By Jason Jones

In this era, why not take advantage of technology, new media, and Monday Night Football all at the same time. Generally, a person in my position might choose to Live Blog this game. Anyone who has done any live blogging, you realize that there really is not much time to elaborate or editorialize. This will be more of an editorial recap. In addition to the recapping, I will be viewing this on TIVO delay. This will result in the post being later than the actual game. I have a sneaky suspicion that this game could get “chippy” and be rather entertaining. With that being said, lets fast forward through this pregame crap and get into the shenanigans!
-First off, I may be alone in this, but I prefer the Wyoming Cowboys style Gold and Brown throwbacks over the white and brown. The Chargers powder blue throwbacks, however, may be the best uni’s in the history of organized sports.
-Denver kicks off and Darren Sproles gets the Chargers to the 24 yard line.
-It will be very evident that I am rooting for the Denver Broncos, however, am I crazy to be rooting for Tomlinson to do well? And no, it has zero fantasy football bearing. I have always been a fan of my generation in sports having the grandfather complex. “Back in my day”…no one was ever or will ever be better than Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Albert Pulos, etc. I guess I’m just not done watching LT and hope he has a few more “LT” like seasons. Tomlinson for a 4 yd gain.
-Rivers over throws Vincent Jackson. I really don’t like Phillip Rivers. I guess some of it has to do with the relative arrogance that I perceive. I hate to hear him speak, I hate his excuses, he’s just like an annoying step brother. Everything he does grates on my soul. He is a very good football player though, cannot take that away from him.
-Darrell Reid goes completely unblocked between the guard and the center. Really? This is not the Ravens 2000 defense, but don’t they deserve at least a little respect to not let the defensive end just run through the teeth of the offensive line like some garden variety kitchen mouse?
-4th and 7, Chargers punt. 3 and out to start the game. Punt to Eddie Royal who, fumbles it? This may end up being a very strange game. And is consequently swallowed up almost immediately on the Denver 26.
-Wow, I am a Brandon Marshall apologist. That guy is freaky good. He caught the ball a yard short of the marker, and had the presence of mind to instantly cut on a dime to redirect himself back toward the middle of the field and get another 3 yards…amidst three defenders.
-Correll Buckhalter channels his inner Jerome Bettis on an eight yard run.
-Chargers funnel pressure up the middle and Orton is rushed before he can finish his qb drop. Chargers hold on 3rd and 3.
-After a special teams penalty, the Chargers are backed up on their own goal line…Trouble for Rivers? Hell no. Throws a bullet despite the safety blitz for a 20 yard gain to Antonio Gates across the middle.
-Broncos bring the heat with the “cover zero” blitz package…and get burned.
-Clearly, the game plan was to send pressure…maybe that plan should be re-evaluated. This time an awkward shovel pass that looks more like a two handed chest pass to LT. Two consecutive plays of more than 20 yards a piece.
-That latest play makes it 50 yards in 3 plays.
-Tomlinson running like Tomlinson does gets them 1st and goal from the Denver 5.
-LT is good.
-Brian Dawkins looks to have a hamstring issue,
-Broncos defense minus Dawkins hold the Chargers to a FG.
DEN 0 SD 3
-EDDIE FREAKING ROYAL…finds the seam in special teams coverage and makes the Chargers pay. 94 yard kickoff return for a TD!
DEN 7 SD 3
-LT fancy 10 yard gain.
-Andra Davis just got the most perfectly timed jump on the snap, but it didn’t matter. LT busted right through it to get a 3 yard gain instead of a disheartening 7 yard loss.
-Rivers floats the ball perfectly to Gates for a huge gain. Chargers 1st and goal from the 6…again.
-Rivers to Vincent Jackson in the back of the endzone crossing the back line. Jack Williams had no chance.
DEN 7 SD 10
-On a first option screen pass to Knowshon Moreno, an official gets the brunt of the punishment. Not to sound too inconsiderate, I love to see officials get knocked down. They always look so disoriented.
