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Denver's new winning ways start with McDaniels

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Alex Marvez

Alex Marvez is a Senior NFL Writer for FOXSports.com. He has covered the NFL for the past 17 seasons as a beat writer and is the former president of the Pro Football Writers of America. He also is a frequent host on Sirius XM NFL Radio.

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Updated Oct 12, 2009 10:31 AM ET
     
 

DENVER

The gameday atmosphere was strange enough with unseasonably chilly weather, 1960s nostalgia and putrid throwback jerseys exhumed to celebrate the AFL's 50th anniversary. Things then really started getting weird. New England wasn't just defeated by a team being built in its image. It was the manner in which Denver posted a 20-17 overtime victory that truly made Sunday so odd. Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton played like New England's Tom Brady in his prime. Brady played like Orton usually did while a member of the Chicago Bears. New England's Bill Belichick found himself outcoached by a prized pupil who showed more emotion after winning than his storied mentor ever did. And the most important element of all: Denver (5-0) proved it's a legitimate AFC force by topping a storied franchise that was supposed to knock the Broncos back to earth. "It's amazing going into this game listening to the prognosticators saying we're the underdog once again in our own house after beating Dallas last week," said Broncos defensive lineman Vonnie Holliday, referring to last Sunday's 17-10 win over the Cowboys. "Much respect to what the (Patriots) have done in the last many years, but we feel like we've got a good team here. All that matters: The guys in the locker room believe." Plenty of others are going to follow suit after Denver climbed back from a 17-7 halftime deficit. Once kicker Stephen Gostkowski missed a 40-yard field goal with 5:15 left in the third quarter, the Patriots were never again in scoring position. Denver didn't give Brady a chance to get back on track in overtime either, winning the coin toss and marching 58 yards for Matt Prater's 41-yard field goal. After the kick went through the uprights, first-year Broncos head coach Josh McDaniels skipped a postgame handshake with Belichick. The two agreed not to meet at midfield in order to avoid all the media hype surrounding their first encounter. McDaniels had been a Patriots assistant coach for the past eight seasons before taking over the Broncos. McDaniels instead ran toward the north end zone and pointed toward his family inside an Invesco Field skybox. The 33-year-old showed his youth, exuberantly pumping his fist four times while screaming, "Yeah!" and "That's right!" At the same time, a dejected Belichick stood in the opposite end zone looking around — presumably to see if McDaniels had changed his mind. He hadn't. "This doesn't mean a whole lot unless you can share it with somebody," McDaniels said in his postgame news conference. "Sometimes, you're allowed to have fun. That's what I was doing." McDaniels earned the right with a brilliant game plan and effective in-game adjustments that kept the Patriots guessing. New England (3-2) was forced to use three first-half timeouts because of defensive confusion. McDaniels — who was New England's offensive coordinator the past three seasons — took a page from the Miami Dolphins playbook by unveiling a wildcat package for the first time this season. The "Wild Horses" set didn't have as much success as Miami did when first debuting the wildcat against New England in Week 3 of last season. However, it forced the Patriots to deploy a more basic defensive package for gap integrity to stop running back Knowshon Moreno on direct snaps. McDaniels also recognized the Patriots were giving wide receiver Eddie Royal opportunities on the weak-side of their defense. Royal — whose receiving numbers were down significantly from a standout rookie season — took advantage with 10 catches for 90 yards. Orton didn't just target Royal in a 330-yard outing. He connected with seven receivers, including twice with Brandon Marshall for touchdowns. One of those scores came on what may be Denver's best 98-yard drive since John Elway led the Broncos to a 1986 playoff victory over Cleveland. Orton said he joked in the huddle that the Broncos already had a 95-yard drive this season "so we may as well do a 98-yard one." Brady wasn't bad in a 215-yard, two-touchdown passing performance. But he certainly isn't playing at the same Tom Terrific level of 2007 since returning from the knee injury that sidelined him almost all of last season. Some of that is Brady's fault because of inaccuracy. He overthrew a wide open Randy Moss on a certain touchdown in the first quarter, forcing New England to settle for a field goal. Brady also doesn't seem to have the same quality supporting cast as in years past. Moss had just one catch and isn't considered the same game-breaking threat as two years ago when he first joined the Patriots. Brady showed an overreliance on wideout Wes Welker — who was targeted on 15 of his 33 pass attempts — as the Broncos effectively handled his other receivers. The future may get even rougher now that left tackle Matt Light suffered what is believed a serious knee injury in the fourth quarter. Brady lost a fumble with 1:37 remaining after being stripped from behind at midfield by Holliday. The Broncos' lineman was rushing from the left side, manned by Light's replacement, rookie Sebastian Vollmer. "I don't think we're playing well enough," Brady said. "We wait for things to bounce our way, but you have to go and make things happen. In the first half, there were plays to be made. Not scoring any points in the second half is a tough way to go."
The Broncos went all out to capture the feel of a 1960 AFL game. Cheerleaders wore ponytails and shook ridiculously oversized pom-poms. The JumboTron screen was in black and white. Old military planes did the pre-game flyover. The most obvious reminiscence was Denver's mustard-colored yellow jerseys matched with brown pants and vertically-striped socks. Let's just say there was ample reason for the Broncos to change color schemes and toss all their socks in a 1962 preseason bonfire. That burning was held because the Broncos thought it might bring good luck to a struggling franchise. It didn't work. Those early Denver squads needed 14 seasons to post their first winning record. McDaniels won't need to wait that long for that kind of success. Despite a tumultuous start to his coaching tenure, which included the offseason trade of star quarterback Jay Cutler to Chicago and Marshall's preseason suspension for insubordination. Orton isn't considered in the same league as Cutler, let alone Brady. Orton admitted such afterward about Brady, proclaiming him "the best quarterback to ever play ... If I can get my game to a fraction of where his is at, I'll be a pretty good player." Orton may be getting there after four mediocre seasons in Chicago to start his NFL career. He isn't just posting solid passing numbers in the same style of offense that McDaniels ran with Brady in New England. He's doing an excellent job of avoiding costly mistakes. Orton has thrown one interception this season — and that came Sunday on a desperation heave into the end zone just before halftime. Orton's 35-for-48 effort marked his first game this season playing without a glove to protect a dislocated right index finger. Orton said that he was finally able to pass "with a lot confidence and throw the ball the way I want to. It was great."
"There's a way to beat every team."
— Josh McDaniels
Added McDaniels: "He was very calm and at peace with the game plan we had this week. He did a great job reading the safety coverage. I don't know if he missed a read all day." Credit for that — as well as continued stingy play from Denver's defense — should be given to an excellent week of pregame preparation. When speaking to FOXSports.com on Friday, McDaniels shared what he says is the most valuable lesson from Belichick that he was able to convey to his own players this season. "There's a way to beat every team," McDaniels said. "Sometimes people say, 'There's no way. They're not as talented.' Well, sometimes you can be better coached, better prepared, you could have a better week of practice, you can execute better in certain situations than they do that will ultimately sway the momentum of the game. "We're never going to go into a game week against anybody feeling like we have no chance to win." Nor should they after dispatching an opponent whose best days may be in the past.
Tagged: Dolphins, Eddie Royal, Vonnie Holliday, Matt Prater, Knowshon Moreno, Patriots, Kyle Orton, Jay Cutler, Matt Light, Randy Moss, Stephen Gostkowski, Wes Welker, Bears, Tom Brady, Brandon Marshall, Broncos

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