Broncos: Remember these guys?
By Hunter Ansley on November 28, 2009 · Comment · 
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The old 6-0 Denver Broncos rolled back into town with no signs of tryptophan, no signs of the sloppy play that marked a four-game losing streak, and no signs of quitting.
It was a déjà vu night for Denver’s big names, with a few new faces garnishing the 26-6 win over the New York Giants.
Elvis Dumervil was in rare form, or at least a form that had become rare since the last win. Three tackles, two sacks, a forced fumble, and one big smile that had been hiding for over a month.
There were no shoves between a veteran wide receiver that turned spectacular catches into routine plays time and again and a rookie running back that spun his way to 88 yards on the ground. There were no fumbles as the ball crossed a goal line that had become a phantom memory in recent weeks. In fact, there were no fumbles at all. At least not for Denver.
Over the first six weeks of the season, the Broncos enjoyed a plus-8 turnover margin, winning that battle in every game, save for the New England win which ended in a tie in that category. Over the four-game skid, they fell to negative seven. It’s not a tough stat to figure out. When you’ve got the ball, the chances of eating clock and churning out points are considerably higher. And on Thanksgiving night, the Broncos found their groove, played pilgrim to the Giants’ Squanto, and took from them time and again. Three times to be exact.
The winning formula apparently wasn’t lost, it was only hibernating. And when the Broncos finally woke up, the firsts came rolling in. For the first time since October, Denver dominated the clock holding the ball 11 minutes longer than the Giants. For the first time in over a month, Knowshon Moreno and Correll Buckhalter found a way to outrush an opponent, nearly tripling New York’s total on the ground. And for the first time since taking a three-and-a-half game lead in the AFC West, Kyle Orton finished a game with a better passer rating than his rival quarterback with a slightly blemished, yet ultimately effective, 89.1 mark.
And finally, after four consecutive weekends of falling short and burning through the loyalty built from an undefeated stretch, this team earned a victory.
This was a successful effort birthed from shared camaraderie. It wasn’t defenders pressing to make a scintillating SportsCenter play instead of staying home and minding a responsibility. It wasn’t Orton reaching too deep to silence arm-strength critics. It was a savvy veteran quarterback taking what the defense gave him, and receiving more than a little help from a receiver whose arms seemed to grow with each play. And it wasn’t a group of individuals pushing too hard to be perfect. It was a team, playing together as one, and realizing for the second time that 11 men in smooth synchronization is a formidable force on the football field.
After rattling off six victories in six games, Denver began to press. There wasn’t a lack of effort in the early weeks of November; there was simply too much focus on individual perfection. We’ve seen it before. The nearly undefeated Patriots saw their average win margin drop from 25.4 points per game over the first 11 weeks to only 12.5 over the last six. We see it in college basketball when announcers gush about a team’s tournament chances after finally getting that first loss out of the way. And it’s happened to the Indianapolis Colts this season, who seem to find themselves in a fight on a weekly basis.
Staying on top, staying perfect, isn’t just physically demanding; it’s mentally excruciating. No one is saying that a four-game skid was the preferred wake-up call, but in the end it may prove to be a timely salve for a team that had become too tight, too focused on not losing instead of calmly deciding to win.
There’s simply a subtle relaxation that comes with knowing losses are out of the way. It showed on Thursday night.
In a game that had been written off as a seventh victory for Eli Manning and the Giants, Denver remembered how they’d done it the first six times. When Brandon Jacobs, perhaps the league’s best power back, was asked to run a finesse stretch play, the defenders strung him out and followed the plan. When Eli Manning seemingly had too much time in the pocket, the linebackers remained disciplined and delayed their blitzes beautifully confusing a talented New York offensive line to the tune of three sacks, six quarterback hits, and nine passes batted down. And when Josh McDaniels realized that a defense once thought to be the best in the NFL was soft against the run, Moreno and Buckhalter split 39 carries for 139 yards.
So there it is. 6-4 was painted as failure. 7-4 is hopeful. And it should be. With three games remaining against Oakland and Kansas City, there is hope for a 10 win season. With another resounding woodshedding of a “better” team, there’s hope for a shocking road steal over Philadelphia. And if the Broncos have learned anything from their recent Wall Street route up and down public opinion, it’s that even a seemingly perfect team like the Colts is vulnerable.
The losses could be out of the way. The season could be turning around. I’ll make no promises in a tumultuous league. But win or lose, there was a lesson learned on Thanksgiving, and we’ll all remember that these guys, this team, hasn’t lost that magic. It’s a long season, and that win on Thursday may have guaranteed that it will be at least one game longer.
Yeah, Jim Mora, I’m talking about the playoffs.
See more from Hunter Ansley at DraftZoo.com
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