-Kyle Orton is getting enitirely too much time to survey the field. He throws a strike to Jabar Gaffney for a 20+yard gain.
-Knowshon is showing a little patience and wiggle shades of prime Marshall Faulk. Granted a young and inexperienced Marshall Faulk. Remember, Moreno is the guy who thought he could break out the spin move in traffic a couple weeks ago. Still a lot to learn for young Moreno.
-One of these defenses has got to step up. Orton and Rivers are picking these defenses apart. The difference is Orton has all day while Rivers is doing it with next to no time in the pocket.
-Marshall called for “unsportsmanlike conduct” for kicking the ball after the play. Some of these violations seem very petty to me. Kicking the ball really doesn’t effect anything but it is a rule and Marshall violated it.
-Prater evens the score with a short FG
DEN 10 SD 10
-Rivers escapes two potential sacks while running about as fast senior citizen after his jello cup.
-Andre Goodman shoots the gap on a Cornerback blitz to force a Charger punt.
-EDDIE FREAKING ROYAL takes the high but short punt and similar to his kickoff return exploited the seam for a 71 yard punt return for a TD.
DEN 17 SD 10
-These wide open HUGE gains by Antonio Gates is really starting to get annoying. Currently, Gates has 3 receptions for 54 yards, that’s 18 yards a reception.
-Nate Kaeding hits a 48 yard FG to cut the Denver lead to 4.
DEN 17 SD 13
-Orton throws the ball away on 3rd down with only 90 seconds left in the half. But, he had Correll Buckhalter wide open at the first down marker.
-Darren Sproles returns the special teams favor and runs the punt back for a touchdown. 1:03 left in the half.
DEN 17 SD 20
-After a couple safe plays by the Broncos, the Chargers are called for the dreaded “horse collar” tackle penalty. Broncos at mid field with :19 left.
-Once again…the officials miss a critical call. Cromartie went through Gaffney to get to the ball. A serious no call. Prater is now called upon to attempt a LONG FG. Just a little bit wide.
DEN 17 SD 20 at the half. Broncos get the ball to start the 3rd.
Halftime Stats…
SD
Passing-P. Rivers 15/23, 206 yds, 1 TD, 0 INT
Rushing-L.Tomlinson 17 car, 68 yds, 0 TD
Receiving-A. Gates 3 rec, 54 yds, 18 avg, 0 TD, M.Floyd 3 rec, 51 yds, 17 avg, 0 TD
Special Teams-D. Sproles 7 returns, 207 total yards, 1 TD
DEN
Passing-K. Orton-18.26, 172 yds, 1 TD, 0 INT
Rushing-C. Buckhalter 10 car, 45 yds, 0 TD, K. Moreno 12 car, 31 yds, 0 TD
Receiving-T. Scheffler 5 rec, 49 yds, 0 TD, B. Marshall 5 rec, 49 yds, 0 TD
Special Teams-E. Royal 8 returns, 235 yds, 2 TDs
-There’s that dreaded spin move in traffic from Knowshon Moreno. Result=jack squat.
-Ellison called for holding on a 30 yard pass play. Denver on the Denver 40.
-The delay of game penalty is a waste, when not considering the play clock expiring. If a running back spikes the ball immediately after the play. How much time is really being delayed? Consider that it takes at least another 10-20 seconds to get all of the players back to their respective sides. The official to set the ball at the new line of scrimmage, offense to call the play, getting lined up, etc can take up to 3 minutes. The delay of game is just another way for the established old fogies to make the game as boring and unconfrontational as possible.
-The MNF crew just threw up a graffic. Zero points allowed by the Broncos in the second half in the last 4 games. I seriously discount the possibility that such a stat will continue.
-Denver holds the Chargers on a 3rd and long. Nate Kaeding hits a 50 yarder to extend their lead.
DEN 17 SD 23
-Brandon Marshall finally gets involved, in a very Brandon Marshall kind of way. Uncontested and strong. He is visibly not satisfied.
