Jack ElWay

Colts Stomp on Cats

South 47, Central 7

Central 0 7 0 0 - 7
South 14 0 13 20 - 47

SCORING

S-Kameron Rucker 11 run (Brandon Kliesen kick)

S-Rucker 14 run (Kliesen kick)

C-Damien Trujillo 1 run (David Evel kick)

S-Brody Lockett 65 punt return (Kliesen kick)

S-Matt Riley 3 run (kick failed)

S-Riley 2 run (run failed)

S-Devin Hart 20 run (Kliesen kick)

S-Rory Bowen-Jimenez 53 run (Kliesen kick)

STATISTICS

Central South
First downs 6 15
Rushes-yards 31-82 45-309
Passing yards 29 5
Comp-Att-Int 6-17-1 2-4-1
Punts 4-33.5 1-39
Penalties-Yards 3-25 5-40
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 1-2

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING-Central, Max Lerrill 4-4, Trujillo 21-67, Josh Benebides 2-10, Antoine Cherry 1-minus 2, Jeremy Lamas 2-3, David Evel 1-0; South, Kameron Wilhite 11-71, Rucker 24-168, Riley 7-12, Bowen-Jiminez 1-53, Hunt 1-20, team 1-minus 15.

PASSING-Central, Lerille 6-17-1 29 yards; South, Wilhite, 2-4-1 5 yards.

RECEIVING-Central, Tyshawn Nicholas 3-28, Trujillo 2-minus 3, Benebides 1-4; South, Riley Smith 1-14, Wade Beauvais 1-minus 9.

Broncos play host to Packers on Monday Night Football

			Jay Cutler Travis Henry Selvin Young Brandon Marshall Jason Elam Brandon Stokley Search all Player V

Rockies won't be intimidated by Fenway Park

When he threw five shutout innings against them in June, Jeff Francis became only the third lefthander in the past five years to beat the Red Sox in Fenway Park without allowing a run.

1. Interleague play sapped a little bit of the buzz from this World Series, with the Rockies having played in Fenway Park in June, winning two out of three while handing Josh Beckett his first loss of the season. At their Tuesday workout, the Rockies looked nothing like the Padres at Yankee Stadium on the eve of the 1998 World Series. The Padres snapped pictures, shot videotape and toured Monument Park. By the time they rubbed the stars out of their eyes, they were flying back home down two games to none.

"Obviously, the stakes are a little bigger this time," Colorado GM Dan O'Dowd said, "but it really helps a young team like ours to have been here before: to know the hitting background, how the field plays, the environment. ... This is a confident team."

John Elway III is carrying on the family trade in Colo.

Jack Elway is 3-3 in his debut season as Cherry Creek's starting QB.

John Albert Elway III has lived his entire 17 years in the gigantic shadow cast by his Hall of Fame father, retired Denver Broncos quarterback John Elway.

But Jack, as he is called, has never been given anything because of his pedigree, which includes a grandfather who was a successful college football coach and a mother, Janet, who was a collegiate swimmer at Stanford. Instead, he has paid his dues at every level of football before advancing to a starting quarterback position this fall as a junior at Cherry Creek (Englewood, Colo.) High.

He was introduced to football at a young age, playing Pop Warner ball as a second grader, but it didn't come easy.

"It was kind of hard at first," Jack said. "I didn't really always understand how the whole offense worked. It [football] really wasn't that big of a deal at that point."

His mother remembers those early years, saying, "He was not that interested in football and, in fact, would become very nervous while I was driving him to games. He would count the stoplights and could hardly wait to get home to his video games. Today he adores the game."

During his freshman season at Cherry Creek, Jack shared quarterback duties and started at linebacker for the freshman team. His sophomore year he moved to the junior varsity, where he continued to learn the system as a starting quarterback.

As this year started, Jack had to battle a transfer for the starting quarterback position on the varsity squad. Coach Greg Critchett said they went down to the final pre-season jamboree before Jack earned the starting nod.

The words pressure and steady improvement help to describe Jack's budding career. First the pressure. What more needs to be said than someone named Elway living in a Denver suburb? As a youngster, Jack always wore his dad's famous No. 7 uniform. However, as he reached varsity status, he hesitated. "It was kind of a big thing for me to be labeled," he said. "I could have been my own person. But I'd been No. 7 my whole life and decided to keep it."

Critchett says his young signal caller has "handled it really well. Things don't quite faze him. I think there is pressure there. We've tried to keep him away from some of that stuff. It's tough, because there was a lot of hype even before he won the starting job."

