Denver Broncos

DENVER -- In a scene hauntingly familiar to last year's Super Bowl run, the Denver Broncos made amends for grievances past yesterday.That dreary regular-season loss to the Miami Dolphins last December? Atoned.Their defensive malaise the last month of the season? Gone.Shannon Sharpe's bulletin-board quote that the Broncos were 10 to 14 points better than the Dolphins? At least he had the right team."My prognostication was way wrong," Denver's agitating tight end said after the Broncos crushed the Dolphins, 38-3, in a shockingly lopsided AFC divisional playoff game at Mile High Stadium.

MIAMI -- A year ago, the way to beat the Denver Broncos was to run the ball.This season, the strategy is to pass.The New York Jets put up 52 passes in the AFC championship game at Denver, and they had a lead halfway through the third quarter. The San Diego Chargers threw 53 passes against the Broncos. The Jacksonville Jaguars threw 46, the Kansas City Chiefs 43. Eight other opponents threw 35 or more passes.In three of their last seven games, the Broncos were torched for more than 300 yards passing.

DENVER -- The Denver Broncos have lost their first four games of the season in defense of back-to-back Super Bowl championships.But their biggest loss came yesterday when they learned that reigning NFL MVP Terrell Davis had torn his anterior cruciate and medical collateral ligaments, plus suffered cartilage damage in his right knee.Davis hobbled off the field in the first quarter of Sunday's game with the New York Jets. Initially, the Broncos thought he's suffered a torn ACL. But the revelations yesterday were "the worst-case scenario," said Broncos trainer Steve Antonopulos.

MINNEAPOLIS -- It was almost as if the Atlanta Falcons had pulled the plug at the Metrodome yesterday.As Morten Andersen's 38-yard field goal sailed through the uprights with 3: 08 remaining in the first overtime period, the boisterous Minnesota fans suddenly fell silent.They could almost hear a Super Bowl trip slip away.The poised Falcons not only beat the Vikings, 30-27, in the NFC title game to earn their first Super Bowl berth, against the Denver Broncos, but they also trumped the noisy Vikings fans in a game for the ages.

It was during the third quarter of a football game in 1983 that Bob Leffler decided what he wanted to do with the rest of his life.He had just seen the Baltimore Colts defense run Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway out of that steamy September game. But Leffler had also seen an amazing unity among the Baltimore fans, still seething from Elway's earlier proclamation that he would not come play here -- a move that local fans interpreted as a slam against the city."It was a galvanizing day," recalled Leffler, founder and president of the Leffler Agency Inc., a Baltimore-based advertising and public relations/marketing agency.

Left tackle Jonathan Ogden is now the elder statesman of the Ravens' offensive line after three seasons in the NFL. All the former starters are gone. Center Steve Everitt plays for the Philadelphia Eagles. Tackle Tony Jones has won two championships with the Denver Broncos. Tackle Orlando Brown is in Cleveland and center/guard Wally Williams is on the New Orleans Saints roster."There has been quite a change. I'm the only one left," Ogden said yesterday. "Maybe that would make a difference if we had the same offense, but I'm trying to learn this offense, too. We're all in the same boat."

MIAMI -- Cornerback Ray Buchanan of the Atlanta Falcons understands what Super Bowl week is all about.It's not about football, it's about getting noticed on the biggest stage in the sport. It's all about being part of the hype.That's why he "guaranteed" the Falcons were going to beat the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XXXIII last week.P.T. Barnum would have understood that. The point is to get the people in the tent. The writers were sure to stop by his podium yesterday at Media Day to check out the guarantee stuff.

This is the state of defense in the NFL after three weeks in the attack mode: It's a surprise when blitzes aren't the focal point of the defensive package.Everybody's blitzing, especially against the league's young and/or feckless quarterbacks. The Cleveland Browns' Tim Couch already has seen a wide array of blitzes. Same for Donovan McNabb of the Philadelphia Eagles, Trent Dilfer of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and even Randall Cunningham of the Minnesota Vikings.Cunningham directed the highest-scoring offense in league history last season, averaging almost 35 points a game.

DENVER -- There isn't much that happens around the Denver Broncos that doesn't pass the scrutiny of coach Mike Shanahan.When he watched defensive end Neil Smith make a halfhearted charge at Miami quarterback Dan Marino in last week's AFC divisional playoff game, he brought it to the attention of the 11-year veteran on the sideline."

They call him the Mastermind in Denver, with good reason.In four years as coach of the Denver Broncos, Mike Shanahan has demonstrated an uncommon ability to push his team to new heights.Last season, it was winning the Super Bowl.This season, he's working on perfection.That's 19-0 perfection, which would two-up the Miami Dolphins' 17-0 perfect season of 1972 if it happens.The Broncos take their quest for an undefeated season to Kansas City, Mo., tonight to play their archrivals, the Chiefs, on prime-time TV. In keeping with the theme of the 1998 NFL season, two backup quarterbacks will command center stage -- Denver's Bubby Brister fills in for injured John Elway and Kansas City's Rich Gannon replaces a struggling Elvis Grbac.