-Buckhalter could’ve broken a large run if he had not slipped, the run was still good enough for a first down.
-One play later they took a shot to Brandon Marshall, even with his body contorted, it looks like he almost had a shot to get it.
-Apparently, Moreno’s 2.6 yards a carry wasn’t good enough. Buckhalter is getting more key touches in the second half.
-On 3rd and 4, Brandon Marshall again for 5 more than needed. Quentin Jammer tried to pull him down by his arm…BMarsh would have none of that.
-On the very next play, Orton to Scheffler in a very receiver (not tight end) fashion. When I visualize Tony Scheffler, I generally do not envision him catching the ball over his outside shoulder in full sprint in the corner while toe dragging the sideline in the endzone. It was sexy though.
DEN 24 SD 23
-Despite have the Broncos up by 1, I can’t help but to wonder if either of these teams will register a turnover in this game.
-Nice insert comment by Mike Tirico. “Broncos 24 Chargers 23, it’s a lot better for Denver fans than the last visit to San Diego. Remember the great success the Chargers had closing out the division 52 to 21”. Talk about “salt in the wound”.
-As odd as it may sound, LT’s 4.0 yards a carry and only a long of 17, actually looks pretty good. It even appears that he could break one at any moment.
-And the Gods said, “let me bestoweth this bountiful turnover unto thee”. Broncos recover a Phillip Rivers turnover. Vonnie Holliday on the recovery.
-In the department of good graphics, ESPN dug up this nifty little stat. Two players drafted in the 2006 draft at the same position. Mario Williams #1 overall has registered 32.5 sacks in his career (note that the overall consensus is now that Williams was the correct choice at #1 over Reggie Bush). Elvis Dumervil was drafted 126th overall (or 29th pick in the 4th round) has registered 35 sacks in his career. Further evidence that value goes deep in the NFL draft. I like the Williams pick, but moreover, it’s a statement to those football fans who don’t follow the pre-draft activity (yes, for the record, I TIVO and watch literally every second of the combine and as many workouts as I can get my eyes on) and think their responsibility as a “die hard NFL fan” stops at the end of the second round of the draft.
-After a couple less than notable plays the Broncos get into the redzone with Marshall.
-Prater connects on a 29 yard FG attempt.
DEN 27 SD 23
-DUMERVIL STRIKES AGAIN. With Antwan Odom out for the remainder of the season, Dumervil leads the league in sacks with 10. Last year’s league leader in sacks was DeMarcus Ware with 10 on the entire season.
-Correll Buckhalter gains 15 yards on a 1st down play…again.
-Buckhalter is not perfect on the day however, coughs up the ball on a 2nd down run for 3 yards. Denver recovers.
-I have to say, one thing that bothers me with McDaniel’s style of playcalling. If its 3rd and one or less, he always without fail, runs it up the middle. The proverbial, “if we can’t get one yard, then we don’t deserve to keep the ball”.
-Antonio Cromartie breaks up a key 3rd and 3 play.
-Another 3 and out and Denver has the ball close to midfield.
-Some local analysts suggested that Rod Smith should work with Brandon Marshall in order to get him to be a better all around wide receiver. Apparently, that mentoring has gone to Tony Scheffler who, at least for tonight looks more like a WR than a TE. Scheffler catches the ball just past the 50 and cuts inside to avoid Kevin Ellison, and outruns Eric Weddle all the way down to the 8 yard line.
-Orton to Stoakley at the goal line, and Stoakley rolls into the endzone, shades of Braylon Edwards back in 2007. The play was ruled a touchdown on the field, however, Stoakley may have been touched before he crossed the plane of the endzone. The question is not whether or not Stoakley was touched before crossing the plane, but instead was he touched before he was downed or not. Cromartie does touch Stoakley but Stoakley was not down yet. It is grey like the continuance rule in basketball.
-Ruling on the field confirms. The explaination is that once the receiver catches the ball, maintained possession and once he was downed he had broken the plane. Touchdown Broncos with 2:55 left in the game.
