a long way toward running the ball effectively,
while Ronnie Hillman and Juwan Thompson must run the ball with power and force
Oakland to have 8 bodies in the box.
Thompson compliments Hillman's quick-cut style of running, although getting
enough touches in a game has been an issue for him. If Thompson can run with
power and tire the Raiders defensive line, the secondary is in for a long day.
Manning will be looking to expose a banged up secondary. Carlos Rodgers, Chimdi
Chekwa and T.J. Carrie are all questionable to play in Sunday's game. Demaryius
Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders both had 100+ yard games against the New
England Patriots, although neither scored. Be prepared for Denver to spread the
field more often on Sunday and make a huge effort to get tight end, Julius Thomas,
in the mix early and often.
For the most part, the brightest point for the Raiders this year has been at
quarterback, with the rookie, Derek Carr. Carr has averaged 213.9 passing yards
per game, with 11 touchdowns and 7 interceptions. His poise and game
management skills have impressed many people throughout the NFL.
Unfortunately for Carr, his play has not propelled the Raiders to a single victory.
Broncos defensive coordinator, Jack Del Rio, needs to take advantage of the
inexperienced rookie and disguise some blitz packages. The lack of a stable,
productive running game, with long time veterans, Maurice Jones-Drew and Darren
McFadden, has caused Oakland to add more pressure to Carr and his receivers.
Oakland's offensive line has had it's fair share of issues this year as well.
Their run schemes and pass protection are both rated among the worst in the NFL.
If the Broncos #1 run defense can force the rookie quarterback to throw more than
he needs to, then their secondary will be in a position to have a massive day.
This game is Denver's to lose, and if they do lose, there are more issues with the
team than just the scoreboard operator at Sports Authority Field. Manning will be
amped up and have the team out for blood on Sunday.
Prediction:
Denver 41
Oakland 17
Peyton surpasses Unitas streak for
games with touchdown pass
By Mike Florio
ProFootballTalk/NBCSports.com
November 9, 2014
Two years ago, Saints quarterback Drew Brees surpassed the longstanding streak
of consecutive games with a touchdown pass. Far more amazing than the record of
47 straight games with at least one touchdown pass was the fact that John Unitas
held it for so long, from late 1960 through 2012.
Since then, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady also has passed the Unitas mark, falling
two games short of Brees’ 54-game record.
On Sunday, Peyton passed Unitas, too, extending Manning’s streak to 48. If he
continues to throw at least one touchdown pass in every game for the rest of the
season, Manning will tie Brees’ record in Week 16 against the Bengals, and he’ll
break it the next week against the Raiders.
Coincidentally, the Bengals stopped Brady’s run at 52 in 2013. They’ll possibly
have a chance to end Peyton’s at 53.
The string began in late 2010, when Manning was with the Colts. After missing all
of 2011 due to multiple neck surgeries, Peyton picked up where he left off in 2012,
and he hasn’t looked back.
Manning’s streak also includes a record run of games with multiple touchdown
passes. It’s 15, and counting.
With five-TD burst, Broncos run away
from Raiders
By Mike Wilkening
ProFootballTalk/NBCSports.com
November 9, 2014
After a sluggish start, the Broncos and quarterback Peyton Manning got down to
business, putting away the pesky-but-winless Raiders with a devastating run en
route to a 41-17 victory Sunday in Oakland.
Trailing 10-6 late in the second quarter, Denver burst away from Oakland thanks to
five Manning TD passes in a 16:43 span, including two late in the first half that
swung the game in the Broncos’ favor.
Denver’s first score in the sequence — a 51-yard reception by tailback by C.J.
Anderson — was a simple third-down check-down under duress by Manning that
turned into something big because of poor Raiders tackling and skilled running by
Anderson. Instead of a short gain and a likely punt, Anderson was off to the races,
and Broncos now had a 13-10 lead.
After an Oakland punt, the Broncos (7-2) struck again with 30 seconds left in the
half, with Manning hitting Emmanuel Sanders for a 32-yard score. On the play,
Sanders ran by two Oakland defensive backs, including cornerback D.J. Hayden,
who would later sustain a groin injury.
Now trailing 20-10, Oakland’s problems began to snowball as the third quarter
began. The Raiders’ first possession ended in disaster after quarterback Derek Carr
threw a pass to offensive tackle Khalif Barnes, who was not an eligible receiver.
