December 23, 2009

Broncos Vs Eagles - Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas and a happy new year to all Broncos fans and everyone else. Well this week the beloved Broncos face off against the Eagles in a must win game for the Broncos to appear in the playoffs for the first time in 3 years. This is a big game in a number of ways, it is a big game for the Broncos as a team. But it is also a big game for Buckhalter and an even bigger game for the Philly fan favourite Brian Dawkins as they return back to their long time homes. Both or beloved veterans from the Eagles and there will be a lot of emotion on the field. The question is will Dawkins get cheered or booed? I think there will be a huge amount of cheering for Dawkins.

Now on to the game, as most Broncos fans (myself included) all I want for Christmas is an John Elway action figure......haha jokes. What I really want is for a Broncos victory over the Eagles and a playoff berth. Is that so much to ask? Will time to have a quick look around the web:

NFL.com

Teams going in opposite directions meet in Philly

In Brief

» Last meeting: Jake Plummer passed for 309 yards and four touchdown to lead the Broncos past the Eagles, 49-21, in Week 8 of the 2005 season.
» Streaks: The Broncos have won two in a row over the Eagles, but trail the overall series, 6-4.
» Last week: Philadelphia won its fifth straight with a 27-13 victory over San Francisco. ... Denver dropped a 20-19 decision to Oakland on a last-minute TD by Chaz Schilens.

Keep your eye on ...
Brian Dawkins' return to Philadelphia: For 13 years, Dawkins was the heart and soul of the Eagles' defense. Philadelphia let him leave as a free agent in the offseason in a move that upset many fans, and now Dawkins comes back for the first time as a Bronco. It figures to be an emotional game for the hyper-intense Dawkins.

DeSean Jackson's breathtaking speed: It seems to be a weekly ritual: Jackson tearing through the defense or the coverage units, or both, for a long touchdown or gain. He sparks the Eagles with his big plays, and the Broncos will have to be aware of him at all times.

Josh McDaniels' leadership: Despite a 6-0 start to the season, the Broncos' playoff hopes are still in peril heading into the final two weeks. McDaniels was hailed as a boy wonder after the team's early start, but now is when his coaching will truly be put to the test.

Did you know?

Denver's Brandon Marshall is second in the NFL with 93 receptions. ... The Broncos are 2-1 against the NFC East this season. ... Eagles WR DeSean Jackson leads the league with an average of 19.4 yards per catch (minimum 20 receptions). ... If the playoffs started today, both the Broncos and Eagles would be in (Philadelphia has clinched a spot). Get an updated look at the postseason picture.

ESPN.com
Denver receiver Eddie Royal has a neck/head injury he suffered against Oakland and he did not practice Wednesday. Linebacker D.J. Williams didn’t practice with an ankle injury. Running back Correll Buckhalter was limited because of an ankle injury. He didn’t play against Oakland, but he may be making progress toward playing against the Eagles, his former team, Sunday.

Denverbroncos.com

QUICKLY:

  • Sunday’s game marks Denver’s final NFC game of the regular season. Facing NFC East teams, the Broncos own a 2-1 record this year having defeated Dallas and the New York Giants while losing to Washington.

OFFENSE:

  • The Broncos have turned the ball over once or fewer in nine of 14 games played and are tied for fifth in the league in fewest giveaways (19).
  • QB Kyle Orton has posted nine games this season with a passer rating of at least 90.0 with that total tying for third in the NFL this year and tying for second in Denver history for a single season.
  • WR Brandon Marshall, whose 10 receiving touchdowns are the most by a Bronco in eight years, is seven receptions away from becoming the fifth player in NFL history with three consecutive 100-catch seasons.
  • RB Knowshon Moreno leads NFL rookies in rushing yards (879) and yards from scrimmage (1,027). He is only the seventh rookie in Broncos history to post 1,000 yards from scrimmage.

DEFENSE:

  • S Brian Dawkins spent his first 13 NFL seasons (1996-2008) in Philadelphia. He finished his Eagles career as the franchise’s all-time leader in regular-season games played (183), postseason starts (18) and overall wins (109) while totaling seven Pro Bowl appearances.
  • OLB/DE Elvis Dumervil leads the NFL with 15 sacks and is looking to become the Broncos’ first-ever league sack champion. He is one sack away from Denver’s record for most sacks in a season (16, Simon Fletcher, 1992).
  • The Broncos have two players with 100 tackles—ILB D.J. Williams (105, 4th 100-tackle season) and Dawkins (100, 7th 100-tackle season).

SPECIAL TEAMS:

  • K Matt Prater has made 15-of-16 (93.8) field-goal attempts since November for the fourth-best percentage in the league during that time. His 27 field goals this year rank third in the NFL.
  • Eight Broncos have registered at least seven stops on coverage units.

