But these Broncos are a well-rounded unit, as their rush defense was molested just as bad as their pass defense. Sammy Morris ran up 136 yards before halftime. It's one thing to give up 100+ games to guys like Larry Johnson or LaDanian Tomlinson, but when it's Sammy Morris? In less than a half? The Broncos then went on to surrender a rushing touchdown to BenJarvus Green-Ellis. A new record, as no guy named "BenJarvus" had ever scored a touchdown in any professional tackle league. The rumor flying around this morning is that the Broncos have petitioned the NFL office to begin using tasers, blow darts, BB guns and other weapons (or Pacman Jones) to help them stop their weekly opponent.

But these Broncos are a well-rounded unit. The offense's longest play was maybe 12 to 15 yards. That will work if you're running 60 plays a game, but when you're fumbling three times and tossing two interceptions, it's not a good strategy. The turnovers could have been worse, but after Andre Hall fumbled on his only two carries, he found himself on the pine to watch the Patriots' sideline musketeers fire off more rounds after every New England touchdown. Primarily a passing offense this year, the Broncos recent aerial efforts have been stymied. For whatever reason-- be it lack of quality run-blocking or lack of quality ballcarriers-- the ground game hasn't been reliable this year. Michael Pittman will only take them so far, especially when they have to play "catch-up" for three quarters.

Jay Cutler injured his index finger on the first snap of the game. This sent the ESPN Moronic Trio into orgasm, as they continually talked Jay Cutler's Finger every chance they had. "Michael Pittman to the left side for 2... and Jay Cutler injured his finger on the first play". "Randy Moss to the endzone-- touchdown. Jay Cutler's finger was not present on the play". The Moronic Trio continued with on with their hyperbole and, at one point, even declared that Mike Shanahan had once brought in Danny Kannell as John Elway's successor. That's painting with a BROAD brush, as I don't think any backup QB on any team was ever brought in to become the franchise. I'm surprised they didn't declare that Gus Frerotte, Jarious Jackson or Matt Mauck were also slotted as successors.

Back to the game; the Broncos managed six sacks, which can only be attributed to the porous New England pass protection and Matt Cassell's lack of evasion skills. Unfortunately, most of the Patriots' offensive plays were beyond, not behind, the line of scrimmage. Of course that didn't stop Nate Webster and others from celebrating after sacking Cassell. Six sacks will only look good on the back of any 2009 Broncos football cards. But here's another stat that sticks out: the second-leading tackler was safety Calvin Lowry-- a waiver-wire claim who was pushed around the field all night and run over several times. Lowry was pressed in duty because the Broncos designated several regulars as game day inactives, like John Engelberger and Marlon McCree. Those guys would've made no difference, but the guys who actually suited up were all game day inactives themselves.

After the game Champ Bailey (who made the sole Bronco defensive highlight by deflecting a pass) talked about the team's poor "attitude". He speculated that some guys in the locker room don't have an unfriendly disposition on gameday. Yet I don't know how much more unpleasant it can get for those guys.

At 4-3, the Broncos are right on track to finish at their usual 7-9, 8-8, or 9-7 mark. Amazingly frustrating because, personnel-wise, they are substantially better than recent years. Yes, I'd even go so far as to say "they've got too much talent to be in this position" (™, Shannon Sharpe). Eddie Royal and Brandon Marshall could be the best receiving tandem they've ever had. While Jay Cutler's been good, he's still not the franchise QB they want him to be. But he has made notable progress and could be That Guy at season's end if everything works out. As a team, for now, they're still mired in neutral and making stars out of random NFL players.

Chop Blocks

..||..About 15 years ago I gave up on believing that Hank Williams, Jr. had any kind of redeeming value with his non-rhyming, warbling "Are you ready for some footbaaaaaa" gig. But I read the freebie rag Westword, this week, and noticed an article saying how Hank was present at a Sarah Palin rally up in Loveland. Political bashing aside, Hank's not a dolt for showing up at this rally, he's a dolt for thinking he's the NFL's version of Michael Buffer. Apparently, Hank was on hand (decked out in a Elway jersey to get some cheap heat, no less) to warble out: "Are you ready for some Sarah?!!" Hank...please OD in Denver and end my pain.

..||.. Listened a little bit to the rambling Alfred Williams and Scott Hastings show on The Fan 104.3FM, today. Hastings still has the worst stutttering problem in broadcast history. It's very unnerving and it even rubbed off on his interviewee, Eddie Royal. Later, Williams talked about the "rudimental fundamentals" of running an offense.

..||.. I think it's an NFL Network or NFL Shop commercial that has fans singing "I'm feelin' kinda Sunday". It shows various fans all decked out in their gear. One gal squats down and we can see a tramp-stamp of an Arizona Cardinals logo on her lower back. Poor broad. Not only does she have the slutty tramp-stamp, but it's of the Cardinals. That's just pathetic. Of course, if she had been sporting a Raiders logo, it would've been perfect.

..||.. Saw an update that Michael Vick entered his guilty pea for dogfighting charges and is in the middle of a 23 month jail sentence, which he began serving this summer. This means he'll be out just in time for the 2010 training camp season. I said it last year, but with the problems teams seem to have at QB, we can expect Vick to catch on with some team for 2010. Call it the Dexter Manley Rule.

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