Barnes advanced the ball but fumbled, and the Broncos recovered on the Oakland
18. Three plays later, Manning found tight end Julius Thomas for a 10-yard score,
making it 27-10.
The Raiders’ offense couldn’t counter, and soon, the Broncos’ offense would put the
game out of reach. On a 4th-and-1 play at the Oakland 32, Manning hit Thomas
downfield for his second touchdown of the half, making it 34-10.
The fifth and final TD pass came with 1:01 left in the third quarter, with Manning
finding Sanders for a 15-yard score.
Manning would finish with 340 yards on 31-of-44 passing. He would give way to
Brock Osweiler in the final period. Wideout Demaryius Thomas paced Denver with
11 catches for 108 yards, with Sanders adding 5-67-2 and Julius Thomas tallying 5-
63-2.
With Ronnie Hillman (ankle) in-and-out of the lineup, Anderson led the Broncos in
rushing, racking up 90 yards on just 13 carries and adding 4-73-1 receiving.
Carr completed 30-of-47 passes for Oakland, throwing TD passes to Brice Butler
(five yards) and Mychal Rivera (18 yards). However, Carr racked up just 192 yards
passing, and he was picked twice.
The loss pushes the Raiders to 0-9, with two first-half interceptions of Manning and
some spirited early play their only real keepsakes in defeat. Oakland travels to San
Diego next Sunday.
The Broncos, who remain one game ahead of the Chiefs in the AFC West, play at
St. Louis next Sunday.
Report: Broncos talking extension with
Chris Harris
By Josh Alper
ProFootballTalk/NBCSports.com
November 9, 2014
The Broncos have tabled contract talks with wide receiver Demaryius Thomas and
tight end Julius Thomas until after the season, but they are reportedly still open to
talking about new deals during the season.
Mike Klis of the Denver Post reports that the team has started talking about an
extension with cornerback Chris Harris. Harris, who signed with the Broncos as an
undrafted free agent in 2011, is set to become an unrestricted free agent after the
season but says he isn’t focused on that at the moment.
“My focus is on the team and trying to help this team win a Super Bowl,” Harris
said.
Harris tore his ACL last year, but has recovered well enough to play well in eight
starts for Denver this season. Harris has 26 tackles, 11 passes defensed and two
interceptions to rate as one of the Broncos’ leading defensive players so far this
season.
Harris is making $2.187 million after being tendered as a restricted free agent in
the offseason. Whether he signs now or after the season, Harris is in line for a big
raise come 2015.
Bradley Roby, C.J. Anderson help
Broncos do a 180
By Andrew Mason
denverbroncos.com
November 10, 2014
OAKLAND -- As the first half neared completion at O.co Coliseum Sunday, the
Broncos languished. The offense, stuck in neutral, lumbered under the weight of
execution errors. The defense held the Raiders down, only hamstrung by the short
fields that set up two scores.
It felt similar to the situation in which the Broncos found themselves seven days
earlier in New England. But this time, they abruptly reversed course, thanks to a
rookie nickelback and a second-year runner who had just eight carries in the
previous six games.
Together, Bradley Roby's interception and C.J. Anderson's defender-dodging, cross-
field odyssey through the Oakland defense shattered any notions of an upset for
the ages, igniting a 35-0 explosion that restored the Broncos to their usual form in
what ended up being a 41-17 romp.
Others had more big plays. Tight end Julius Thomas scored twice; so did wide
receiver Emmanuel Sanders. Quarterback Peyton Manning threw five touchdown
passes, and seized the league lead with 29 for the season.
But none had the profound impact of what Roby and Anderson accomplished in a
53-second span. On a team with talent in spots it continues to discover, they
pointed the Broncos to a win that restored order after the previous week's
thrashing and the edgy, intense week that followed.
"You need guys to step up and make plays," said wide receiver Wes Welker. "C.J.
made a lot of good plays for us out there. And it's what we needed to really get us
going."
Until that moment, the Broncos' dominance only showed up on the statistical sheet.
Denver had an 11-4 advantage in first downs, a 168-76 edge in yardage gained and
averaged 1.86 more yards on every snap. But Oakland intercepted two passes,
which led to 10 points, which extended the issues of the previous week, in which
New England racked up 24 of 43 points on special teams or short fields set up by
takeaways.