Do the Broncos have it?

Will the Bucs stop in Detroit? Can the Steelers run wild in Denver? First and 10 | Sunday Countdown (11 a.m. ET)

How Sweep It Is

The Rockies are NL champions and heading for their first World Series. But please, don't ask how. Jayson Stark

South Blast Cannon

Pueblo South 54, Pueblo East 13

49th Cannon Game

South	21	20	7	6	0	54
East	0	0	7	6	-	13

Judge's ruling gives Broncos' Henry more playing time

A federal judge's ruling in the case involving Travis Henry's attempt to avoid a one-year suspension for a repeat violation of the NFL substance abuse policy has likely provided the Denver Broncos' tailback with another month or so of playing time.

Henry

According to court records first cited by The Denver Post and confirmed by a clerk, U.S. District Court Judge Leonard Wexler has ordered lawyers for Henry and the NFL to file motions in the case in two weeks. There is an additional week after that in which the two parties can file responses to the motions.

Henry also has appeal rights in the league which might further delay a suspension and keep him on the field deeper into the season. The issue being challenged by Henry is that the NFL would not allow his expert to observe testing of the so-called the "B-sample" of his specimen. Although the collective bargaining agreement permits a player to have an expert present for the testing, league vice president Greg Aiello said that expert cannot be affiliated with any laboratory. The expert presented by Henry, Dr. William Closson of Long Island, N.Y., did have such an affiliation. The NFL provided Henry with the names of 10 independent experts as reference for his potential use.
MORE>

pueblo colorado cannon game east vs. south

Rockies earned way into NLCS

Unstoppable Force

Historic run at the end of the season put Colorado in position to do something very few expected: win the National League title.
NLCS

ARIZONA VS. COLORADO

Game 1: Today at Arizona, 5:30 p.m.

Game 2: Friday at Arizona, 7:15 p.m.

All games of the best-of-seven series to be televised on TBS.

Broncos 'Embarrassed' By Chargers, 41-3

By Andrew Mason
DenverBroncos.com

DENVER -- Forty years, 11 months and 14 days.

That's how long it had been since the Broncos absorbed a home loss of the magnitude they suffered Sunday at INVESCO Field at Mile High.

In the years since, the Broncos have accomplished almost everything a franchise can, winning 81 more games than it has lost, claiming six conference championships, two world titles and 17 playoff appearances.

But into everyone's existence, some rain must fall and it did -- literally and figuratively.MORE>>>

Chargers clobber Broncos 41-3

The bye week arrives, with a resounding rout at Invesco as an unwelcome send-off.

Outta the way, Broncos.

Take a bye.

Incredibly, and outrageously, Denver is no longer a Broncos town.

The surreal success of the baseball Rockies has been equaled in contrast by the spectacular failure of the football Broncos.

In an AFC West showdown each team desperately needed to win, the San Diego Chargers met the challenge by pummeling the reeling Broncos, 41-3, on a gloomy Sunday afternoon at Invesco Field at Mile High.

"That's the first time I heard a Rockies cheer from our crowd," Tom Nalen, the Broncos' 14th-year center, said regarding the mocking, "Let's Go Rockies!" chants. "We weren't ready to play. I thought we were. They're a good team regardless of their record. MORE>>

Cutler's great potential matched by confidence

There are times when Phil Simms watches LaDainian Tomlinson run and it almost takes his breath away. But Tomlinson isn't the only player in tomorrow's Chargers-Broncos game about whom Simms can say that.

“You know when you watch LaDainian run sometimes, you say 'oooooo'? ” Simms asked. “The same can be said about Cutler sometimes when he throws it.”

That would be Jay Cutler, the Denver quarterback who will be making just the 10th start of his career tomorrow. The Broncos traded up in the first round a year ago to make the former Vanderbilt star the 11th overall selection, and he started the final five games of his rookie season.

Simms, who won a Super Bowl as the quarterback of the New York Giants and now works as CBS Sports' No. 1 NFL analyst, said Cutler has “a thunderbolt sometimes in that arm.”

And the fact the Broncos have gone 4-5 in Cutler's previous starts, or that he has thrown almost as many interceptions (10) as touchdown passes (13), doesn't bother Simms at all.

“I don't care what his numbers are,” Simms said. “I think greatness is a possibility. We will see. But does he have a chance? Yes.

