Broncos 24 - Falcons 20
What a treat it is to finally see the Broncos in person once again. I hadn't see them in person since the opening game in St. Louis a few seasons ago and they hadn't played in my home town since 1997. It is a hell of lot more fun to yell at the stadium than from the comfort of my home. This was also the first time I was able to bring my daughter to a Bronco game and she certainly got to see a good one.
I ponied up some big bucks for some nice tickets at the 45 yard 21 rows behind the Bronco bench. While the crowd was slow to arrive, I got there early enough to watch warmups and make certain I was in my seat for kickoff. Last time I went to the Dome for a Bronco game, Sharpe caught a long bomb before I could get to my seat and I was only a couple minutes late.
There were plenty of Bronco fans in attendance but it was nice to see the Dome filled with Falcon fans. I've always said if they can create a winning tradition, Atlantans WILL support it. Football is huge in these parts but the populace won't tolerate a loser. Call it bandwagon if you like. Personally, I think they are lot of smart ticket buyers. Why pay for crap.
Falcon fans were very gracious and friendly. Plenty of nice discussion and only an occassional good natured barb. They were congradulatory in defeat and recognized the Broncos good play. I always try to handle this sort of situation with class. If one does I think one can have a good time in any stadium, with possible exception to raiderland.
I quickly noticed no Champ Bailey at warmups. Not too shocking. Also noticed several players go over and talk to Elam including Cutler, Shanahan and Prater. Bly had a talk with Foxworth as well.
Nice to see the Broncos come out strong and force a quick punt by the Falcons. Set the tone for the day.
On the Broncos first possession it was obvious they were going to attack things a little different. Without an experienced, in-shape, tailback they needed to find other ways to the move the ball. Short passes, end arounds and reverses took the place of a running game and setup the rest of the game. Finishing off with a TD on the first drive was huge.
I was a bit disappointed to see the Falcons have continued success converting on 3rd down. 95% of the time the DBs were giving 12 yard cushions on 3 & 5. Far too easy to pickup first downs and I could see the completion ahead of time on every single one. When they did play press coverage (most often on 1st and 2nd down) they had better coverage.
Falcons kept trying to run outside and defense did a great job of stringing it out. Why the Falcons didn't run up the middle more was a mystery. That the 2nd string linebackers contained one of the best rushing offenses should be applauded. I was VERY fearful of MichaelTurner coming into the contest.
I was very surprised that the Falcons worked on Bly more than Paymah. Thank goodness for that.
It hurt seeing Elam lining up for the other side. Hard to root against the guy but I did my best. He may not have the strongest leg anymore but he is still as reliable as ever. It doesn't matter if you can pound them from 50+ if you can't hit inside the uprights from49. :-)
I was disappointed the Broncos couldn't turn the Ryan interception into 7 after marching down the field. Touchdowns are going to be tough down close until they can find a back to pound it inside. Surprised they went with Pope over Hillis on this drive.
Royal's contribution cannot be understated. The field position he got on kickoff returns was huge. So close to busting a couple. I'm pretty sure Shanahan would rather someone else return kicks but with Royal's performance it is going to be hard to take him out of that role.
Great to see Cutler be a little smarter with the ball. He took a lot of heat the last couple weeks, much of it earned. On this day he made only one poor decision. Plus he had a nice block to help gain an extra 5 yards.
I'm still looking for more pressure from the DL. A lot of vanilla defense in this game but Ryan faced pressure on only limited occassions. Much better job of tackling by the team as whole.
A couple other interesting observations:
- Marshall spent all his sideline time seated on the Gatorade table, not the bench. I don't see this as a negative but maybe a touch of "look at me, I'm different".
- For all those that need passion from the coaches, Rick Dennison has plenty. I honestly think it is time he gets some credit for bringing the young OL around so quick.
Two road wins in come from behind fashion are great. Seeing San Diego sputter and lose again is fine. However, there is a long way to go. Broncos cannot overlook the Raiders who still can play good defense. Chances of getting a wildcard look remote although a win against the Jets in two weeks would improve those chances. San Diego's home tilt against Indy Sunday night is huge. A 3 game lead will probably be too much to overcome. I still don't expect a Super Bowl out of this team and really don't expect any playoff success. However, I think it would be nice to get this group TO the playoffs and be able to build on that experience in the future. Its a tough road to hoe but if the defense can solidify a bit and some players can get healthy it is still possible.
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