25-year old DE Elvis Dumervil is still playing at a very high level for the Broncos.  He has played in 11 games for the Broncos this season and he has 37 tackles, 14 sacks, 3 forced fumbles and he defensed 3 passes.  Dumervil has now played in 56 games in his 4 years with the Broncos and he has 117 tackles, 8 passes defensed, 1 interception, 9 forced fumbles and he has 40 sacks.  The Broncos need Dumervil to finish strong and help them make the playoffs which are in reach.

The Broncos sure proved me wrong by beating up on the Giants last night.  Kyle Orton must have got a magic shot in his ankle because he looked good last night completing 18 of 28 passes for 245 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 INT.  Rookie RB Knowshon Moreno got back on track with 19 carries for 88 yards (4.6 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He also caught 2 passes for 19 yards (9.5 avg) in his game.  Correll Buckhalter pitched in with 51 yards rushing on 20 carries (2.6 ypc) yesterday.  Brandon Marshall led the way in the passing game for the Broncos last night as he snatched up 6 passes for 86 yards (14.3 avg).  TE Tony Scheffler pitched in with 4 catches for 53 yards (13.3 avg) last night.  The Broncos finished up with 373 total yards on offense (138 rushing, 235 passing) in this game.

The defense was outstanding for the Broncos last night.  Safety Brian Dawkins led the way for the Broncos last night with 8 tackles, 2 passes defensed, a fumble recovery and a QB hit.  CB Andre’ Goodman was also solid with 4 tackles, 3 passes defensed, 1 QB hit and 1 INT.  The Giants finished up with only 267 total yards on offense (57 rushing, 210 passing) in this game.  The Broncos are now 7-4 on the year.

The Giants had to fight hard to get back on track last week with a hard fought O.T. win over the Falcons.  The Broncos on the other hand have lost four games in a row by a combined score of 117-37!  The last two home games the Broncos have played they lost by a combined 60-13 score.  The Giants will likely try to impose their will on the ground in this game with Brandon Jacobs and Danny Ware against a Broncos’ D that is allowing 115.3 yards rushing per game and 4.0 yards per carry.  If the Giants’ O-Line can keep Elvis Dumervil (12 sacks) away from Eli Manning he should be able to have some success throwing the ball.  But if the Broncos get a good rush on Manning he might make a big mistake or two against Champ Bailey and his veteran buddies in the Denver secondary.

The Broncos would like to be more balanced on offense against the Giants with Kyle Orton still a little bit gimpy.  That means that Knowshon Moreno and Correll Buckhalter will have to hold onto the ball against a Giants’ D that is allowing 104.8 yards rushing per game and 4.3 yards per carry.  The Giants can be passed on but they like to blitz a lot which could cause problems for the Broncos due to Orton’s ankle as he will be a sitting duck a lot of the time. 

PREDICTION:  GIANTS 27, BRONCOS 17

What’s the point for keeping a player that you never, and I mean NEVER, want to use in a game?  They would be better off going with rookie Tom Brandstater a 6th round pick last April out of Fresno State as the backup to Kyle Orton.  The only things that the 29-year old Chris Simms has in common with his famous daddy is the fact that they both play QB and have blond hair.  That is where the comparisons end.  Chris Simms has played in 2 games for the Broncos this season and he has completed 5 of 17 passes (29.4%) for 23 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT (15.1 QB Rating).  He has now played in 22 games in his career and he has completed 297 of 511 passes (58.1%) for 3,117 yards with 12 TD passes and 18 INTs (69.1 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 30 times for 52 yards (1.7 ypc) with 1 TD run in his career.

Chris’ daddy Phil played in 164 games (159 starts) in his NFL career.  He led the Giants to a 95-64 (59.7%) record as a starting QB including 1 Super Bowl win.  The elder Simms completed 2,576 of 4,647 passes (55.4%) for 33,462 yards with 199 TD passes and 157 INTs (78.5 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 349 times for 1,252 yards (3.6 ypc) with 6 TD runs.  Maybe Chris should have been paying more attention when his daddy played so he could have learned something.  Like I said before, the Broncos should just cut Simms and go with the rookie as the backup or sign Jeff Garcia.

The Denver Broncos (6-4) were in trouble before this game even started against the San Diego Chargers (7-3).  Kyle Orton did not take one snap all week of practice due to a sprained ankle, so Chris Simms got the start.  Simms looked overwhelmed out there and did not last very long.  He was sacked twice and lost a fumble, so it was obvious from the beginning that Simms was not going to be able to do anything well for the Broncos.  They decided to put in Orton, even though he was a gimp.  Orton was not able to get anything going either, and the Broncos offense was only able to put up 3 points in the entire game.  Orton ended up passing for 179 yards and an interception, while going 15/29.  They were able to get 115 yards combined out of Moreno and Buckhalter, but the ankle injury definitely affected Orton’s game and the Chargers were too good.

Philip Rivers and the Chargers offense were able to build a big lead and cruise to the victory.  Rivers did not pass for a lot of yards (only 145 yards), but he was smart with the ball and completed 17/22 passes and had a touchdown.  He also had a strong running game to rely on, as LaDainian Tomlinson had 73 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries and Mike Tolbert added 58 yards and a touchdown on only 7 carries.  The Broncos were not a full strength, but this is now their fourth straight loss and some major adjustments need to made as teams are figuring out how to defend them.