Big Games
I am looking for a big game from Dawkins. I beat that when he signed with the Broncos he had this day marked out on his calendar. It will be a big game. Also would love to see some Peyton Hillis, play that game on short yardage situations. Check the highlights he can make the yardage.

My Take
This will be a tough game and the Eagles are playing really well right now. But with the emotion and strong play from Dawkins and the Defense I think the Broncos can come away with a close one. So I am predicting a 21 - 17 score line with a Broncos win. Also what I would like to see Dawkins runs in a Pick Six for the victory.

Jokes
No jokes this week as I have a lot of respect for the Eagles and the main reason for that is Dawkins. He really defines their football club and I think he is starting to the same thing in Denver.

Videos


Well that is it from me for a while, I am going on holidays for a few weeks. Going on a road trip with all my friends so I will be gone to the 10th of January. So hopefully you can live without me for a few weeks. Feel free to post whatever and I will catch you all in the new year ~ Aussie Out!

10 comments:

  1. Now this is really disrespectful! The nerve of the Eagles, if you haven't seen it, go check out the Eagles website. They have made a mocky of the Broncos, I really hope we trample them and show them what us Broncos can do!

    http://www.philadelphiaeagles.com/index.html

    The Splash page.

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  2. Hey Aussie
    Merry Christmas. If you're still there anyway. If not have a safe trip. Talk at you when you get back.

    Is that you hanging from the roof? No Jokes? That's not right. You can respect them every other week. The mocky thing they had was kind of good actually.

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  3. Wow, been forever it seems since I've been on here too! ha Ended up spending 2 weeks in Colorado... a week longer than I expected but hey that's my home, I love it there.

    Merry Christmas to all of Bronco Country and have a happy new year. Hopefully the Broncos will have a good new year too... on and off the field. Will be a hard-fought game on Sunday but if they really want to win they gotta fight for it. They're capable of winning, just depends on how much effort they put into their game that will decide the outcome. I hope and pray they come out fighting in their last 2 games. Getting the AFC West is out of the question, yet again, but they still have a chance to make the playoffs this year! IF I were them, I'd be fighting for it like my life depended on it. I'm just a fan but I'm hungry for this team to make the playoffs... question is, how hungry are the players to make it?

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  4. Thanks Digger, don't head out for a few more days but then gone for a while.

    Also just heard Royal and Larsen have been ruled out of this game.

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  5. Man that was a tough loss, really thought the team played hard and fought really well. Just the first half killed us.

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  6. Denver must win and at least ONE of the following Home Teams must win. We only need ONE of the following Home teams to win. If this happens, we're in the playoffs.

    NE at Houston
    Pissburgh at Miami
    Cincy at NY Jets
    Baltimore at Oakland

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  7. That is the Broncos must win, I really hope their can get it done against the Chiefs then we are in the Playoffs.

    Also congrats to Elvis Dumervil for getting the franchise record. I saw him rush McNabb hard all game. He played pretty well, hopeful he can get some more against the Chiefs and get to the 20 mark.

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  8. Dang it, they had that win. It's the day after and I'm still frustrated. They were in their prime in the 3rd quarter and then blew it... again. Still no consistency.

    I honestly believe the players were ready for this game but I'm gonna have to start putting some of the blame on McD's playcalling. Doesn't he know he has more options then trying to runt the ball up the middle everytime?? He needs to get smart with the playcalling and pronto!! I swear if he has Moreno try to run the ball up the middle one more time to get a 3rd and whatever, I'm gonna throw a fit! He's showing he's a rookie at this Head Coach business. I am no fan of the Patriots or their coach but the HC he worked with in NE knows football and for him to start making the same call over and over just makes no sense. He's got other options. I applaud him for trying to make a run up the middle a success for once but look at how many times they've tried that and we get nowhere. For once, take a risk McD and try going outside on 3rd downs. Other teams are expecting us to go up the middle cuz we've done it so many times now and its too predictable. A good time to start mixing things up is next Sunday's game. KC is never an easy team to play but they can be outsmarted easily. They think they know what we'll do... surprise them! It just might work.

    There's my rant for the day.

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  9. Aussie, if Denver wins that doesnt mean their in the playoffs. we're going to need help from other teams.

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  10. Dr Chris is correct..the scenario was posted on Bronco official blogs and NFL.com. WE need to win and essentially everyone else needs to lose lmao.....been a while since ive heard some of yalls point of view cuz u arent on denverbroncos.com blogs that often...need to drop by here more....Even DynamicDave doesnt show up much. anyway, happy holidays

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