It had been nearly five full, frustrating quarters.
And the Broncos had endured enough. Enough chatter about what the team lost at
New England. Enough self-doubt. Enough reflection, both from themselves and via
a speech from Executive Vice President and General Manager John Elway.
"He challenged the whole team," said cornerback Chris Harris Jr. "He challenged us
to play better and come out and execute better. He knows we didn't execute to our
standards, so we wanted to come out and make [the Raiders] pay."
Finally, with Roby's interception, they did it. Pressure from both edges forced
Oakland quarterback Derek Carr into an errant throw that sailed behind intended
target Mychal Rivera and into Roby's waiting hands.
"Sometimes the offense needs that. We've got to get a turnover to get them
going," Roby said. "Sometimes they need to get jump-started."
And no spark plug fired as explosively as Anderson. Three plays after Roby's
interception, Anderson caught a swing pass from Manning in the left flat, four yards
behind the line of scrimmage.
He did not expect the football.
"[Manning] obviously was in trouble, because I didn't even get a chance to finish
my route," Anderson said. "Next thing you know he threw it and I caught it."
But it looked like other third-down passes destined to fall short of the line to gain.
"It easily could have been, maybe a catch for minus-two yards," said Manning.
Oakland linebacker Miles Burris had missile lock on Anderson, but missed, only
grabbing the running back's waist as he scooted by.
That got Anderson back to the line of scrimmage. Still eight yards to go, and now,
rookie sensation Khalil Mack bore down upon Anderson, having escaped from a duel
with left tackle Ryan Clady. But Anderson threw his right arm at the 252-pound
Mack, and kept him at bay.
He accelerated toward the sideline, trying to avoid Oakland safety Charles
Woodson, a childhood idol he watched when attending Raiders games at the
Coliseum while growing up. Woodson's lunge only got Anderson's midsection as he
sprinted forward.
Three Raiders linchpins, all left grasping. But Anderson was focused ahead, not on
the rabble of silver and black left in his wake.
"When I broke two tackles, I said, 'I've got a chance for the first down,'" Anderson
said. "But when I saw (Demaryius Thomas) and Wes (Welker) screaming down the
field, I was like, 'You know I can cut back.'"
And how.
At the Oakland 32, Anderson cut. Yet another Raiders defender sprawled. He took a
45-degree angle toward the center of the field, then added another 15 degrees to
avoid to Raiders. Thomas got out in front with a block at the Oakland 7. Welker
became his escort.
He crossed the goal line with the 51-yard touchdown, standing 68 yards on a
diagonal angle from where he began. He traversed far more yardage than that.
"That was as fine a play as I’ve seen so far this season, I have to tell you," said
Manning.
And it was the fuel that powered the Broncos. The rest of the game offered little
doubt over whether the Broncos would win; only the degree of the defeat was in
questions. The "self-inflicted wounds" of last week and Sunday in Oakland, as
Manning described them, healed.
The challenge of adversity was met. More will meet the Broncos, of course, and
some of it will be of their own creation; that is inevitable, even for the best of
teams.
But the Broncos have so many players capable of grabbing a game by the throat
and turning it around, as Anderson and Roby did. Neither is officially a starter. But
together, both jump-started a stalled team and guided it back to the road after a
nearly-two-game detour.
Broncos 41, Raiders 17: Three Keys,
Unlocked
By Andrew Mason
denverbroncos.com
November 10, 2014
OAKLAND -- In the wake of Paul Cornick's deactivation because of a shoulder
injury, 60 percent of the Broncos' offensive line changed for Sunday's 41-17 win
over the Oakland Raiders on Sunday.
With Cornick out, right guard Louis Vasquez moved to right tackle, center Manny
Ramirez slid over to right guard and center Will Montgomery made his first Broncos
start at center after backing up for his first eight games after the Broncos signed
him as a free agent from Washington.
For a unit where cohesion is prized above almost all other attributes, a lineup
change this comprehensive is rare at midseason. But if the Broncos were going to
make such a shift, early November is the time to do it. If they stick with it, then the
new quintet can achieve cohesion.
