Skinny
12-18-2007, 09:18 AM
12/18/2007
By Brian Howell
Longmont Times-Call
ENGLEWOOD — It became official on Sunday. With victories by San Diego and Cleveland, the Denver Broncos were officially eliminated from the list of playoff contenders.
John Lynch didn’t know until Monday on his drive to work.
“I heard on the radio we were officially eliminated,” the Broncos’ veteran safety said. “I should have put two and two together. But sometimes, when you’re clinging to hope, you don’t want to hear that. That’s not fun to hear. But it’s the reality, and you’re at the stage of, what are you going to do about it now?”
Monday afternoon, the Broncos (6-8) got back to work for the first time since Thursday’s 31-13 loss in Houston to the Texans. It was the first time they were together as a team with no chance of making the playoffs, and they believe the only thing they can do about it is to finish the season as strong as they can.
“We have the chance we can finish 8-8,” cornerback Dré Bly said. “We’ve got to take one game at a time, but it’s a reality check for a lot of guys. It’s frustrating, and it’s a reality check for me. We had a good team on paper, but it didn’t work out for us. All we can do is control these last two games ... and win these games.”
Denver will play at San Diego, the AFC West champion, Monday night and then close its season Dec. 30 at home against the Minnesota Vikings. But while the Broncos’ season will end there, they aren’t about to fold up the tent.
“We better go in there ready to play, or it can get out of hand,” Lynch said. “Certainly, if you have any pride, you’re going to come out swinging.”
That’s not always the case in the NFL. Bly spent the previous four seasons in Detroit, where the Lions didn’t sniff the playoffs, and he saw plenty of cases of players throwing away the final weeks.
“I’ve been in situations where it was a month or eight weeks left in the season, and we knew we weren’t going to the postseason,” Bly said. “I’ve been in situations where guys shut it down, guys get into a little funk. They start putting their house on the market. When they know they’re not in the postseason or their season is over, they put their house on the market and start packing, stuff like that, to take their mind off of football. We can’t afford to do that.”
Head coach Mike Shanahan doesn’t expect his team to give up with two games to go.
“You always want to end the season on a positive note,” he said. “We’d certainly like to play our best football on Monday night. Obviously, the playoffs are out of the picture, but you’d still like to do the little things the right way and work through the offseason, and hopefully you finish strong.”
Shanahan, like the players, didn’t like being eliminated. But he also was realistic about the Broncos’ chances of doing anything in the postseason anyway.
“You’ve got to play better than we’ve played,” he said. “Even if you do get in, you’re not going to do anything once you get there. We’ve got to be more consistent than we’ve been. We’ve had a few games offensively that we’ve been consistent and a few games defensively, but if you want to do anything once we get to the playoffs, we’ve got to be playing much better than we’ve been playing.”
BEST OF THE BEST: The rosters for the 2008 Pro Bowl will be announced at 2 p.m. today, and several Broncos have a chance at being selected.
Cornerback Champ Bailey has been to the Pro Bowl each of the past seven seasons and is likely headed there again.
Lynch has been there eight times, including the past three years. His reputation could get him there again, but he’s battled injuries and may not have had the season to make the Pro Bowl.
Others with a good chance to be selected are receiver Brandon Marshall, who ranks fifth in the AFC in receiving yards (1,136); linebacker D.J. Williams, who is tied for the AFC lead in tackles (121); and defensive end Elvis Dumervil, who is fourth in the AFC in sacks (11).
“If I make it, I make it,” Dumervil said. “If not, it really is not a big deal to me.”
It’s a bigger deal to Marshall, however.
“It’s a blessing to say you’re a Pro Bowl player,” he said. “That’s a goal of mine. I want to be a Pro Bowl player. I want to be the best receiver in the league.”
Other Broncos who have been there before include Bly (three times), kicker Jason Elam (three times), punter Todd Sauerbrun (three times), linebacker Ian Gold (once), running back Travis Henry (once) and receiver Javon Walker (once).
The 2008 Pro Bowl will be played Feb. 10 at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu.
EXTRA POINTS: Denver has a 52-42-1 lead in the series with the Chargers. The Broncos have more wins against San Diego than any other team. ... The Chargers beat the Broncos, 41-3, on Oct. 7 in Denver. ... This will be Denver’s third consecutive Christmas Eve game. The Broncos are 4-3 all-time on Christmas Eve and have won three straight on that date. ... Marshall has at least 10 catches in two straight games, becoming the first player in Broncos history to do so.
http://www.timescall.com/sports_story.asp?id=5264
By Brian Howell
Longmont Times-Call
ENGLEWOOD — It became official on Sunday. With victories by San Diego and Cleveland, the Denver Broncos were officially eliminated from the list of playoff contenders.