“He's a much better athlete than people realize. He's tough, he's strong – he's got a swagger to him. I want to go, 'Jay, you're too cocky for a young guy,' but I like it. It's the right kind of swagger. Guys want to follow him.”

Just as the Chargers have entrusted their future at football's most visible position to a young player, the Broncos have done the same with Cutler, who at 24 is a year younger than Philip Rivers. Like Rivers, Cutler has had his moments both good and bad as a starter, and while the two have fairly similar statistics this season – Rivers has one more TD, one more interception and a slightly lower passer rating (82.8-76.0) – the Broncos starter hasn't taken as much heat from fans. Of course, Denver has lost one fewer game, too.

“Jay's been fairly consistent,” Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said. “All quarterbacks are going to go through some growing pains, but you're hoping (they) don't make the same mistakes twice and he's been pretty good about not repeating mistakes.”

The Chargers will be the first team Cutler has faced twice; in his second start last December, he completed 17-of-30 passes for 188 yards and two touchdowns. He rallied the Broncos from a 28-3 deficit to within 28-20 before the Chargers pulled away in the fourth quarter.

“It was a tough go at it, especially in my second start,” Cutler said this week. “I've now got a little more experience – not a lot. I think I'm playing better, making better decisions.”

Cutler said he benefited from having the offseason “to go back and look at everything that I did, good and bad. It's coming along gradually. I'm making steps week by week.”

The pressure is always on a quarterback, but especially in Denver, where everyone is compared with John Elway. Cutler said he knew the situation and he said, “You've either got to take ahold of it and grasp it or it's going to eat you up. It's been fun.”

The same could be said by the last three quarterbacks to face the Chargers. They had fun to the point where they completed 67 percent of their passes for an average of 311 yards with eight touchdowns, three interceptions and a 108.1 rating. But Cutler, being politically correct, denied being overeager for tomorrow's game.

“You can't get too excited,” he said. “People are trying to jump off the bandwagon because they've given up points and (lost) games. Those guys are talented; they can make plays. We've got our hands full.”

He added: “You've got to get rid of the ball. Teams have been dropping back and getting rid of the ball and just making some plays. That's what we're going to have to do.”

Travis Henry may be playing for the last time in a while Sunday. Should owners roll with the back if they've got him?

San Diego Chargers (1-3) at Denver Broncos (2-2)

San Diego's offense is 26th in the league in total yards. But (stop me if you've heard this before) that will change Sunday. The Broncos are as good as any franchise at taking what they have at the beginning of a season and rearranging the parts to best effect by midseason, but this year, Gen. George Marshall couldn't reapportion this defensive line effectively. Defensive tackles Sam Adams and Amon Gordon were benched for the Indy game, but Marcus Thomas and Antwon Burton weren't any better. They're the second-worst outfit against the rush. Oh, to be a LaDainian Tomlinson owner this week.

Fantasy Up: Third-and-19. That was the down and distance, after a Shawne Merriman sack, when Damon Huard hit Dwayne Bowe on a little slant that Bowe took to the house, and it encapsulated the Chargers' season to date. The secondary has lapses and can't tackle. The linebackers are injured and can't tackle. Can you believe these guys have allowed 99 points in their past three games? All that said, with Denver's injuries, I might consider using the Chargers D on the road. Matt Wilhelm's return at linebacker could really help. … If Travis Henry really might be out, because of his knee, his ankle or his looming drug suspension, the onus will fall on Jay Cutler. This is the first time I've rated him as a fantasy starter all year. If he doesn't have Javon Walker, we might need to rethink this, but the way to move the ball against San Diego is to throw. … Daniel Graham seemed as if he was everywhere against Indy in Week 4. He got four targets, and he has taken the reins from Tony Scheffler. … Antonio Gates had a combined 12 catches for 152 yards against the Broncos last year.

Fantasy Down: Is this the week Norv Turner gives Philip Rivers less to do? Rivers consistently makes two or three killer bad decisions per game; in Week 4, it was a bizarre checkdown in which Rivers suddenly and unexpectedly left Gates and whipped the ball at LDT, who practically ducked and had the ball bounce off him and fall into Derrick Johnson's arms. You can't use Rivers. … If Henry is cleared to play, you'll start him. If not, Selvin Young might make an interesting last-minute substitute, although the Chargers are still very rough against the run. Either way, with the legal problems Henry faces, Young needs to be owned in every league. … Vincent Jackson dives in my rankings this week. He dropped a sure touchdown that would've changed San Diego's game in Week 4 and admitted to being "distracted" afterward. Not good.