Hello again. It’s cold outside in Denver, but I’ll manage…considering I’m in the warm confines of the pressbox. I had a tasty lunch, my favorite chocolate pudding ice cream and a steady supply of coke. I’ll still let you in on all the comings and goings of the game and stuff happening here.
DENVER WINS THE TOSS!!!! We can all go home now. Wouldn’t that be lame? Broncos decide to receive.
The inactives for Denver are Eddie Royal, Selvin Young, Tony Scheffler, Ebenezer Ekuban, Ryan Torain, Vernon Fox, Erik Pears, and Josh Shaw. All of those could matter exept for Shaw and Fox.
15:00 1st Quarter – Broncos down it and on first down go with a screen that was projected by the guys in the box. Marshall gets the first down. The next play goes to Marshall and gets the first down. The next play to Marshall gets the first down. I’m sensing a pattern. Oops, now its Cutler getting the first down.
11:40 1st Quarter – Michael Pittman takes two plays to get a first down, and then goes for 6 on the next play. I have to say the Broncos offense looks like its on track early in this game. I’ve said that before though, and its really the defense that needs to be on track for the Broncos to win.
10:07 1st Quarter – The guys up here in the box must be studying their playbooks. They’ve called all the plays correctly. They said Stokley would get the ball, and he did for a TOUCHDOWN!!! Great first drive.
7 – 0 Broncos lead
A few interesting points about that drive. Cutler 7-7 for 67 yards and touchdown. Three different receivers caught balls. Good drive.
8:11 1st Quarter – Denver defense is looking the same as usual as well. They look great on first down but let up a long play on third down. They need to work on that. This time it’s a long pass on second down, but a huge hit and a fumble. Broncos recover. The Broncos have been very good this year causing turnovers and this time was just another example.
6:37 1st Quarter – Cutler keeps it on first down, and he fumbles it away. Well that’s a way to stop momentum. Reggie Hayward, former Bronco, stripped Cutler.
5:57 1st Quarter – Folk who watched this game last year might have remembered that 18 play drive that the Jaguars put together. This drive/fumble/fumble/drive feels similar. Not a lot of big plays but the Jags just keep moving the chains.
4:28 1st Quarter – The Jags can only get to the 30 so Josh Scobee will try a 48 yard field goal. He hits and jacksonville cuts the lead to four.
7 – 3 Broncos lead
3:00 1st Quarter – Broncos get the ball and are using Michael Pittman to grind up yards. I use “grind up” because that’s the best description. He just comes at you and dares you to tackle him. So far it’s been Pittman left, Pittman right, Pittman up the middle. If not for holding, he’d have even more yards.
1:33 1st Quarter – Cutler tries to make something out of nothing and heaves a pass up to Brandon Marshall. Its intercepted, but downed at the six. I’m not sure Brett Kern could have punted it that well. First down Jacksonville.
The Jags get it out to the 28 yard line and that’s the end of the first quarter.
At the end of the first quarter, Broncos lead the Jaguars 7 – 3
Two injury updates for Jacksonville. Fred Taylor with a blow to the head is questionable and Omare Lowe has a hamstring injury and is also questionable.
15:00 2nd Quarter – Some penalties are worse than others. Gerrard completese a long pass to Troy Williamson who’s tackled at the Denver 3 yard line but holding is called. I think that lineman’s gonna get yelled at on Monday.
13:49 2nd Quarter – So instead of first and goal, the Jags get stopped at their own 30 and have to punt. Let’s see if that mistake hurts Jacksonville later on.
11:15 2nd Quarter – Mixing in Michael Pittman with the Denver passing game gives the Broncos offense some real balance. Pittman is a bruising back who epitomizes the Broncos’ one cut and go mentality. So far this game he has 49 yards on 8 carries, and 2 catches for 7 yards.
