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Denver Native (Carol)
12-21-2009, 12:53 PM
http://www.denverbroncos.com/page.php?id=334&storyID=9693

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Minutes after the Raiders' final-minute game-winning touchdown at INVESCO Field at Mile High, Head Coach Josh McDaniels delivered his talk to the players during their cool-down session.

The message to the team was doubt-free and confidence-heavy.

"We still have a chance," said rookie David Bruton of his coach's words. "Guys, keep your heads up -- we just didn't finish."

The sour taste of Sunday's 20-19 loss will quickly be replaced by a full Monday plate of tasks to accelerate toward a Week 16 road contest with the 10-4 Philadelphia Eagles.

McDaniels said that process should be a welcome one, considering the Broncos are one of a handful of teams playing meaningful football during the final two weeks of the regular season.

"We put ourselves in a situation where we've got to win two games and see what happens," McDaniels said. "There are a lot of teams that aren't in this situation. If we're concerned about our mental state now, we've got other issues. We're excited about the opportunity that we have."

In his 12-year career, Vonnie Holliday has reached that postseason opportunity five different times. The fifth instance came last season with the Miami Dolphins -- a team which won its final two games on the road against the Chiefs and Jets to secure an AFC East title.

Despite Sunday's disheartening loss, Holliday stressed that what happens in Week 15 can be erased by Week 17.

"We still have a lot to fight for," said Holliday, who finished with four tackles, a 13-yard sack and a forced fumble. "We go out and win in Philly, who knows what happens? So for this team -- there is no quit in us."

RED ZONE REVERSAL

When it came time to battle inside the 20-yard line on Sunday, both the Broncos and Raiders saw their defenses display anything but quit.

With Denver holding a 16-13 lead, Oakland started the final period with a 4th-and-goal at the 3-yard line. Darren McFadden took a handoff toward the right side, before being met by the tandem of Mario Haggan and Andra Davis for a 2-yard loss.

Oakland finished 1 of 3 on its red-zone opportunities. But the one conversion proved to be costly, as it came on JaMarcus Russell's game-winning 10-yard touchdown to Chaz Schilens with 35 seconds left on the clock.

"We played well in spurts of the game," Bruton said. "At the end of the day, the offense gives us the lead, it is the defense's job to keep it. We just happened to not execute as well as we needed to."

That six-point lead generated by the offense could have been larger with more success in the red zone. Of Denver's four chances down low, one resulted in a touchdown -- a 6-yard catch by Brandon Marshall that produced the 16-13 lead.

With 7:26 remaining in the fourth, another chance had arrived. Brandon Stokley's 63-yard catch set up a 1st-and-goal for the Broncos at the Raiders' 2-yard line.

A negative run and two incompletions later, Denver settled for a 21-yard field goal by Matt Prater, keeping Oakland within one possession.

"They took advantage of the opportunities down low in the red zone," McDaniels said. "We struggled to do that. Any time you have to kick field goals in a game that's going to be close, it's going to be costly in the end."

QUICK HITS

To honor his late friend, Bengals wide receiver Chris Henry, Marshall wore a No. 15 jersey during pregame warmups with the name “Henry” stitched on the back. After the game, Marshall said the tribute was to pay respects to "a buddy of mine" ... With a receiving touchdown against Oakland, Marshall extended his career high to 10 this season. It is the 12th time a Broncos player has reached double-digit totals and the first time since WR Rod Smith had 11 receiving touchdowns back in 2001 ... With 278 yards passing against the Raiders, Kyle Orton became the seventh different quarterback in franchise history to eclipse 3,000 yards passing in a single season. With 3,182 passing yards this season, he has already set a career-high ... With four field goals against the Raiders, Prater has now converted 15 of his last 16 field goal attempts. He now has 107 points in 2009, which makes him the fifth player in Broncos history to produce multiple 100-point seasons.

Superchop 7
12-22-2009, 12:53 PM
Great goal line stand.

Too bad the offense can't score.

Superchop 7
12-22-2009, 01:41 PM
Is it just me......or.....shouldn't this offense be improving ?

CoachChaz
12-22-2009, 01:44 PM
Is it just me......or.....shouldn't this offense be improving ?

Depends...injuries to the line and Buck havent helped

Denver Native (Carol)
12-22-2009, 01:50 PM
Is it just me......or.....shouldn't this offense be improving ?

Think about this - Rookie head coach - THE TEAM HE IS OVERALL RESPONSIBLE FOR IS IN THE PLAYOFF HUNT. That has to be a lot of pressure, and rather than the offense not improving, I think that the offensive calls are now more conservative, with the idea to avoid costly mistakes. Is that the right approach to take - maybe not - but is that the APPROACH any rookie coach would take - probably so.

Just my opinion.

CoachChaz
12-22-2009, 01:52 PM
Think about this - Rookie head coach - THE TEAM HE IS OVERALL RESPONSIBLE FOR IS IN THE PLAYOFF HUNT. That has to be a lot of pressure, and rather than the offense not improving, I think that the offensive calls are now more conservative, with the idea to avoid costly mistakes. Is that the right approach to take - maybe not - but is that the APPROACH any rookie coach would take - probably so.

Just my opinion.

I wish I could find the thread where everyone made their predicitions on what our record would be this year...and then try to figure out why everyone is bitching

Northman
12-22-2009, 01:57 PM
I said i expected 9-7.

Shazam!
12-22-2009, 02:00 PM
Think about this - Rookie head coach - THE TEAM HE IS OVERALL RESPONSIBLE FOR IS IN THE PLAYOFF HUNT. That has to be a lot of pressure, and rather than the offense not improving, I think that the offensive calls are now more conservative, with the idea to avoid costly mistakes. Is that the right approach to take - maybe not - but is that the APPROACH any rookie coach would take - probably so.

Just my opinion.

Carol, please stop with this rational BS?

Denver Native (Carol)
12-22-2009, 02:01 PM
I wish I could find the thread where everyone made their predicitions on what our record would be this year...and then try to figure out why everyone is bitching

I'm sure there are a ton more, but I found a few.

http://www.broncosforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=55348&highlight=prediction - this one is season predictions thread

http://www.broncosforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=46296&highlight=prediction

http://www.broncosforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=83866&highlight=prediction