33-year old WR Brandon Stokley got off to a great start this season catching 6 passes for 157 yards (26.2 avg) with a TD grab in the first two games of the year for the Broncos.  But, in his last 7 games, Stokley has only caught 5 passes for 43 yards (8.6 avg) with a TD.  This is coming from a player who caught 49 passes for 528 yards (10.8 avg) with 3 TD grabs last season in 15 games for the Broncos.  Did he somehow get in Coach McDaniels’ Dog House?  You have to wonder because at worst he is the third best receiver on the Broncos’ roster behind Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal.  The Broncos are really wasting a weapon here by not throwing the ball to Stokley.

23-year old WR Eddie Royal was oustanding as a rookie last season for the Broncos playing in 15 games in which he caught 91 passes for 980 yards (10.8 avg) with 5 TD grabs.  He also returned 14 punts for 140 yards (10.0 avg) and 23 kickoffs for 600 yards (26.1 avg) last year.  But, this season the Broncos have not been using Royal nearly enough on offense.  He has played in 9 games this season and he has caught 27 passes for 253 yards (9.4 avg) without any TD grabs.  Royal should be the #2 WR on the Broncos’ offense without a doubt as he and Brandon Marshall were a pretty lethal team last year.  Royal has been solid on special teams for the Broncos this season as he has returned 17 punts for 198 yards (11.6 avg) with a TD and he has returned 18 kickoffs for 426 yards (23.7 avg) with a TD return this year.  The fact that he’s playing so much on special teams should not hamper him from being a starting WR for the Broncos.

Things have not been going well for the Denver Broncos (6-3) lately and unfortunately they are matched up this week against one of the hottest teams in the league right now, the San Diego Chargers (6-3).  Broncos’ quarterback Kyle Orton has been listed as a game-time decision, but he sprained his ankle pretty bad last week and I’m not so sure he will be able to go.  Even if Orton does go, I think he will be limited by that ankle and the Broncos may just be better off starting Chris Simms.  Simms did play awful last week, completing 3-13 passes and throwing an interception.  He has had a full week to prepare with the first team though, so he should be able to do much better than what he showed last week.  Whether its Orton or Simms, the Broncos will need a huge day out of their running backs.  Correll Buckhalter has been ineffective lately, and is battling a knee injury which has him listed as probable.  Knowshown Moreno has been running well lately and is coming off a 97 yard performance last game.

The Broncos defense has been very good against the pass all season, but they have not faced very many quarterbacks as good as Philip Rivers.  Rivers can put up some big numbers, so don’t expect the Broncos to hold him to their 186 yard average.  They also have LaDainian Tomlinson coming off his best game of the season, so he can open things up for the passing game.  The Chargers average 26 points per game, and although I think the defense will be able to contain them I don’t think the Broncos offense will be able to put enough points on the board to keep up with the Chargers, especially with an injured Orton/Simms starting at quarterback.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  San Diego Chargers 24, Denver Broncos 17

The Broncos better have their fingers crossed that Kyle Orton’s injury to his ankle is not too bad because if it is the season is pretty much over for them.  Orton has started all 9 games for the Broncos this season and he has completed 181 of 287 passes (63.1%) for 2,031 yards with 11 TD passes and 4 INTs (91.1 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 14 times for 27 yards (1.9 ypc) so far this year.  If Orton is not ready to go on Sunday then the Broncos will turn to Chris Simms.  The lefty has a strong arm and he has blond hair just like his dad (Phil Simms).  It’s too bad that is where the comparison ends as Simms stinks as a QB.  He only completed 3 of 13 passes (23.1%) for 13 yards with 1 INT last week when he replaced Orton.  He was also sacked three times as he was holding the football way too long.  Simms has now played in 21 games in his NFL career and he has completed 295 of 507 passes (58.2%) for 3,107 yards with 12 TD passes and 18 INTs (69.2 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 30 times for 52 yards (1.7 ypc) with 1 TD run.  The Broncos will have absolutely no chance of making the playoffs or winning the division if Simms has to start games so they better hope that Orton is ready to go this Sunday.

The Denver Broncos (6-3) came out looking very good against the Washington Redskins (3-6) on Sunday, but a trick play by the Redskins changed the whole game.  The Broncos got off to an early lead with two deep touchdown passes from Kyle Orton to Brandon Marshall.  The first was a 40-yard touchdown early in the first quarter and the second was a 75-yard touchdown near the end of the first quarter.  They took a 14-7 lead after the first, but the offense could not get much going after that.  The Redskins took all of the momentum in the second quarter on a fake punt.  Redskins’ punter Hunter Smith took the snap, rolled right, and lofted a pass down field to Mike Sellers for a 35-yard touchdown.  The Redskins crowd went crazy and the Broncos lost even more momentum when Kyle Orton injured his ankle at the end of the first half and would not return for the second.  The Broncos were able to get a field goal to take a 17-14 halftime lead, but with Orton out the offense nearly shut down.

Chris Simms replaced Orton at quarterback and he played awful.  Simms finished with only 13 yards on 3/13 passes and was intercepted.  Knowshown Moreno gave all he could for the running game, finishing with 97 yards on 18 carries.  He failed to reach the endzone though, and with the terrible play from Simms the Broncos did not have much of a chance at winning.  The defense contained Jason Campbell, but he ended up having a solid game for the Redskins, passing for 193 yards and touchdown on 17/26 attempts.  They did an awful job stopping the run even though their starting running back Clinton Portis was out with a concussion.  Ladell Betts ran for 114 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries.  Third string running back Rock Cartwright added 41 yards on 9 carries.  You cannot let two back-ups rush for 155 yards and expect to win.  The Broncos have now lost 3 straight games and if Orton is out they will be in big trouble with Chris Simms as the starter.