Broncos Team Report
INSIDE SLANT
The Denver Broncos didn’t need a key injury in practice this week, but Brandon Marshall(notes) - perhaps their most indispensable player - is now nursing a hamstring injury.
Marshall hurt his hamstring early in practice on Wednesday, and didn’t practice Thursday. Marshall could play on Sunday against Kansas City, in a game that the Broncos probably will have to win to keep their playoff hopes alive, but Broncos coach Josh McDaniels wouldn’t say what his status is.
“I don’t know,” McDaniels said. “We’ll see.”
Marshall has been a huge part of the Broncos’ offense lately. He has 68 catches over the past eight weeks, and Jabar Gaffney(notes) is second on the team during that stretch with 19.
Gaffney is coming off a nice game, with two touchdowns against the Eagles. If Marshall is limited at all, or his hamstring doesn’t improve enough by Sunday to play, the Broncos will be relying on players who have done very little over the second half of the season.
The Broncos are confident they will get increased contributions if the team can’t rely on Marshall as heavily as it has.
“We have great confidence in the guys that will play,” McDaniels said. “I have great faith we’ll play well at that spot.”
• The teams that are being mentioned alongside the Denver Broncos this week aren’t the kind of historical company anyone wants to keep.
The Broncos won’t make the playoffs without some help. No matter if they win or lose, they need other teams to lose to have a shot at the playoffs, although a win against Kansas City makes the postseason scenarios much more realistic.
If the Broncos don’t get that help and miss the playoffs, they’ll join the 1978 Redskins and the 2003 Vikings as the only teams to start 6-0 and miss the playoffs. The Broncos know the 2003 Vikings well. Last year Denver joined that Minnesota team as the only two squads to lead a division by three games and not make the playoffs. Denver led the AFC West by three-and-a-half games this year.
While much of the focus is on what the Broncos need to get in, the better question might be how they find themselves in this mess. Everything went right during a 6-0 start. Denver won close games with big plays—remember Brandon Stokley’s(notes) miracle touchdown in the final seconds against Cincinnati—but isn’t finishing games the same way.
“It seems like we’re going through growing pains at the wrong time of the year,” Broncos safety Brian Dawkins(notes) said.
Offensively, the Broncos have had plenty of issues holding them back. The running game has faltered, especially in the past three weeks. Rookie Knowshon Moreno(notes) has averaged fewer than three yards per carry each of the past three games, but coach Josh McDaniels said the line’s play has plenty to do with that. Short-yardage failures have been an issue throughout the season.
The Broncos’ defense has given up big plays late in games recently. Against Indianapolis, Denver had cut the deficit to five in the fourth quarter when Peyton Manning(notes) completed a third-and-10, which sparked a touchdown drive. The Raiders had a long fourth-quarter touchdown drive and scored the game-winner with less than a minute to go. Last week, after coming back from 17 points down to tie Philadelphia, the defense gave up a couple of long plays that set up an Eagles field goal with four seconds left.
Early in the season, the Broncos owned the second half. Now it seems as if every close game is going the other way, and Denver has put itself in a position to need help from other teams. The Broncos already saw the Jets win a game to stay alive in the wild-card race when the Colts rested starters last week, and face a similar situation this week if the Bengals—who have little to play for—also sit their starters against the Jets.
“They have a right to do that,” linebacker Elvis Dumervil(notes) said. “They’ve earned that.”
The reason the Broncos didn’t complain is they knew they could have already clinched a playoff spot instead of needing help.
“That’s your problem,” McDaniels said. “You should have done more.”
Series History: 99th regular-season meeting. Chiefs lead series 53-45. The Broncos won 44-13 earlier this season at Arrowhead Stadium. The Broncos have swept the Chiefs 11 times in their history. The last sweep came in 2007.
NOTES, QUOTES
—The Broncos have five players who made the Pro Bowl: Offensive tackle Ryan Clady(notes), receiver Brandon Marshall, linebacker Elvis Dumervil, safety Brian Dawkins and cornerback Champ Bailey(notes). Clady, Dumervil and Dawkins were named starters.
“Very deserving, earned that recognition and are certainly deserving of selection,” Broncos coach Josh McDaniels said. “We’re proud of all of those guys.”
• Linebacker Mario Haggan(notes) has quietly had a solid season. His season has been quiet because his position doesn’t generate a lot of stats in Denver’s scheme.
Denver’s outside linebackers keep contain on running plays, funneling everything inside. So while Haggan has 51 tackles, inside linebackers D.J. Williams(notes) and Andra Davis(notes) have combined for 196. Haggan is fine in his role, knowing the importance he has within the scheme.
“They trust me on the edge, they don’t worry about when things come my way,” Haggan said.
• The Broncos signed rookie punter Britton Colquitt(notes) off Miami’s practice squad, but Mitch Berger(notes) will still handle the punting this week. Berger thought he had played well over the past six weeks, but admitted he struggled last week to execute the game plan, which was to kick away from Eagles returner DeSean Jackson(notes).