9:27 2nd Quarter – Sometimes in sports, a guy can get in trouble for trying to do too much. Case in point, Brandon Marshall catches a screen pass and takes it inside the ten. Instead of settling for that, he tries to get more yards, is stripped and the Jaguars recover the fumble. The Broncos had a good drive going and got zilch out of it. Denver has to do a better job of finishing drives…boy, I haven’t said that like fifty times in the last three years.
7:51 2nd Quarter – The Jacksonville offense is methodical. They just keep coming. Three first downs in a row and the Jags are at their own 46 yard line. This dink and dunk offense just keeps the defense on the field. This will hurt the Broncos later, mark my words.
5:52 2nd Quarter – I will say this. There is a lot of hard hitting out there. Jacksonville already has three injuries, the latest being Gerald Sensabaugh with an injured hand.
4:30 2nd Quarter – Greg Estandia catches the ball, or does he? The refs say no, but replay says yes. Another missed opportunity on third down for the Denver defense. I need more ice cream, so I’m gonna go before the line makes it impossible to reach the food. Back in a minute.
2:58 2nd Quarter – And I’m back just in time to see Maurice Jones-Drew punch in a one yard touchdown. This better be dang good ice cream. It is. The Broncos should be o.k. provided that they stop turning over the ball. They have three turnovers in the last three possessions. That’s bad.
10 – 7 Jaguars lead
2:44 2nd Quarter – After a nice return and an unnecessary roughness penalty against the Jags. The Broncos get the ball back into Pitman’s hands. I don’t blame them, he’s the only one who hasn’t fumble so far this game. One nice Pittman run and one short one take us to the two minute warning.
1:13 2nd Quarter – After getting the ball to Pittman, Cutler tries to go back to Marshall and, wait for it, nearly gets intercepted. I’ve got an idea. Let’s get it to Pittman. Of course they do and will come up short on fourth down. The fans don’t like it and are either booing or asking us to “eat mor chikin.”
Seriously, you have two timeouts and a 3rd and one. Why not have Cutler keep it and get the first, use a timeout, and keep moving the chains. I tell ya, bad play calling on that 4th down and one.
:43 2nd Quarter – After Jacksonville gets the ball, Gerrard just keeps finding wide open receivers and the Jags are marching down to increase their lead before half time. They are doing exactly what the Broncos should have been doing. If Jacksonville scores a touchdown here, it will be a very difficult hole for the Broncos to come back from.
:30 2nd Quarter – Instead the Broncos sack Gerrard and recover his fumble. This has been a terribly played first half. There’s been more drops then the stock market. More turnovers then a pastry shop. More fumbles than…well you get the idea. The game should mercifully get to half time if either team can actually hold onto the ball long enough for the clock to run out.
At the end of half time, the Jaguars lead 10 – 7
The mistakes have gotten so bad that even the halftime entertainment, stunt bicycles, were wiping out. Crazy. Anyhoo, time for the second half. Let’s see if the Broncos can stop turning the ball over and score points. Let’s see if the Denver defense can actually stop someone. Let’s see who can win this cold, sloppy game.
14:24 3rd Quarter – It seems that jacksonville has wide open receivers running behind the linebackers but in front of the safeties on nearly every play. The Broncos need to correct this, or they will lose this game very badly.
13:47 3rd Quarter – Well that didn’t take long. Jones-Drew takes the handoff 46 yards to the house and the Jaguars are firmly in control of this game.
17 – 7 Jaguars lead
12:56 3rd Quarter – The Broncos seem listless and Cutler throws another intercept-wait, a completion to Glenn Martinez. That was a nice catch for a first down, but very lucky. The Broncos aren’t doing anything on offense and the crowd is either sitting on their hands or booing.
11:14 3rd Quarter – Cutler is trying to get the team back into it. He scrambles for a first down on a 3rd and 11. The Broncos are living dangerously right now. They need to get the excitement built up again. They get a nine yard pass to Marshall who surprisingly doesn’t fumble it. A drop on 2nd down leaves the Broncos with another 3rd down. Pittman makes the most of it and gets 20 yards. that rush gives Pittman 96 yards rushing on the day. A nice day so far.