John Lynch didn’t know until Monday on his drive to work.
“I heard on the radio we were officially eliminated,” the Broncos’ veteran safety said. “I should have put two and two together. But sometimes, when you’re clinging to hope, you don’t want to hear that. That’s not fun to hear. But it’s the reality, and you’re at the stage of, what are you going to do about it now?”
Monday afternoon, the Broncos (6-8) got back to work for the first time since Thursday’s 31-13 loss in Houston to the Texans. It was the first time they were together as a team with no chance of making the playoffs, and they believe the only thing they can do about it is to finish the season as strong as they can.
“We have the chance we can finish 8-8,” cornerback Dré Bly said. “We’ve got to take one game at a time, but it’s a reality check for a lot of guys. It’s frustrating, and it’s a reality check for me. We had a good team on paper, but it didn’t work out for us. All we can do is control these last two games ... and win these games.”
Denver will play at San Diego, the AFC West champion, Monday night and then close its season Dec. 30 at home against the Minnesota Vikings. But while the Broncos’ season will end there, they aren’t about to fold up the tent.
“We better go in there ready to play, or it can get out of hand,” Lynch said. “Certainly, if you have any pride, you’re going to come out swinging.”
That’s not always the case in the NFL. Bly spent the previous four seasons in Detroit, where the Lions didn’t sniff the playoffs, and he saw plenty of cases of players throwing away the final weeks.
“I’ve been in situations where it was a month or eight weeks left in the season, and we knew we weren’t going to the postseason,” Bly said. “I’ve been in situations where guys shut it down, guys get into a little funk. They start putting their house on the market. When they know they’re not in the postseason or their season is over, they put their house on the market and start packing, stuff like that, to take their mind off of football. We can’t afford to do that.”
Head coach Mike Shanahan doesn’t expect his team to give up with two games to go.
“You always want to end the season on a positive note,” he said. “We’d certainly like to play our best football on Monday night. Obviously, the playoffs are out of the picture, but you’d still like to do the little things the right way and work through the offseason, and hopefully you finish strong.”
Shanahan, like the players, didn’t like being eliminated. But he also was realistic about the Broncos’ chances of doing anything in the postseason anyway.
“You’ve got to play better than we’ve played,” he said. “Even if you do get in, you’re not going to do anything once you get there. We’ve got to be more consistent than we’ve been. We’ve had a few games offensively that we’ve been consistent and a few games defensively, but if you want to do anything once we get to the playoffs, we’ve got to be playing much better than we’ve been playing.”
BEST OF THE BEST: The rosters for the 2008 Pro Bowl will be announced at 2 p.m. today, and several Broncos have a chance at being selected.
Cornerback Champ Bailey has been to the Pro Bowl each of the past seven seasons and is likely headed there again.
Lynch has been there eight times, including the past three years. His reputation could get him there again, but he’s battled injuries and may not have had the season to make the Pro Bowl.
Others with a good chance to be selected are receiver Brandon Marshall, who ranks fifth in the AFC in receiving yards (1,136); linebacker D.J. Williams, who is tied for the AFC lead in tackles (121); and defensive end Elvis Dumervil, who is fourth in the AFC in sacks (11).
“If I make it, I make it,” Dumervil said. “If not, it really is not a big deal to me.”
It’s a bigger deal to Marshall, however.
“It’s a blessing to say you’re a Pro Bowl player,” he said. “That’s a goal of mine. I want to be a Pro Bowl player. I want to be the best receiver in the league.”
Other Broncos who have been there before include Bly (three times), kicker Jason Elam (three times), punter Todd Sauerbrun (three times), linebacker Ian Gold (once), running back Travis Henry (once) and receiver Javon Walker (once).
The 2008 Pro Bowl will be played Feb. 10 at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu.
EXTRA POINTS: Denver has a 52-42-1 lead in the series with the Chargers. The Broncos have more wins against San Diego than any other team. ... The Chargers beat the Broncos, 41-3, on Oct. 7 in Denver. ... This will be Denver’s third consecutive Christmas Eve game. The Broncos are 4-3 all-time on Christmas Eve and have won three straight on that date. ... Marshall has at least 10 catches in two straight games, becoming the first player in Broncos history to do so.
http://www.timescall.com/sports_story.asp?id=5264