Led by their resurgent superstar quarterback, the Denver Broncos have plenty to play for over the next four weeks even though they’ve already clinched the AFC West title.
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Broncos-Raiders Preview (The Associated Press)
ENGLEWOOD, Colo. (AP) – Instead of talking about the Super Bowl, Broncos coach John Fox focuses on the small goals his team has to meet to get there. On an almost daily basis, he sets incremental, easy-to-digest benchmarks – cut down on turnovers, get a little better every game, play your best football come December – that rarely bring up the words “Super Bowl,” but are certainly formulated with that in mind. “As a coach, that’s kind of your job, just looking for little carrots out there to maybe give guys a little extra juice,” Fox said. “You look at different things and set those kinds of goals.” When the Broncos reached one of their goals by wrapping up the AFC West on Sunday, Fox joined a couple of coaching stalwarts from the 1970s, Chuck Knox and Ted Marchibroda, as only the third coach in NFL history to take over a team with a losing record and win back-to-back division titles in his first two years. It was yet another in a long list of Denver’s achievements to be met with almost no fanfare inside the locker room. “You do this to win championships,” Fox said. He’s talking about Super Bowls, not divisions, and his team, with a 9-3 record, a seven-game winning streak and Peyton Manning playing some of the best football of his career, is shaping up to be as legitimate a contender as anyone. The Broncos play at Oakland on Thursday. Currently, they are the fourth seed in the AFC, with a game against Baltimore set for Dec. 16. Denver has a significantly easier schedule than two of the teams ahead of it, Baltimore and New England, so the No. 2 seed and the first-round bye that goes with it are both within reach. Don’t bother asking Fox or any of his players too much about that sort of big-picture stuff, however. “The most important thing right now is to keep on stacking days, keep on stacking weeks, keep taking it one day at a time,” linebacker Von Miller said. “I feel like we’ve scratched the surface of the team we know we can be. We’ve just got to keep on going to be that team that we all know we’re capable of being.” Like almost every player in the Denver locker room, Miller stays on point, taking things one game at a time, refusing to create a distraction or give an upcoming opponent easy bulletin-board material. They live by one of Knox’s many mantras: I don’t hear what you say. I only hear what you do. Setting that tone is Fox, the coach, who has the backing and guidance of quarterback-turned-executive John Elway, then had Manning fall into his lap. Some say that makes his job easier. Some say it makes it harder because of the pressure to win – and win now – that goes with being surrounded by those people, those names. Fox’s hiring was viewed skeptically in large portions of Denver. Yes, he was a veteran coach with a winning record (He’s now 96-86) and one Super Bowl appearance, but he was coming off a 2-14 record in his final season at Carolina. Hidden beneath that terrible record was the fact that his players played hard for him all year and that Fox, a lame duck coach with a depleted roster, kept smiling and stayed positive through the entire thing. When Elway was looking for a coach in Denver, the Broncos were coming off a 4-12 season that included the midseason firing of Josh McDaniels and the awkward presence of McDaniels’ first-round draft pick, Tim Tebow, who didn’t get into the starting lineup until after the coach was gone. “When I looked at this building when I first got here after the 2010 season, everyone was demoralized,” Elway said in a recent interview. “The one thing that stuck with me with John was the positive attitude. Outgoing. Friendly. Positive. To me, that was the No. 1 characteristic. It was the simple fact of the way he was. I felt he could get this organization rehabilitated, get everyone excited about playing football again.” And, Elway said, there was Fox’s “knack for football,” honed over 34 years in the business, first as a graduate assistant in college, then through five stops in the NFL, starting as secondary coach in Pittsburgh in 1989, before he got the head job in Carolina in 2002. Never did that knack work better than during the 2011 season, his first with the Broncos. Unfazed by the prospect of building a system around a player, rather than making the player adjust to the system, Fox and offensive coordinator Mike McCoy set aside their egos and, many might say, set back offense by about 50 years by bringing the read option back to the NFL to give Tebow an offense he could function in. Then, when Manning came to Denver, Fox and McCoy listened to their quarterback while reconfiguring the offense again. The entire time, Fox’s specialty, defense, has been rock solid. The Broncos are ranked third in yards allowed this season. Last year, defense helped the Broncos win five games in which they didn’t crack 20 points. Asked whether his coaching philosophy changed from one year to another, under such drastically different circumstances, Fox didn’t divulge much. “Not really. You’re in this to win,” he said. “It’s only fun if you win. You try to bring that culture, that environment, to the team.” Notes: The Broncos put out an official injury report because they have a game in three days but they did not practice. Fox listed LB Wesley Woodyard (ankle) and WR Matthew Willis (knee) as “out.” … Fox said there was no reason to panic about K Matt Prater , who has missed three of his last five field goal attempts. “He’s made a lot of big kicks for us. I’ve seen it happen to many kickers before. You just go back and work on it,” Fox said. … Due to the compact schedule, the Broncos had Monday off. They’ll practice Tuesday and Wednesday and leave for Oakland on Wednesday night. By EDDIE PELLS, AP National Writer (© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
