Denver's defense either: A). played well and finally found a pass rush this weekend or B). found a slow moving offense they were able to contain. Both teams had trouble getting first downs and finding the endzone in the first quarter, as it ended with a scintillating 3-3 tie. Aside from a burst from Warrick Dunn, the Donkey D was able to keep the Bucs in check. Griese held to his old form: by passing for 8 yards on 3rd and 9. Ebenezer Ekuban sacked Griese early, followed by backfield stoppages from DJ Williams and even Elvis Dumervil, with the latter finally getting his first sack of the season.

The Donkeys controlled the game with a defense that seemingly improved overnight. Yet the real shocker might've been than Nate Webster played the whole game without losing his helmet.

Jay Cutler's offense wasn't much better than the Griese offense. The Broncos seemed to be making an effort to feature their running gamne, early. When Selvin Young and Andre Hall didn't seem to take foot, they went back to their usual toss'em and cross 'em game by throwing the ball. The yardage wasn't there, either. Although Matt Prater didn't seem to mind: nailing 3 long distance field goals, including a 55 yarder. So of course announcers will be talking about how he "hit one from 70 in pre-game warm-ups!". BFD... I heard Jay Cutler threw 18 touchdown passes in pre-game warm-ups, but nobody every talks about THAT!

Of the Guys Who Catch the Balls; Brandon Marshall cooled off significantly and was almost invisible this week. For whatever reason, he wore big square slabs of medical tape on his arms. I'm wondering if it was an inside joke or a rib, as the tape's sole purpose seemed to be to cover up his tatoos. Eddie Royal was injured on a punt return (prompting the return of Glenn Martinez) and it wasn't until Brandon Stokley entered that the passing game produced. Stokley scored the sole Donkey TD and he scooted past a block from Marshall into the endzone.

A vintage Griese flashback came in the third quarter. Champ Bailey ran in for a delayed blitz, blindsided Griese and knocked him to the ground. Griese's arm was coming forward and his pass was almost intercepted by a diving Kenny Peterson. Griese soon left the game, officially with an "elbow injury". Technically, it was "crappiness". One of those convenient injuries that seem to pop up and keep shitty athletes out of a game. Jeff Garcia came in and the Bucs finally showed some life, late, rolling down the field, scoring a touchdown and cutting the Bronco lead to 3.

The Donkeys then needed a few first downs and an appetite for clock. They got both courtesy of Michael Pittman. The Victory Formation followed and Denver improved to 4-1. Tampa Bay has won most of their games with defense and safety Jermaine Phillips is a heck of a player--give them credit. The positive thought is that the Broncos would have lost this game, last year. On a weekend filled with flashbacks, the Broncos actually ignored the nostalgia and looked to the future.

Chop Blocks
..||.. For the second week in a row, I went to "Qwest presents Jay Cutler LIVE" down at Old Chicago. I felt a little stupid that they've been doing a live Broncos show right in my neighborhood for years and I've been totally oblivious to it (John Lynch preceeded Cutler as host until this year). This week, Brandon Marshall was the guest host and we all got tiny foam fingers. Yeahhhh....left mine at the table. Sorry, but you won't see me in the background of the show, waving or hollering like an elk in heat. I'll be eating.

..||.. Bill Romanowski was on hand for the Alumni Weekend. Suprisingly, he didn't offend anybody or draw a fine from the NFL. But the week is early.

..||.. My company has a new web-filter at work and one category is: "tasteless and offensive". If I can accomplish one thing with this semi-new website, it's to make it banned for that reason.

..||.. Forensics experts are diagnosing the latest Al Davis Video. So far, it's detemined that he is alive, but they're still debating the exact date of the video. They're also trying to decipher if Davis is sending any secret messages to his followers.

..||.. In another flashback to the Griese Era, this week: Gus Frerotte performed better than Griese, once again. Vikings won 30-27 with ol' Gus making a big contribution. Go, Gus.

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