SPORTS-(BRONCOS)

Vs. Baltimore Ravens (L, 13-20)
Mike Shanahan looked confused. For the first time in awhile, Shanahan stood on the sideline, looking around, making his trademark nervous eye-squint/smile thing... and could not come up with the right answer. Despite being spotted an early 7-0 lead, the Broncos offense never again found the endzone as Balimore's defense did everything right and the Broncos were left asking all the quesitons.

"Can we run"? Nope. Not when Baltimore stacks two 400 lb juggbutts on the defensive line. You really can't fault the offensive linemen for not moving these guys. If Tony Siragusa and Sam Adams were to brush against each other, there would have been a huge greasefire on the field. Baltimore's linebacking core consistently picthed in, shutting down the tag-team combination of Olandis Gary and Mike Anderson.

"Can we pass?" Nope. With Ed McCaffrey out, the Baltimore defensive philosphy was as follows: "when they pass, all we have to do is double-cover Rod Smith". Rod caught 5 passes for 5 first downs, but passes intended for Desmond Clark, Eddie Kennison and Patrick Hape had little, or no effect. Clark, especially, was a goat- as he fumbled one catch, then failed to catch a 4th and 1 conversion in the fourth quarter. Brian Griese had near-perfect ratings against the Giants and Cardinals. Against the Ravens he was merely normal- sacked four times and threw two interceptions. The best recpetion of the day was made by Chester McGlockton. First play from scrimmage, he jumps up and intercepts an Elvis Grbac pass, then moseys to the two yard line. How did Elvis NOT see Chester- he's the biggest juggbutt on the Broncos roster. Hitting Chester with a pass is the old cliche' equivalent of "hitting the broad side of a barn".

"Can we tackle?" Not unless you're a safety, and even then it's suspect. Eric Brown led the team in tackles, and Kenoy Kennedy was second. Never a good sign to have both safeties lead the team in tackles. Kennedy's numbers would have been higher, but he missed several shots. The defensive line stayed away from Elvis Grbac like Salem witches to water. Early on, they would hit him after the pass, but never when he, you know, actually HAD the ball in his hand.

"Can we win?" Obviously, no. There's another old football cliche- "Defense wins Championships". One year after the Rams made a mockery of that statement, the Ravens proved it by winning the Super Bowl. But to win championships, you need to actually win GAMES, which is what the Ravens did, today. No way to embellish it- the Ravens beat the Broncos like a speed bag. Ray Lewis backed up his statement of "nobody will score more than 13 on us". Even a medicore offense featuring Terry Allen and Qadry Ismail can come up big when Baltimore has that type of defense. Since 1995, rarely has any team confused Mike Shanahan. On Sunday, the Ravens did it, consistently.

If nothing else,this loss will make the Broncos wake up. They were tested in the first half against the Giants, and in the first quarter against the Cardinals. After that, they basically rolled in the second half, and could do no wrong. A little adversity gets a team to sit back and realize that it's not going to be that easy. That (gasp!) they'll have to work at it. Great teams respond positively to adversity (see 1997 Broncos), while mediocre teams play out the string (see 1994 Broncos). We'll get to see if this team is as good as we think. At 2-1, they now have the divisional foes in front of them. Play it right, and the Broncos could find themselves at 4-1 going into San Diego on October 28. Believe it or not, that is YOUR 2001 AFC West Showdown (for now, at least). Hey, when San Diego's on top of your division, that's not an insurmountable obstacle.

The KC Chefs are next week, fresh off a blow-out over the Redskins. Teams rarely play well after a blow-out (as this week's Broncos are a testament to), it's at home, and well, it's the Chefs. One good thing about this weekend's Bronco loss- maybe it'll make ticket prices drop for the next home game?

FINAL CUTS
Lame, insignificant thing of the week: Eric Brown dissed his fans on Thursday night, but returned on Friday night. I was getting blitzed but still managed to drop by. He wondered how I got Shannon Sharpe's autograph on my football and said "heh, maybe I'll hit him for you this weekend!?" Midway into the third- yup, Eric Brown tackled Sharpe. Eric Brown has fulfilled his debt to me... ...||... I dont' care how many receptions you've gotten with the guy in Madden 2002- Kevin Kasper is NOT the savior for this team. Coaches have been drooling over Eddie Kennison for a few years now (they tried to trade for him in 97, I believe). Expect Kennison to start until early November. If, at that point, he's still making 1 catch for 1 yard- THEN you shake things up. ...||... More reasons MFL halftime studio shows suck: TV viewers got to see Jerry Glanville and Randy Cross chopping their hands, and yelling "I toldja so's" about morning games. Meanwhile, fans at the Broncos game got to see the enshrinement of Dennis Smith and Karl Mecklenburg into the Ring of Fame ...||... Update on Simon Fletcher. (alledged rumor). A fan told me that Simon got busted by the IRS for building a house with no permit, in the backwoods of Utah about three years ago. Anyone confirm/deny this?...

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Back to Broncos 2001 Index

2001 Season Archive
August 11 vs Cowboys
August 20 vs Packers
August 26 vs Saints
September 4 vs 49ers
September 10 vs Giants
September 16 vs BYE
September 23 vs Cardinals
September 30 vs Ravens
October 7 vs Chiefs
October 14 vs Seahawks
October 21 vs Chargers
October 28 vs Patriots
November 5 vs Raiders
November 11 vs Chargers
November 18 vs Redskins
November 23 vs Cowboys
December 2 vs Dolphins
December 9 vs Seahawks
December 16 vs Chiefs
December 30 vs Raiders
January 6 vs Colts
Feb 13- year end special