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View Full Version : The Morning After: Week 1



Denver Native (Carol)
09-14-2009, 01:57 PM
http://www.denverbroncos.com/page.php?id=334&storyID=9352

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Perhaps lost amid the hoopla surrounding Brandon Stokley's improbable last-second touchdown reception against the Bengals on Sunday afternoon at Paul Brown Stadium was the bizarre way the eventual game-winning drive was orchestrated, from start to finish.

"We scored in the last 10 seconds, and of course we didn't script it this way," Head Coach Josh McDaniels said. "But I think they understand that things are possible when you play hard and you stay in it."

Moments after watching their six-point lead evaporate into a one-point deficit, the Broncos had one final opportunity to put together a speedy comeback drive, and it didn't exactly get off to a promising start.

After a discrepancy with the game clock was resolved, the Broncos were left with 38 seconds to operate their final offensive series.

Hoping for a long kick return to put Matt Prater in position to attempt a game-winning field goal, Eddie Royal took Shayne Graham's kickoff four-yards deep in the end zone. The move looked costly at the time, as the second-year receiver slipped on his 17-yard return effort, giving Denver's offensive unit the ball at their own 13-yard line with 34 seconds remaining in regulation.

The team's first offensive play from scrimmage on the drive didn't go any better, either. Operating out of the shotgun on 1st and 10, Kyle Orton looked deep to his right, targeting Brandon Marshall. The throw nearly resulted in an interception, though, as Bengals cornerback Johnathan Joseph cut in front of the pass and cradled the ball into his position.

At that point in time, Orton thought he had cost his team an opportunity to win the game. However, Joseph couldn't stay in bounds upon making the catch -- giving the Broncos another life.

"I thought the game was over after the first throw," Orton said. "But you've kind of got your hands tied. You're going to throw the ball up to your guy and let him go make the play. And it happened."

It certainly did.

On the very next play from scrimmage, Orton looked Marshall's way again, this time to the deep left of the field. After the ball was tipped into the air by Cincinnati cornerback Leon Hall, Brandon Stokley -- in the right place at the right time -- snagged the ball into his possession and raced down the sideline for the game-winning touchdown.

After the miraculous play, McDaniels instructed his offensive unit to go for a two-point conversion. But according to Orton, offensive players were so exhausted from sprinting up field after Stokley's catch that they had little energy for the subsequent play.

"I think (Tony) Scheffler and I were running down the field together, just going crazy along with everybody else," Orton said. "We tried to make sure we didn't get a 15-yard penalty for celebration afterwards and that was tough to do. I didn't have enough breath to call the two-point play. I think there was zero chance of that two-point play working because everybody was so gassed and so excited. But it was certainly a great way to end it."

ORTON GUTS IT OUT

Donning a glove on his right hand and with stitches in his finger on Sunday afternoon, Orton impressed his teammates by turning in a gritty effort against the Bengals.

"He's a tough guy," Stokley said. "I knew he'd play, and I thought he did a lot of good things. Hopefully the finger will keep getting better and better."

Those good things were reflected in his statistical performance. Orton went 17-of-28 on the day, totaling 243 yards and a touchdown -- earning a quarterback rating of 100.7, tops among winning AFC signal callers on Sunday, in the process.

Perhaps most importantly, however, Orton played turnover free football -- a large reason why the Broncos were in the game until the final moments.

"We didn't beat ourselves," Orton said. "We didn't turn the ball over … If you can play smart football, if you can have more possessions than the other team, and pretty much stay penalty-free, you've got a good chance to win."

Immediately after the game, Orton had the stitches removed and he hopes he can be glove-free for the team's Week 2 matchup against Cleveland.

"I'm hoping, and I didn't really have any setbacks today, which was important," Orton said. "It's been a long two weeks, and hopefully I can get back to playing the way I want to."

PRATER COMES UP BIG

Perhaps overshadowed by the thrilling conclusion of Sunday's contest was a rock-solid performance from Prater.

Fresh off going 7-for-7 on field goal attempts during the club's preseason slate, Prater connected on a pair of deep field goal attempts in Sunday's season opener.

First, it was Prater's leg that gave the Broncos a lead heading into the locker room on Sunday, as the third-year kicker broke open a scoreless game by drilling a 48-yard attempt right before the halftime gun.

Then, in the waning moments of the third quarter, Prater added to the team's lead, booming a 50-yard attempt right through the goal posts and giving the Broncos a 6-0 lead heading into the final quarter of play.

To Prater, the kicks were just another day at the office.

"That's what I'm supposed to do," Prater said. "They wouldn't have me go out and kick it if they didn't think I could make it. I'm confident and the team's pretty confident, too, in me."

His teammates were certainly impressed with his performance, but not just his field goal attempts. After leading the NFL in touchbacks during the exhibition season, Prater booted two kickoffs into the end zone and forced one touchback against the Bengals. Darrell Reid, Prater's special teams counterpart, said the kicker's ability to alter the game's field position shouldn't go unnoticed either.

"You've got the two long field goals and you've got the kickoffs," Reid said. "He was booting that ball down there. The one they took out, they only got it to the 16-yard line, 15-yard line. So he did a great job kicking in all phases. That's what we expect from him -- he's a Pro Bowl-caliber kicker."

broncofaninfla
09-14-2009, 02:24 PM
Good read, thanks!