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Broncos Mtnman
12-15-2008, 12:00 AM
Panthers are elusive animals. People rarely see them in the wild, even though their existence has been confirmed across vast areas of South and Southeast Asia, Central and South America and some parts of Africa. Because the black panther is so stealthy, it has been called “the ghost of the forest.”

At the conclusion of today’s game against the Carolina Panthers, the Broncos can confirm that indeed that these are very elusive animals. After spending 60 minutes chasing down Steve Smith, DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart (who combined for 317 yards of rushing/receiving and three touchdowns), the Broncos learned firsthand just how elusive a panther can be. The Denver defense never seemed to know where these “ghosts of the gridiron” would show up next.

Of course, any study of the panther needs to include a study of their diet and eating habits. So, just what do black panthers eat? The answer to that question is that black panthers are carnivores, or meat eaters. A black panthers’ food includes just about anything that moves as long as the prey are not too big or too strong for them to tackle.

This is something the Broncos would witness first hand, as the panthers feasted on the prey known as the Broncos offense. And true to their nature, they would be able to do so because the Broncos were clearly not too big or strong for the smothering Panthers defense to tackle. After everything was said and done, the panthers could be seen on the sidelines picking their teeth clean after devouring the weak and clearly inferior Denver Broncos offense, holding them to a measly 279 yards of total production, which included two turnovers (a Jay Cutler interception along with a Selvin Young fumble) and three sacks of Jay Cutler.

Other than the superior intelligence and skills displayed in its hunting activities, a black panther has some unique adaptations and features to help it achieve its hunting tasks. For instance, they are not the biggest cats, but they have well-built muscular bodies. They are superb athletes of the animal kingdom and extraordinary fighters and warriors in the wild. As we saw today, the Carolina Panthers were clearly superb athletes, extraordinary fighters and warriors.

When a panther stalks its prey, they retract their claws to silence their movements. When they get close enough to their target and ready to spring, they extend their claws. This must be how the Panthers stalked out the Broncos tonight, as neither the offense nor the defense had any idea where the Panthers were at any given moment.

Panthers have long and sensitive whiskers, which can help them feel their way through thick undergrowth. They also have a keen sense of smell and exceptional hearing. These tools enable them to locate their prey without even seeing them. The speed and efficiency in which the Carolina Panthers swarmed the Broncos offense and avoided their defense demonstrated the deadly effectiveness of these tools when the panther is on the prowl.

Yep, the Broncos may have been under the impression that they were playing a football game, but it turns out that they were actually the prey of a bunch of hungry panthers…….. REAL panthers.

Now, to today’s highs and lows…..


HIGHS :2thumbs:

1 – P.J. Pope / Tatum Bell. Just a few short weeks ago, Pope was a practice squad player and Bell was selling cell phones in Aurora. These guys would be called on after the 5th running back to go on IR (Peyton Hillis) would go down last week against Kansas City. They would combine for 94 yards on 14 carries. In addition, Pope would snag three receptions for 24 yards and a touchdown. Bell would get 7 yards receiving on 2 catches.

FACT: The touchdown by Pope is the first of his career.

2 – Wesley Woodyard. He only contributed on two tackles, but the guy was willing to try playing the safety position for the first time since his freshman year in college. I’m not sure about the wisdom of this move at this time, but it just might be a good way of keeping him on the field now that DJ Williams is back, although he was always near the top in tackles playing the “will” while playing in place of DJ.

FACT: Woodyard was selected for the Freshman All-SEC Team in his first year at the University of Kentucky in which he played strong safety before moving to linebacker.

3 – Josh Barrett. Six solo tackles and one assisted tackle, along with an interception.

FACT: His interception in the third quarter was the first of his career. He would return the pick 34 yards.

4 – Offensive line. Yeah, I know they gave up three sacks in today’s game, but those are the first sacks to be surrendered by these guys in the past four games. Particularly strong was the play by the rookie Ryan Clady against one of the greatest pass rushers in the NFL this season, Julius Peppers.

LOWS :2thumbsdown:

1 – Jay Cutler. I know he was under a lot of pressure due to the questions surrounding the Broncos running back position, but once he threw his interception, he appeared to give up. He was visibly frustrated, but if you’re going to be the team leader, you have to shake it off and put it on the line.

According to Shanahan, Jay has the ability to shake off disappointment and move on to the next play. I didn’t witness that attribute in today’s matchup.

FACT: In the Broncos eight victories this season, Jay’s quarterback rating is 93.3 or better. His rating today was 74.3.

2 – Matt Prater. Once again, he missed a field goal, going one for two. The miss today came on a 47 yard attempt. He has missed 6 of his 10 attempts from 40-49 yards this season (.400).

FACT: Prater has at least one missed field goal in six of the past seven games. During that time, he has 7 misses on 16 attempts (56%).

3 – Defense playcalling. What was the deal with playing Josh Barrett about 30 yards deep on just about every play? In essence, the defense was only playing with 10 guys because Barrett was too far from the action to do anything. I hope we aren’t starting to see Slowick’s “creative” side again.

Over the past few weeks, the game planning and play calling was simplified for the rookies who were filling in due to the numerous injuries this team has suffered. During that time, the defense showed more consistency than the starters they were replacing, and there were noticeable improvement by the defensive unit, particularly against the run. Today, we get several starters back, and all of the sudden we start seeing weird formations and poor defensive play.

FACT: Today’s game is the sixth game of the season where the defense has allowed the opposing team to score 30 points or more.

4 – Selvin Young. 6 carries for a meager 19 yards, plus a fumble. With the challenges this team has had to endure due to the numerous injuries at the running back position, the guy who said he’d rush for 2000 yards this season would do well to do his job.

FACT: Selvin only had two fumbles in 140 carries during 2007 (losing only one). He has one fumble on 54 carries in 2008.

A panther is a deadly predator; capable of striking a fatal blow when it’s prey least expects it. Hopefully, today’s attack by the Carolina Panthers isn’t fatal to the Broncos playoff hopes.

BMM

Watchthemiddle
12-15-2008, 05:33 PM
Good read. I am not sure what Jay's deal is. One week he looks great. The next not so much. We saw him shake off his pick against Kc but so many times this year he has not been able to move on from his mistakes.

Ziggy
12-15-2008, 06:15 PM
Good read. I am not sure what Jay's deal is. One week he looks great. The next not so much. We saw him shake off his pick against Kc but so many times this year he has not been able to move on from his mistakes.


He's young and still learning. Go back and look at Elway's stats through his first 3 seasons, they were well below average.

Elway's QB rating his first 3 years:
1st season: 54.9
2nd season: 76.8
3rd season: 70.0

bengaaaaals1688
12-15-2008, 06:18 PM
Good read. I am not sure what Jay's deal is. One week he looks great. The next not so much. We saw him shake off his pick against Kc but so many times this year he has not been able to move on from his mistakes.

Young kids will be inconsistent more often than not. He'll come around, but until then he's gonna look more like that than like a Peyton Manning typically does. As he comes more into his own you'll see more consistency, and an overall better player.

Lonestar
12-15-2008, 09:24 PM
great post Mtn man..

cut pretty close the quick on Jay..

after the first drive he was up and talking to the coaches after that any time I saw the bench had his penis hat on by himself..

He is starting to remind me of Brains Griese sitting on the bench by himself.

Lets hope he gets out of the funk he seems to be in.. Other wise the fans expecting another Elway will turn on him..