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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

omac
12-18-2007, 06:06 PM
Nice article, Skin! :salute:

I don't expect anything less from the Broncos. :cheers:

TXBRONC
12-19-2007, 12:46 AM
Let's hope they do.

broncosfanscott
12-19-2007, 09:25 PM
With the way the last game went, I at least hope the game is close.

fcspikeit
12-20-2007, 12:00 AM
Honestly,,

This pisses me off a bit. Most of This team has played with no heart all year. Am I really to believe that now they will come out swinging? Sure the guys that have been playing hard all year will give it their all, I wouldn't expect anything less from the real class guys on our team like Lynch. As for the Camp fodder on this team? I suspect they will spend most the game on their backs watching LT score TD's and making everyone wonder why Rivers didn't make the Pro Bowl?

Lonestar
12-20-2007, 02:55 AM
Honestly,,

This pisses me off a bit. Most of This team has played with no heart all year. Am I really to believe that now they will come out swinging? Sure the guys that have been playing hard all year will give it their all, I wouldn't expect anything less from the real class guys on our team like Lynch. As for the Camp fodder on this team? I suspect they will spend most the game on their backs watching LT score TD's and making everyone wonder why Rivers didn't make the Pro Bowl?

Yet you picked DEN by more than 14.. I think your comment above is closer to reality..

Stargazer
12-20-2007, 04:01 AM
[/B]

http://www.timescall.com/sports_story.asp?id=5264

Good in theory. Bad for the 2008 draft.

TXBRONC
12-20-2007, 08:07 AM
Good in theory. Bad for the 2008 draft.

How so? Do you mean because of draft position?

Nomad
12-20-2007, 09:07 AM
Honestly,,

This pisses me off a bit. Most of This team has played with no heart all year. Am I really to believe that now they will come out swinging? Sure the guys that have been playing hard all year will give it their all, I wouldn't expect anything less from the real class guys on our team like Lynch. As for the Camp fodder on this team? I suspect they will spend most the game on their backs watching LT score TD's and making everyone wonder why Rivers didn't make the Pro Bowl?


This is a true statement. I don't think the BRONCOS has in them to automatically switch it to 'kick @$$' mode and go into SD and play lights out. SD is playing for their spot in the playoffs and Minn will be doing the same and I think both teams will bring their A+ game! If, and that's a big IF, the BRONCOS manage to come out and win both game convincingly that will piss me off as well and leave me scratching my head wondering why Shanahan and his team couldn't have played this way during the season and what the problem is in that lockerroom besides injuries.

fcspikeit
12-20-2007, 09:24 AM
Yet you picked DEN by more than 14.. I think your comment above is closer to reality..

Your right, in the poll I did pick Denver by 14. That was because I didn't think anyone had picked that. I should have looked before voting :) Anything can happen and if Denver can bring their A game I think they could win by 14. But I really can't see why they would? I mean they couldn't play their best when it mattered most. If they can now that will just piss me off knowing they could have done it all year.

How can you tell how I voted?

Mike
12-20-2007, 09:32 AM
Click on the voting numbers and it will show you who voted for what.

Lonestar
12-20-2007, 11:31 AM
Your right, in the poll I did pick Denver by 14. That was because I didn't think anyone had picked that. I should have looked before voting :) Anything can happen and if Denver can bring their A game I think they could win by 14. But I really can't see why they would? I mean they couldn't play their best when it mattered most. If they can now that will just piss me off knowing they could have done it all year.

How can you tell how I voted?

With my Magic mod powers ;). I clicked on the number that is underlined..

BTW here is some info from dr Z.. Not that I think he great but his insight is telling.

San Diego Chargers (9-5)
They're a hot team right now, and their task is clear. Keep winning, get a good seed and they'll play the Colts in the divisionals, not the Patriots. I can hear the fight talk now, kind of patterned on one of those Ray Lewis type rituals. "You don't want to go to New England, do you?" And they all yell, 'NO!'"

Stargazer
12-20-2007, 01:37 PM
Do you mean because of draft position?

Most definately.

dogfish
12-20-2007, 01:59 PM
Honestly,,

This pisses me off a bit. Most of This team has played with no heart all year. Am I really to believe that now they will come out swinging? Sure the guys that have been playing hard all year will give it their all, I wouldn't expect anything less from the real class guys on our team like Lynch. As for the Camp fodder on this team? I suspect they will spend most the game on their backs watching LT score TD's and making everyone wonder why Rivers didn't make the Pro Bowl?


i agree. . . talk's cheap, who wants to ear this crap now?? shoulda been saying this stuff six weeks ago, or not at all. . . in any case, it's useless if you can't back it up. . . we've gotten absolutely blown out by the chargers the last three times we've played them-- all the talk in the world doesn't mean anything if you can't go out and put up a much more respectable effort than you have in those games. . .

i do kinda feel bad for a guy like lynch, who's clearly an intense competitor. . . .