The transition was at times bumpy. The offensive line committed four red-zone
penalties: three false starts and a flag against Montgomery for being illegally
downfield. Two of the penalties forced the Broncos to settle for early field goals that
kept the game close into the second quarter.
But as the game progressed, Montgomery -- who became the third starting center
of the Manning era, joining J.D. Walton, Dan Koppen and Ramirez -- grew
comfortable. His experience ensured that it wouldn't take him long to settle into
rhythm.
"Obviously, I was taking the reps with the ones this week, but over the course of
the year and the offseason, I always take snaps with Peyton a little bit each day,
just in case something ever does happen," said Montgomery. "So it wasn't a shock
or anything too crazy to get done."
And it might be the start of more for Montgomery, whose insertion gave the
Broncos the most experience line quintet available from their roster.
"Yeah, it has been tough the last eight weeks, but this week was fun, and football's
about having fun," he said. "It was a good day today."
And it was a good day because the shuffled line found its form and helped guide the
Broncos out of some early struggles to a comfortable win.
Let's look back at the pre-game three keys to see how they turned out.
1. MAKE DEREK CARR UNCOMFORTABLE.
It took a while, but the Broncos eventually broke down Carr and forced him into a
game he was uncomfortable playing -- one where he had to throw downfield on
third downs. After he completed five of his first seven third-down passes --
converting three of them, including the 5-yard touchdown pass to Brice Butler --
the Broncos held him to two completions in his next nine third-down attempts, two
of which they intercepted.
When Carr completed a 3-yard pass to Mychal Rivera to convert a third-and-1 play
with 4:56 left in the third quarter, the Raiders led 10-6 and had the Broncos off-
balance. By the time the Raiders converted another third down, they trailed 41-10
and just 3:10 remained in regulation.
The Broncos forced Carr out of his rhythm, took away his checkdown options and
made him and the Raiders be more aggressive than they preferred.
2. STABILITY UP FRONT.
Even with the changes and without the inactive Virgil Green, the Broncos' offensive
line had one of its better games in terms of protection and creating lanes for their
running backs. Manny Ramirez was effective pulling from right to left, and helped
spring Anderson for one of his big runs, a 16-yard gain that moved the Broncos into
Oakland territory on their second touchdown drive of the third quarter.
Oakland hit Manning on just two of his 44 pass plays. After some early success with
pressure and rushers that held up to play for a deflection, the Broncos dominated
the late second and third quarters. During their five consecutive scoring drives,
Denver averaged 11.17 yards per play and forced the Raiders' front seven back on
their heels.
3. MONITOR THE MERRY MACK.
Denver neutralized rookie linebacker Khalil Mack, and he finished without a hit on
Manning or a tackle for a loss. The Broncos ran away from him, kept him from
bursting into the backfield, and limited him to one tackle, one pass deflection at the
line of scrimmage and one forced fumble from Juwan Thompson in the fourth
quarter, after the outcome was long decided.
California kids put on show at 'home'
By David DeChant
denverbroncos.com
November 9, 2014
OAKLAND, Calif. -- You can't hold it against C.J. Anderson and Julius Thomas that
they were childhood fans of the Broncos' historic rivals.
Both Northern California natives, Anderson (from Vallejo) and Thomas (Stockton)
grew up attending games at the Coliseum and cheering on the silver and black.
"Some of my earliest memories around the game of football happened there,"
Thomas said during the week leading up to Sunday's game. "Waking up early,
heading out from Stockton before the sun’s up, going to get that spot ready for the
tailgate, spending some time throwing the football around with your brother, dad
and cousins and stuff like that."
"Jeff George, Jeff Hostetler, Rich Gannon, I mean Tim Brown, Jerry Rice...Some
really good guys came through there and it was fun to watch.”
Anderson offered a similar perspective: "Growing up a Raider fan, and sitting in the
stands, just like a bunch of fans today, I got to see Tyrone Wheatley make plays,
Charlie Garner, Rich Gannon, Jerry Rice, Tim Brown."
"Just to get on the same field as them and have a productive game was just
special."
And what a productive game it was for the pair.
In their "home" stadium, Anderson and Thomas went on a spree that quickly
doused the hopes of local fans, collectively racking up 226 total yards and three
touchdowns. The three scores happened in a span of 10:53 between the end of the
first half and the middle of the third quarter, helping pull the Broncos from a 10-6
deficit into a 34-10 lead.
