The Denver Broncos (0-3) remain winless in the Josh McDaniels regime as Jay Cutler and the Chicago Bears (2-1) came to town and won a game of “small ball.”

Broncos fans could not wait to torture their former quarterback with booing, T-shirts, signs, and basically everything in between, and the outcome was as expected.

Not only could Cutler not hear the play calls in his helmet, but the NBC cameras shook.  Invesco Field at Mile High rocked with pure hatred, all directed towards one player.

 

Random Game Thoughts

And at first, it seemed to fluster Cutler. 

Prior to a 12-play, 98-yard drive that was capped off by a touchdown pass to Matt Forte, Cutler was largely ineffective.

He finished the game 15-of-21 for 144 yards and a touchdown, and as I mentioned, led an impressive 98-yard drive to conclude the second half.

The Broncos’ starting offense was okay, but nothing to write home about.

Kyle Orton led the Broncos down the field early in the game, and a penalty-marred drive ended with a 31-yard Matt Prater field goal.

Orton finished his day completing 12-of-16 passes for 96 yards before leaving with a finger injury. 

He left the field with what appeared to be a cut on his right index finger, and head coach Josh McDaniels told NBC correspondents that Orton’s finger was not broken.

This writer’s guess is that Orton’s injury is going to require stitches, and he could be held out until the season opener against Cincinnati at the very least.

The injury bug decided to bite a couple more Broncos on Sunday night as well.

Right guard Chris Kuper, the only guard in the NFL to play all 16 games and not allow a single sack, went down with a foot injury, and he put no pressure on it as he left the field.

It did not look very promising.

Wide receiver Eddie Royal appeared to get a stinger on his hand early in the contest, but he returned to action.

Also, prior to the game, the team learned that wide receiver Jabar Gaffney had a broken thumb, and that he is expected to miss several weeks.

Watching Josh McDaniels’ post-game press conference as I type, he appears to be extremely ticked off.

He seems to be favoring the word “sloppy.”

And boy were the Broncos sloppy tonight in certain areas.

The offensive line, for the first time in a very long time, was extremely out of sync.

Uncharacteristically, Ryan Clady had three penalties of his own, while Casey Wiegmann was also flagged for holding.  It also seemed like every time the Broncos fielded a kick or punt, they were called for holding.

The Broncos finished the game with 10 penalties.

Sloppy play by the Broncos’ offensive line resulted in many first-and-long and second-and-long situations, and that really put Orton and company in tough situations.

 

Game Recap

After the game started off tied at three points apiece, punter Brett Kern made a huge mistake in punting to return specialist Devin Hester.

Did he forget to watch film from the Broncos’ 2007 matchup with the Bears?

Hester made Kern and the Broncos pay, taking the punt all the way inside the Denver five yard line (It should be noted that safety David Bruton was held all the way down the field).

After Hester’s great return, Matt Forte was able to punch the ball in from one yard out to increase the Chicago lead to 10-3.

Denver’s offense continued to shoot itself in the foot with penalties, and a defensive stop by the Bears resulted in an excellent punt by rookie Britton Colquitt that was downed at the Chicago two-yard line.

Jay Cutler orchestrated a 12-play, 98-yard drive to essentially end the half, which was capped off by a short touchdown pass to Forte, increasing the Chicago lead to 17-3.

The Broncos were able to move the ball pretty well in the second half with rookie quarterback Tom Brandstater under center, capping off two impressive nine-play drives with rushing touchdowns by Peyton Hillis and Darius Walker.

Denver cut the lead with the Hillis touchdown in half, but Chicago answered back with a rushing touchdown of their own by veteran back Adrian Peterson.

Chicago led 24-10 before Walker’s rushing touchdown, and again Denver was able to cut the lead in half, 24-17.

The Bears were able to drive the ball into scoring range and waste most of the game clock when Robbie Gould hit a field goal to put the game on ice and a final score of 27-17.

 