Jay Cutler says he wants to break up. The Denver Broncos say they want to make up. The Pro Bowl quarterback was a no-show yesterday for coach Josh McDaniels' first team meeting and the start of offseason workouts, and if he gets his way, he'll never step foot in the team's training facility again. "The Denver Broncos confirm that Jay Cutler has requested a trade," team spokesman Jim Saccomano told the Associated Press. McDaniels declined interview requests after telling The Denver Post that he wanted to meet again with Cutler to try to resolve their differences before he considers a trade.

Baltimore draft guru Mel Kiper Jr. looks at Georgia quarterback Matt Stafford and sees a little of the Broncos' Jay Cutler. Big arm, can make all the throws, but a little inconsistent. "He's inconsistent like Cutler was at Vanderbilt and still is with the Denver Broncos," Kiper said. ( For more, go to baltimoresun.com/ravensinsider)

We've reached another point in the nation's evolution where we try to explain the inexplicable, make sense of something that once seemed impossible. A black man being elected president of the United States - how did that happen? Through sports, more than a few explanations have been offered. America learned how to live together and to see our similarities instead of our differences because of the likes of Jackie Robinson, Joe Louis, Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods. Sports paved Barack Obama's path to the White House, the theory goes.

Kevin Everett, the Buffalo Bills tight end who suffered that frightening spine injury in the first game of the season against the Denver Broncos, was back Sunday at Ralph Wilson Stadium, where he walked into the locker room. Remember, Everett's chances to ever walk again appeared to be almost zero in the first hours after his injury. He had been hurt making a tackle on a kickoff against the Broncos' Domenik Hixon during a game in Buffalo. In fact, for a while, there was concern Everett might not even survive, and the doctor who performed the surgery to repair the damage to his spine told the 25-year-old his prospects for a full recovery were bleak.

On one play, Philip Rivers' arms and legs seemed to splay in all directions as he set to throw. On another, his feet began to shuffle, seemingly in reaction to defenders who weren't there. The whole display drove Ron Jaworski nuts as the ESPN analyst and former quarterback watched tape of the Ravens' 32-14 loss to the San Diego Chargers last Sunday. Rivers threw three touchdown passes and appeared to dissect the Ravens' once-vaunted defense. But Jaworski's seasoned eye saw mostly hesitation and awkwardness.

Good morning --Denver Broncos fans-- Maybe you can all sign a big "We're sorry" card and send it to Jake Plummer.

DENVER -- The Cincinnati Bengals lost to the Denver Broncos, 24-23, in the snow yesterday when Brad St. Louis' long snap on an extra-point attempt in the final minute sailed wide of holder Kyle Larson, preventing Shayne Graham from even attempting his 159th straight conversion. The Bengals (8-7) were offside on the onside kick, and then Quincy Morgan fielded the short second kickoff, sealing the win for Denver (9-6), which can clinch a playoff spot with a win next week against the San Francisco 49ers.

The Ravens' complicated scenario to wrap up a playoff berth today spans three time zones, two division rivalries and one formidable streak. In their first trip to Arrowhead Stadium, the Ravens will look to become the first team in a decade to beat the Kansas City Chiefs at home in December. The last team to do that was the Indianapolis Colts in 1996. The Chiefs have won 18 straight December games at Arrowhead, the longest home winning streak in this month since the AFL-NFL merger. Ravens defensive end Trevor Pryce, a 10-year veteran who played in Kansas City once a year with the Denver Broncos, said there is a reason for the Chiefs' unparalleled success.

Trent Green has heard the criticism that the NFL goes too far to protect its quarterbacks. His response? The league needs to go a little further. Ravens@Chiefs Sunday, 1 p.m., Ch. 13, 1090 AM, 97.9 FM Line: Chiefs by 3 Playoff scenario In a revised scenario released by the NFL, the Ravens can clinch a playoff berth Sunday but will need help. In addition to winning at Kansas City, the Ravens need three teams - the Cincinnati Bengals, New York Jets and Denver Broncos - to lose. The Ravens would clinch as a result of a strength-of-victory tiebreaker over the Jets.

OFFENSE It has averaged 27.8 points the past five games, mixing a rapid-fire passing game with a clock-eating ground attack. DEFENSE Seeing less time on the field, it is scoring more and giving little, yielding an average of 15.6 points the past five games. Fresh off dismantling the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Ravens can make the argument that they are the NFL's most complete team. Yet until they make another Super Bowl run, it seems the Ravens won't escape their own shadow. Comparisons to the 2000 championship team crept up again soon after the 27-0 shutout of the defending Super Bowl champions, as they do every season when the Ravens are in the playoff hunt.