Anderson provided the first and certainly most important touchdown, turning a
rushed dumpoff on third-and-8 into a 51-yard catch-and-run with a tremendous
individual effort. He turned to see the ball coming his way before he "was even
halfway into my route," snagged it with one hand, turned upfield and broke out the
Madden jukestick to leave a number of defenders in his wake. With good downfield
blocking from Demaryius Thomas and Wes Welker, Anderson scooted into the end
zone to give the Broncos' offense the boost it needed. As if that huge play wasn't
enough, Anderson also picked up 90 yards on 13 carries (6.7 average), including
runs of 12, 16, 16 and 17, and added three other catches for 22 yards.
The second-year back guessed there were 40 or more of his friends and family in
the stands to witness what turned into a career day, which undoubtedly made the
experience more special.
"Always," he said with a big smile on his face. "I love playing at home. I love road
games and then I love playing at home so it’s like I got my ice cream and my cake
at the same time."
"I’ve got a bunch of family who wants to see me and who knows how they’re going
to act right now, but I’m just trying to soak this all in.”
After Anderson kickstarted the Broncos' explosive attack, Thomas didn't take long
to start pounding the nails into the Raiders' coffin.
Early in the third quarter, the Broncos faced a third-and-2 from the Oakland 10-
yard line, trying to avoid a third red-zone field goal in as many tries. Peyton
Manning found the big tight end on a quick slant and Thomas used his power to
waltz into the end zone at the south end of the stadium, right in front of the
infamous Black Hole crowd. Thomas revelled in the moment, offering a dance in
front of the jeering fans before finding his family in the corner and giving them the
TD ball.
After a quick three-and-out from the Raiders' offense, Manning and Co. marched
back down the field before encountering a fourth-and-1 from the 32. Hustling to the
line, Manning faked to Ronnie Hillman as Thomas sold the run fake and broke
outside, finding himself wide open and cruising to the end zone behind a block from
Emmanuel Sanders. The score was Thomas' 12th of the year, tying the franchise-
best for a tight end in a single season (which he set last year) with seven games to
go, and also equaling the most receiving touchdowns through nine games by any
player in NFL history.
“It’s unbelievably humbling just to kind of be reminded where you came from,"
Thomas said. "Sitting up there in those stands and watching guys come out here
and have big games, guys you looked up to, and wonder what it’s like to have that
feeling that they had, to take that field."
"[To] kind of get a different angle on it now, and be down there on the field playing
in front of friends and family, it was really humbling. I feel blessed."
While Anderson's and Thomas' performances took center stage, there were other
hometown heroes playing in front of loved ones who had themselves a nice day as
well.
T.J. Ward, who grew up in San Francisco, racked up seven tackles and a
quarterback hit while also nabbing an interception of Derek Carr, which set up the
Broncos' final touchdown of the day and squelched any hopes of a late rally.
Likewise, Modesto, Calif. native Isaiah Burse had a busy day, fielding eight punts,
including four fair catches and four that he returned for 52 yards. He offered up
returns of 14 and 21 yards and also had a 30-yarder wiped out by a penalty. Even
without those 30 yards, the healthy 13.0-yard average and no bobbles or fumbles
is exactly the sort of day coaches hope for from the rookie.
"I was excited all week and to finally get to come out here and see my family
members and hear them cheering for me," Burse said. "...I think the guys were
excited to go out and see their families and we’ve got one more in San Diego, so
we may possibly get to see our families again."
That opportunity would certainly be a welcome one for players, but that each
already came through in front of dozens of relatives sporting their jerseys on
Sunday is plenty rewarding. Though Thomas said he couldn't really soak it in until
after the game, he noted that the experience is one he'll always cherish.
"It’s something, we talk about it, the pleasure you get to go play in front of your
fans where you grew up," Thomas said with a smile. "To make big plays in front of
friends and family, it’s amazing."
Peyton’s Take: Executing after a slow
start
By Lauren Giudice
denverbroncos.com
November 9, 2014
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. – Two picks, two field goals and two punts.
That’s how the offense’s day began in Oakland.