“I know that I hurt us,” Berger said. “I didn’t do my job as well as it needed to be done.”
By The Numbers: 10—Number of games in which quarterback Kyle Orton(notes) has had a passer rating of 90 or higher this season, which ties John Elway’s franchise record set in 1997.
Quote To Note: “Well, I definitely don’t want to look at it like that. It might get more confusing. But our best chance to get in is if we win.”—Linebacker Darrell Reid(notes) after being told that there are scenarios in which the Broncos can get in the playoffs even with a loss Sunday.
STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL
A poor game by Mitch Berger against Philadelphia forced the Broncos to address their punting situation. Britton Colquitt, the younger brother of Chiefs punter Dustin Colquitt(notes), was signed to the active roster before the regular-season finale. Berger wasn’t cut. Denver had two empty roster spots with receiver Kenny McKinley(notes) and guard Russ Hochstein(notes) going on injured reserve. Colquitt, a rookie, was with the team in training camp and preseason. Berger will punt this Sunday and Colquitt should have the opportunity to compete for the job next year.
Denver also signed offensive tackle Herb Taylor(notes), who was on the active roster for 10 days earlier in December, to fill one of the open spots.
Player Notes
• RB Knowshon Moreno needs 103 yards to reach 1,000 for the season. Moreno hasn’t had a 100-yard game all season, but the Broncos rushed for 245 yards in the first meeting against the Chiefs.
• LB Elvis Dumervil, who leads the NFL in sacks, has only 47 tackles. That isn’t necessarily a reflection of how he plays against the run. In Denver’s scheme, the outside linebackers set the edge and keep contain, funneling plays inside. That reduces Dumervil’s chances.
• DE Ryan McBean(notes) has had a solid season, his first as a starter. The Broncos think he is raw and has plenty of upside, and could be a nice fit in their 3-4 defense in future years as well.
• WR Brandon Lloyd(notes) has a chance to play again this week. Lloyd, who spent the first 14 weeks on the inactive list, had four catches against Philadelphia. With rookie Kenny McKinley out for the season and receiver Eddie Royal(notes) coming off a head/neck injury, the Broncos could keep Lloyd active for depth.
• OT Brandon Gorin(notes) was inserted as a tight end on a few running plays last week. The Broncos could use the same alignment against a Chiefs team that struggles to stop the run.
Game Plan: The Broncos will be fine if they can replicate what they did in the first meeting. They ran the ball very well, picking up a season-high 245 yards, allowing quarterback Kyle Orton to pass only when necessary. The problem for the Broncos is they haven’t rushed for more than 100 yards in a game since that Dec. 6 meeting with the Chiefs.
Defensively, the Broncos have to bottle up Jamaal Charles(notes), who is playing very well lately. They did a good job against Charles in the first meeting, and a great job against Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel(notes). The Broncos frustrated Cassel, who was benched in the fourth quarter. Kansas City had 128 passing yards.
Matchups To Watch: Broncos LT Ryan Clady vs. Chiefs ROLB Tamba Hali(notes). In the last game between the Chiefs and Broncos, Hali had three sacks. Clady, who was named to his first Pro Bowl this week, wasn’t responsible for all of the sacks but his blocking will be the most important key in Denver doing a better job containing Hali, who has 7.5 sacks this season.
Broncos CB Champ Bailey vs. Chiefs WR Dwayne Bowe(notes). In the first game against the Chiefs, Bowe was suspended so Bailey covered Chris Chambers(notes)—and held him to 11 yards. Bowe probably will be deemed the Chiefs’ top receiver by Denver’s coaching staff, so Bailey will draw that matchup. Bowe is a bigger receiver than Chambers, but Bailey has never had much problem against big, physical receivers.
Broncos WR Brandon Marshall vs. Chiefs CB Brandon Carr(notes). Carr did well in a matchup against Bills receiver Terrell Owens(notes), and could get the equally physical Marshall in coverage this week. Marshall caught seven of Denver’s 15 receptions and had a touchdown in the first meeting against the Chiefs. The Broncos have gone far away from the spread-it-out approach from early in the season and focused most of their efforts on getting Marshall the ball repeatedly, so this matchup will be huge for the Chiefs.
Injury Watch:
• CB Ty Law(notes) practiced in full for the first time since suffering a hamstring injury against Indianapolis on Dec. 13. He has missed two straight games but should return this week.
• TE Daniel Graham(notes) was limited in practice Thursday after missing Wednesday’s session. Graham has a knee injury, but he will probably play against the Chiefs.
• WR Eddie Royal had a limited practice Thursday. He missed Sunday’s game but if he continues to improve he could play on Sunday.
• LB Spencer Larsen(notes), who missed last week’s game with a hamstring injury, practiced in full Thursday. He will play this week if there is no setback.
• LB Darrell Reid practiced in full on Thursday after being limited on Wednesday. He will play this week despite a knee injury.