9:29 3rd Quarter – Cutler looks deep for Nate Jackson in the end zone but it is just out of reach. Another lost opportunity. The Broncos are getting too many of those right now. Lost opportunities lead to losses, period. The Broncos must score a TD on this drive.
8:40 3rd Quarter – The Broncos don’t get a touchdown and have to settle for a Matt Prader 39 yard field goal. At least the Broncos are only one score down, but they need touchdowns…and some defense.
17 – 10 Jacksonville leads
8:18 3rd Quarter – One of the biggest problems for Denver is that they can’t tackle Jones-Drew. He is just shredding the Bronco defense. That needs to change.
7:18 3rd Quarter – It changes on the next play when Champ Bailey stops Jones-Drew for a loss. Gerrard takes it out of bounds on the next play, but there is a flag. It’s against Dre Bly for illegal contact and, once again, the Broncos can’t get off the field on a key third down.
6:25 3rd Quarter – Another guy running wide open and another long completion for Gerrard. The Broncos defense has been on the field a long time.
3:48 3rd Quarter – The Broncos can’t tackle and Gerrard has a touchdown pass to Marcedes Lewis. The crowd isn’t happy as the Jags extend their lead to 14 points.
24 – 10 Jaguars lead
3:37 3rd Quarter – The Broncos are just shooting themselves in the foot. They get a good gain, but Marshall is called for offensive pass interference. Marshall gets a good gain on the next play, but the Broncos are a long way away.
1:54 3rd Quarter – The Broncos are moving the ball. A first down catch by Darrell Jackson and a seven yard gain by Pittman keeps the chains moving, and the Broncos still in the game. Pittman has 100 yards and is looking like the Broncos’ best option.
:03 3rd Quarter – A long incomplete pass ends a terrible third quarter for the Broncos. They must do better if they have any hope of winning this game.
At the end of the third quarter, Jacksonville leads 24 – 10
12:55 4th Quarter – The Broncos punt and the defense has held…so far. Another key third down. this time the Broncos manage to stop the Jaguars and they gotta punt.
Just sayin’, but the Broncos must score on this drive.
11:43 4th Quarter – The Broncos don’t do anything on their 3 downs and must punt. The crowd is back in the game, but not in the way the Broncos would like. Lots of booing.
11:04 4th Quarter – The Broncos just come up short on defense. They had a sure sack on Gerrard, but missed. Incredible. On the next play, however, they finally get one.
10:10 4th Quarter – The Jags punt and Glenn Martinez takes it back 26 yards for a punt return. The Broncos have great field position, they must turn it into a touchdown.
10:03 4th Quarter – Cutler’s pass is incomplete but a bad penalty against Jax gives the Broncos a first down.
9:49 4th Quarter – Marshall gets the reception and turns a good gain into a great gain. You have to take the bad with the good when he tries to make plays like that, but that play was good.
9:19 4th Quarter – Welcome to the party Daniel Graham. He gets the eleven yard reception for a touchdown and brings the game to within seven. It must be noted that Jacksonville has coughed up a couple of 4th Quarter leads this year. Let’s see if they do it again.
24 – 17 Jaguars lead
8:10 4th Quarter – The Broncos need to get a stop. They’ve let up one 1st down already and can’t let up many more.
7:07 4th Quarter – Denver gets an incomplete and they have another 3rd down. This time it’s 3rd and nine. A huge play. Gerrard is flushed and the pass is in-com-plete as the crowd says. Time for Jax to punt.
5:57 4th Quarter – The Broncos get it back and go 3 and out. A terrible time for that to happen. The Denver defense has forced 3 straight punts, but will need to do it one more time. The defense is being put under a lot of pressure right now.
4:58 4th Quarter – Broncos have yet another 3rd down, but this time Gerrard keeps it for a first down. Broncos are running out of time.
4:33 4th Quarter – The Broncos get a stop but there is a pass interference on the Broncos and that should just about do it. I gotta hit the locker room but I’ll be back afterwards.
Darren Copeland 