The Good

• Tom Brandstater really bounced back from his poor performance in Seattle, and aside from an overthrow of Eddie Royal that resulted in an interception and a botched delivery to Darius Walker that resulted in a fumble recovery by the Bears, Brandstater looked much more comfortable.  He finished the game 8-of-12 for 110 yards and one interception, including a 54-yard bomb to fellow rookie Kenny McKinley.
• Eddie Royal continues to excite Bronco fans with his electric play.  He is sure-handed, knows how to gain yardage after the catch, and looks like a seasoned veteran.  He is going to be a star in this league, and a favorite target of quarterback Kyle Orton.
• Peyton Hillis is a beast.  Add another position, kick returner, to his repertoire.  I wore his No. 22 jersey with pride tonight, and he did not disappoint, running for 24 yards on seven carries including a touchdown, and catching two passes for 21 yards.  He also had 64 yards on only two kick returns. 
• Elvis Dumervil made future Hall of Fame left tackle Orlando Pace look like a lost rookie.  Pace escaped what would have been a safety when he clearly held Dumervil in the end zone, and he just overall had a rough night trying to block the fourth year defensive end.  Thanks to NBC, I was alerted that only Mario Williams has more sacks (30.5) than Dumervil (26) from the 2006 draft class.  He struggled a bit in pass coverage, but his pass rushing skills are of the elite level, make no mistake.  Jay Cutler’s jersey was dirty because of this man.
• Brian Dawkins‘ debut was well worth the wait.  He was all over the field making plays…with a club on his hand.  If this game is any indication as to what the Broncos can expect from Dawkins in 2009, they have an absolute steal of the free agent class.
• Kenny McKinley and Brandon Lloyd all but cemented their names in the Broncos’ final roster.  Absolutely excellent games by both players.  McKinley continues to lead the Broncos in receiving, hauling in four passes for 75 yards, and Lloyd had a great catch that looked to me like a touchdown, and it is not the first time he has made a big play this pre-season.
• The defensive front seven continued to put pressure on the quarterback.  Cutler did not have an easy go of it early in this game, and while the defense did not have any sacks, it appeared as though the pass rush was effective.
• Correll Buckhalter and Darius Walker combined for 75 yards rushing on only 19 carries.  Walker, in my opinion, has earned the third running back position over LaMont Jordan this preseason.  Walker runs hard every play, and Buckhalter does the same.  Very inspiring running by these two tonight. 
• Britton Colquitt is making a strong case to beat out Brett Kern for the punter job in Denver.  He had two punts tonight that landed inside the two yard line. 

The Bad

• The offensive line played its worst game in a long time.  Ten penalties is not acceptable, period.  They are sure to get an earful at practice this week from offensive line coach Rick Dennison.
• The Broncos had trouble getting off the field on third downs.  The defense needs to be able to force punts on a more consistent basis, especially if the offense remains unhealthy and/or inconsistent.

 

Bailey comments on Marshall situation

All-Pro cornerback Champ Bailey was asked by NBC’s Andrea Kremer if Brandon Marshall would be a Bronco this season, and he responded by saying roughly that there was a “fifty/fifty” chance.

What control Bailey has over the situation, I do not know, but a very interesting comment to say the least.

It would appear from the comments of Bailey and some of the other players on the team throughout the week that Marshall has a lot of trust to gain back in the locker room.

It seems that Marshall’s recent antics have lost a lot of respect from teammates, and in the NFL, that is not easy to do.

 

Quarterback situation

Now that Orton’s status is in limbo, and the fact that Chris Simms is already injured, the Broncos are once again in need of a quarterback. 

Obviously, Tom Brandstater is not ready to lead an NFL offense into the light.  He is young, and the Broncos have hopes that he can be “their guy” maybe someday, but not in 2009.

Ingle Martin does not know the offense yet, so what options does that leave Denver with?

As I speculated on my Facebook fan page, the New England Patriots just waived quarterback Kevin O’Connell, a player Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels was very high on when the Patriots drafted him, and if the Broncos have the opportunity to nab him through the waiver wire, they will.

O’Connell has ties to Kansas City’s Scott Pioli, who also was a big part of the drafting of O’Connell, and the Chiefs have an opening for a backup quarterback position with the injury to Matt Cassel.

If Kansas City does not lay claim to the second-year quarterback, you can expect O’Connell to end up with Denver.

There is very little doubt in my mind.

O’Connell’s arrival would likely mean Ingle Martin’s release, and Tom Brandstater would end up on the practice squad.

There was absolutely a ton to talk about in regards to this third pre-season game, and although the Broncos remain winless, it appears as though there is more good than bad going on in Denver for 2009.

If this team can get healthy, they could be a tough out for any team in the NFL this season.

Read more Denver Broncos news on BleacherReport.com

Sponsored Links

Buy Denver Broncos Tickets, NFL Tickets, Football Tickets and Sports Tickets at StubPass.com.

BroncosZone Latest

• The Denver Broncos Must Face Their New Reality
• Denver Broncos: The Beginning of a New Era, Or The Beginning of the End?
• Hey Denver, Where’s the Love for Josh McDaniels?
• Josh McDaniels Is the Poster Boy for “Too Much, Too Soon”
• Denver Wide Receiver Brandon Marshall: “I Love Being a Bronco”