DEN 34 SD 23
-Gates for 5, clock is running.
-Rivers steps up in the pocket and hits Chris Chambers, ball on the SD 45.
-Rivers to Jackson toe tapping the sideline at the Bronco 35 yard line.
-Rivers hit as he threw, but somehow it lands in Antonio Gates’ arms who finds his way to the 1st down marker.
-Rivers escapes pressure looking to run, and just before the line of scrimmage throws the ball for Tomlinson and hits Wesley Woodyard in the back.
-Rivers is hit in the pocket and loses the ball, luckily Vasquez (OG) recovers for San Diego.
-Jon Gruden, during the Chargers timeout, has sited an interesting observation. Denver may be the best conditioned defense if nothing else. They have blitzed what feels like 80% of the game. The entire game and they look just as strong now as they did in the first quarter.
-Rivers knocked down again on 3rd and 21. Nate Kaeding missed a 55 yard FG attempt.
-Denver ball on their 45 yard line.
-Victory formation, and that’s the game. Denver goes on to 6-0. Which effectively doubles the number of wins at least one of my colleagues forecasted prior to the start of the regular season. This very easily could be the most improbably feel good sports story I have ever experienced. None of their offensive players are among the league leaders in any category. Short of Dumervil, they do not have any on fense either. Yet, they still gut out wins like its their business; refreshing thought actually.
…Michelle TaFoya with Coach McDaniel
MT: Coach, there are four unbeatens left, you guys are 6-0 for the first time since 1998, how do you explain this start from this group of players?
JM: We’ve got a lot of guys who care about the right things, we got a lot of good football players, we just come in and work hard every week, when you do that with a lot of good guys who have the right mind set, uh good things will happen to ya, I believe that.
MT: A lot of people are surprised by the Denver Broncos this season so far, what about this team has exceeded your expectations?
JM: We didn’t put expectations or boundries on our football team, uh, we also know we haven’t done anything yet, we’re 6-0 which is a good start, uh we got a lot of work to do, a lot of improvements to make, but uh, we’re far from perfect, we know that and we got a lot better to play.
MT: You told us last night this team wanted this game, they were waiting for this game, now that you’ve personally experienced this rivalry for the first time, how was coaching it?
JM: It’s a great rivalry, you can tell, this place was electric tonight, I’m sure it’ll be electric when we get it back at Invesco, we play ‘em here in a few weeks, but, uh, we want to win every week and whether its San Diego or Baltimore or on and on and on, we’re going to prepare hard and play every game to win it, and that’s how we prepare.

Mike Tirico: “Maybe the uniforms are ugly, but they’re working”
The Denver Broncos have allowed only 3 points the second half over the last 5 games.
No matter who you are or who you root for, there has to be one question on everyone’s mind. “When will this team lose and who will they lose to?” It’s a fair question. With Baltimore, Pittsburgh, San Diego, New York Giants, Indianapolis, and Philadelphia still on the schedule, they have to lose…right? Baltimore is good, but have shown that they can be beat. Pittsburgh may be the reigning champions, but they are not necessarily playing like it. San Diego in Denver will probably be just as thrilling a game as this one was. The Giants are nasty, but if both defenses show up, I have more faith in Denver’s offense than New York’s. Indy is a different animal that I cannot put my finger on. If Denver can limit Peyton Manning like they have Phillip Rivers, Tom Brady, Tony Romo, and Carson Palmer thus far this season, maybe they could have a shot in the end against Indy. I still would like to believe that Philly will have nothing to play for in week 16, but you never know. As naïve as it may sound, as I readjust my expectations, I cannot imagine a record worse than 11-5 at this point. Call it drinking the Kool-Aid if you want. With the way this team prepares and motivates itself, getting wins against New England, Dallas, and now San Diego, I cannot imagine an alternate reality where they could possibly lose to Washington, Kansas City, Oakland, or Kansas City again. Even as recently as one month ago, 11-5 would have been reprehensible. But with 6 wins in the book, they only have to go 5-5 the rest of the way. For those not keeping score, that’s 1-5 against BAL, PIT, SD, NYG, IND, and PHI, while getting easy wins against WAS, KC, OAK, and KC. Like I said this is an amazing story. Especially if you were paying attention throughout this tumultuous offseason (Jay Cutler trade, only drafting one front seven defensive player in the first few rounds, drafting a running back in the first on a team that was in the top 5 in rushing last year, McDaniel putting his foot down on the Brandon Marshall situation, being as Belicheckian as possible while dealing with us media types, and even his homage to mentor Bill Belicheck [hoodie jr]). Before the season starting, I was someone who would’ve given McDaniel a 15-20% approval rating as a coach. Now, I think he is my favorite coach in the NFL, just barely beating out Mike Tomlin for all of the same reasons I like Tomlin. Even if you are not a Bronco fan, how can you not be pulling for this team?