But a momentum-shifting interception by Bradley Roby with 3:37 left in the half
gave the Broncos the ball near midfield. This play seemed to revitalize the offense
after its uncharacteristically slow start: the Broncos went on to score touchdowns
on their next five drives.
“I’m not sure it was any major adjustments, I just thought we executed a little
better,” Manning said during his postgame press conference. “Obviously not the
way you want to start a game on the second play, having a turnover but we moved
the ball pretty well after that, had a couple of red zone sort of self-inflicted wounds
that cost us some touchdowns and had to settle for field goals… Then we were able
to overcome that finally with some touchdowns finishing in the red zone, which is
something we’ve done a good job of this year.”
Manning threw picks during the Broncos’ first and fourth drives that lead to ten
points for the Raiders.
The Broncos were stopped near the goal line during their third and fourth drives of
the game. These “self-inflicted wounds” cost the offense touchdowns early on as
the Broncos had a first-and-goal at the four, but Manning missed a wide-open
Ronnie Hillman and a Manny Ramirez false start pushed the Broncos back to the 9-
yard line. An Orlando Franklin false start on the following drive backed the Broncos
up once again and Brandon McManus had to step in on both occasions for field
goals.
Manning was confident that the early-game mistakes were correctable and he went
on to throw five touchdown passes in less than 17 minutes. While the execution on
offense dramatically improved, he noted that key defensive stops allowed the
Broncos to start with excellent field position as they got the ball in Oakland territory
on four of their seven second-half possessions.
The Broncos’ offensive line looked vastly different from the one that took the field
against New England as Will Montgomery took over at center, Louis Vasquez played
at right tackle and Ramirez moved to right guard. Manning said he will look at the
tape tomorrow to determine the cause of the procedural penalties but the personnel
shifts on the line didn’t require him to adjust.
“It’s not easy playing a new position, I’m not sure I could really relate to it so I give
credit to all those guys handling the adjustment on the road and playing well,”
Manning said of the offensive line’s performance.
Not only did the line keep Manning on his feet, the Broncos’ run game took steps
forward the team accumulated 118 yards on the ground. C.J. Anderson, who grew
up in nearby Vallejo, Calif., led the Broncos with 90 yards on 13 attempts.
While Anderson’s 90 rushing yards were a career-high, his most impressive play
was a fantastic 51-yard catch and run that he took for a touchdown. In the second
quarter on third-and-eight, Manning connected with Anderson for a short pass and
he immediately broke a tackle by Miles Burris. Anderson would evade three more
tackles while carefully avoiding stepping out of bounds and darted downfield for the
Broncos’ first touchdown of the game and his first of the season.
Manning considers that play one of the best he’s seen this year.
“Easily could have been, maybe a catch for minus-two yards or something and next
thing you know, he breaks the tackle and I don’t know how many guys he made
miss, but it was just an effort play on his part,” Manning said. “Looked like he
picked up some blocks downfield from some guys, which was good to see.
Everybody kept playing but just a truly incredible effort play on his part to take a,
like I said, potentially a catch for a loss and turn it into a 50-something-yard
touchdown and that really gave us a spark offensively and of course the whole
sideline was fired up. C.J. played great today.
“He knows this offense well. He’s on top of everything back there in the backfield. I
have a real comfort with him back there. But that play in particular was very
special.”
Manning said the expectations for the running backs don’t change depending on
who is in the backfield with him and today "today C.J. kind of had the hot hand."
Anderson, who has shown glimpses of excellence all season, became just the fifth
running back in team history to post at least 70 yards rushing and 70 yards
receiving in a single game. In addition to Anderson’s score, Julius Thomas and
Emmanuel Sanders each had two touchdowns receptions.
Manning finished the game 31-of-44 for 340 yards and with his ninth five-
touchdown game of his career, breaking Drew Brees’ previous record of eight.
While the accolades and record-breaking performances seem to keep piling up for
Manning, he doesn’t dwell on them.
“Certainly in the middle of the season, while you’re trying to win games, it’s really
kind of what you focus on, trying to do your job,” Manning said. “This was an
important game for us to respond with a win on the road, going to go on the road
again next week. It was a good division win. That’s all you really think about.
Anything that comes along the way, certainly I have great appreciation for the
history of the game and those types of things. But I thought the most important
thing was to get a good road win today.”
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