According to USA Today one of the first decisions interim coach Jack Del Rio made was to keep a hands off approach with Peyton Manning. As Sunday approaches and the first game against the Chargers without head coach John Fox, Del Rio's main role with Denver’s No. 1-ranked offense will come on game days, taking over the big-picture as decision-maker. Offensive coordinator Adam Gase will make the play calls, and Manning will work his magic with his changes at the line of scrimmage. For now Del Rio will take charge on timeouts and replay challenges and whether to punt on a fourth-and-1. Some minor changes Del Rio did put in place were more communication between himself, Manning and Gase. According to Manning there are specific situations the offence will need to be ready for, of course no further comments or insight were offered up.
As for John Moffitt, it appears he walked because he lost the love for the game, and didn't want to risk his health further. Understandable, yet interesting as he lost his starting spot with the Seattle Seahawks, and has played in only two games with the Broncos since signing a four year contract in August. While leaving the NFL and fans wondering in disbelief as to the sudden reasons he walked away, Moffitt just thinks it’s “madness to risk your body, risk your well-being and risk your happiness for money”, talking to the AP in a phone interview from Seattle. While Moffitt admits at one time he did care about Super Bowls, he didn't want to go with the Broncos or any team for that matter. Playing in great stadiums and against great players was enough. Clearly stating he respected the game and the players and it was not personal towards his teammates, his health was not worth the risk, despite the fact he never actually had a history of concussions. He however is still concerned about all the blows and hits he took in practice and games. As for now it looks as if Moffitt is looking into radio and podcasts where he can speak his mind and share his opinions on everything from philosophy to politics, but is planning on steering clear from sports. When asked if he had regrets, his response was no, although he wished it had worked out in Seattle. Perhaps if Seattle had kept him, the Super Bowl may have been a little more important to him. As I shared my thoughts on this in a post, if his heart is not in the game he really is better off not playing, Fellow Bronco fans lets show some Bronco pride and wish him well. But I am going to say it ~ he was a Hawk at heart . . .
As for Champ, his “re-aggravation” of his ankle is becoming more of a problem than a “minor” setback, playing in only two games this season as of Wednesday he is still listed as DNP (did not participate in practice). Most likely Champ will not play this Sunday against the Chargers, but Denver is hoping for a November 17 return when we play the Kansas City Chiefs. Chris Harris has been filling in and if I might say doing a good job, targeted seven times by the Redskins while allowing only 2 completed passes. We have played without Bailey for most of the season and if Harris can continue at this level of play, well let’s leave that discussion open for now. As for the Hillman/Anderson starting lineup, no word has been released yet. It is worth a mention that our passing defense went from 32nd to 30th in one game against the Redskins. Currently Hillman is showing active on the roster for week 10 as is Anderson. Personally I would like to see more from Anderson. But that is above me and will be left up to Del Rio, another decision in his first game as interim head coach.
As we head into the 2nd day of practice in preparing for the Chargers game, three of our starters were listed as DNP on Wednesday ~ Champ Bailey (foot), Duke Ihenacho (ankle) and Wes Welker (ankle). Joel Dreessen, Orlando Franklin, Manny Ramirez and Julius Thomas all were on LP (limited participation in practice) on Wednesday; nevertheless team spirits were up and the Broncos have a strong family-like culture to help them weather any storm. With head Coach Fox still in recovery and the walking out of John Moffitt the team is ready to get back to business on their 2nd day back.
Coach Fox is still on everyone’s mind of course, with Manning commenting that it will be a team effort to make up for his absence. But the game must go on, and so it will this Sunday at 2:25 pm MST (4:25 pm EST, 3:25 pm CST, and 1:25 pm PST). As for John Moffitt ~ wishing you all the luck in your future endeavors. Happy Thursday!
~ K@tes
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