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Another Division Win Puts Fox In Elite Company
By Rich Kurtzman The Raiders are repulsive this season, especially on this current streak, where they’ve lost by a combined 93 points, or an average of 18.6. And that includes a three-point loss to the woeful Browns in Cleveland Sunday. (Credit, Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) Not surprisingly, that losing skid all began in the same contest that star running back Darren McFadden was injured, as the men in black and silver fell into a black hole starting way back in Week Nine. They’ve yet to emerge. When McFadden was healthy, he was carrying the load of Oakland’s offense, doing more for his particular team than any other single player. He was running, receiving and scoring touchdowns and the Raiders were still in the hunt to make the playoffs, now they’ve regressed to their laughing stock of the league role. In McFadden’s stead, Mercel Reece has stepped into the starting running back role and done OK. At 255 pounds, Reece is a big boy to try and tackle, and he loves creating contact to roll over defenders. But he’s also not nearly as smooth, quick or fast a runner that McFadden is, and has averaged a mere 65 yards on the ground in his four starts. McFadden may make it back from his high ankle sprain to play this Thursday, and if he does, it will give the Raiders back their dynamic duo of backs. Of course, even when their star running back is healthy, Oakland is pass-first team. Coaches ask veteran Carson Palmer to throw the ball a second-most in the NFL 42 times per game, breeding mixed results. His 3,347 yards and 20 touchdowns are eighth and ninth-most in the league respectively, but he also turns the ball over far too often. Palmer’s thrown 13 interceptions and lost four fumbles—no doubt Denver’s defense is looking to add to that total this Thursday. When he does find time behind a bunk offensive line to complete passes, Palmer’s receivers find ways to make plays. Tight end Brandon Myers leads the team in receptions (69) yards (721) and is second on the Raiders with four scores. Reece is second in receptions (46), while second-year man Denarius Moore has a team-high six touchdowns through the air. On defense, the Raiders are one of the worst teams in the NFL. To put it in perspective, Oakland has totaled a mere 14 sacks as a team, Denver’s Von Miller has 15 on his own. The Raiders also allow a league-high 31.3 points per game; a bad sign with the high-scoring Broncos offense coming to town this week. Linebacker Philip Wheeler leads the team with 87 tackles—he’s got a nose for the ball and an ability to make big plays. Defensive end Matt Shaughnessy’s 3.5 sacks are a team best, while both Matt Giordano and Michael Huff have two interceptions. Simply put, the Raiders can’t hang with the Broncos this Thursday, on either side of the ball, and it could be a big-time blowout by the end of the game. For more Local Football Bloggers and the latest Broncos news, see CBS Sports Denver . Rich Kurtzman is a Denver native, Colorado State University alumnus, sports nerd, athletics enthusiast, and competition junkie. Currently writing for a multitude of websites while working on books, one on the history of the Denver Broncos and Mile High Stadium. Find more of Rich’s Denver Broncos pieces on Examiner.com .
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Denver Broncos Head To Oakland To Play Ice Cold Raiders
1. Houston Texans: Thin at cornerback at a bad time: face the Patriots on Monday. 2. New England Patriots: Offense off its game, but get fourth AFC East crown in a row. 3. Atlanta Falcons: Finally get win over Saints; remaining games will test Atlanta’s “D.” 4. Denver Broncos: Champ Bailey showed he still has it by helping keep V-Jax in check. 5. San Francisco 49ers: Kaepernick’s blunders, another Akers miss cost Niners. 6. New York Giants: Remaining schedule is no picnic; need strong December. 7. Baltimore Ravens: Had only eight plays in the fourth, but zero touches for Ray Rice? 8. …
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Power rankings: Texans, Patriots set for heavyweight bout (Pro Football Weekly)
The Oakland Raiders confirmed Tuesday that the father of coach Dennis Allen died Monday night from heart problems that caused him to be hospitalized last week.
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Grady Allen, father of Oakland Raiders coach Dennis Allen, dies
First-year Oakland Raiders coach Dennis Allen is not scheduled to return to the team until Wednesday evening, the night before Oakland plays the Denver Broncos.
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Dennis Allen of Oakland Raiders to return one day before game
ESPN Insider’s Week 14 NFL Playoff Predictor, powered by numberFire, reveals that the Cincinnati Bengals and Washington Redskins are gaining ground on the final wild-card spots.
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Washington Redskins getting closer to a playoff spot in ESPN Insider’s NFL Playoffs Predictor
ENGLEWOOD — So, how would Champ Bailey, an 11-time Pro Bowl selection at cornerback, defend the Broncos’ latest player to score a touchdown?
ENGLEWOOD — There is hope for the Broncos to gain the No. 2 AFC playoff seed because, believe it or not, there will be hope they can beat the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium in two weeks.
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Broncos keep focus on rival Raiders
Heidi Russo has gone to see Kaepernick play, but says she has yet to meet with him
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Birth mother still trying to connect with new 49ers starting QB Colin Kaepernick (Yahoo! Sports)