Josh McDaniel Post Game Press Conference…
JM: Wow, this is a different crowd. Um, it was a hard fought game, give credit to San Diego, they forced us into a lot of issues early in the game, we were fortunate to have two big returns by Eddie (Royal) in the first half, kept us in it. And then our guys fought, made a few adjustments in the second half, and played better football. I’m very happy to get a division win on the road against a good football team that was prepared, and they were. Again, just happy and a credit to our players stick’n it in there and playing for sixty minutes.
JM: You know, I mean, I think everyone would admit that we aren’t the same team we were last year, I think San Diego knew that, you know we came and we played the way we play, not always pretty but tough, I think fairly smart, didn’t make a lot of mental mistakes, didn’t turn the ball over, and hung in there and fought with them for sixty minutes, and made a few more plays than they did ultimately in the second half. We don’t believe in statements, we play again in four or five weeks again and I know they’ll be ready. They’ll come out to Denver and we’ll have another hard fought game then.
JM: We’re a new group, this is only our sixth game together, we’ve got a lot of improvements to make across the board, Kyle’s in that group too, he can continue to get better…that’s a good thing not a bad thing. We believe our team is so new that we should be getting better and better. We hope to be playing our best ball at the end of the season.
Orton: It’s tough to lose when you score twice on special teams. It’s in the numbers, it’s rare to lose when you score points like that.
Royal (with the ESPN crew after the game)
Stuart Scott: The Denver Broncos move to 6-0 for the first time since ’98 which was the last time they won the Super Bowl. Eddie Royal joins us now and it’s interesting, he joins us on what could be described as on off night. For the first time in his two year career he does not have a single catch.
Steve Young: You didn’t do anything tonight Eddie. What happened to you?
Stuart Scott: There was that punt return for a touchdown and that kickoff return for a touchdown. Only the sixth player to do that. At what point in a return do you know…”I’m gone”?
Eddie Royal: As soon as it opens up and I can hit top speed, I feel like I’m gone. It happened just like you draw it up in practice. The hole never opens up that much in a game, but tonight it did.
Stuart Scott: Other than the opening, what do you see and hear during a return touchdown?
Eddie Royal: I don’t hear anything. I just see the blocks and try to set ‘em up as best as I can, and just try to hit it as hard as I can. This time I just kept thinking “don’t get caught”.
Steve Young: Eddie, are you guys surprised at 6-0?
Eddie Royal: You know what? Not at all. We’ve been working hard all camp…ota’s and minicamp to get to this point.
Steve Young: If you’re not surprised, when did you know, with all of the offseason changes and turmoil, when did you sense that this team could be good if not great?
Eddie Royal: The fact that we believe in each other. We play for each other. When you have a team that does that, you have a chance to be good.
Stuart Scott: Eddie, do you like those socks? Tell the truth
Eddie Royal: I don’t mind ‘em, really I don’t.
Stuart Scott: You don’t mind ‘em?
Eddie Royal: We’re 2-0 in those socks, so I don’t mind.
…
FIN (I promise)