The five stages of grief are being played out in NFL-mad Denver, where Broncos fans -- teased into believing a stunning 6-0 start had canceled out the challenges of a first-year head coach, new quarterback and assorted volatile team personalities -- are well into the process of re-evaluating a season gone horribly wrong.
Broncos players, many of whom came away from Sunday's disheartening 32-3 AFC West home loss to the San Diego Chargers embarrassed, confused and bickering, know they have to regroup in a hurry.
This was a short week, and a Thanksgiving Day game at Invesco Field looms against the revitalized New York Giants (8:20 p.m. ET). Both teams are 6-4, a game behind their division leaders, the Cowboys and the Chargers, respectively.
DENVER -- Four consecutive losses have dropped the once impressive Denver Broncos into the middle of the AFC pack.
The San Diego Chargers (7-3) all but ensured they will win the AFC West with a 32-3 rout Sunday at Denver's Invesco Field, and only the second-quarter emergence of injured Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton off the bench sparked any life in the disillusioned home team.
Hobbling on a badly sprained left ankle, Orton was a better option than struggling backup Chris Simms, who started the game but almost immediately lost the ball on a sack and fumble and ultimately failed to move Denver's offense effectively.
DENVER -- Quarterback Chris Simms, who hasn't started an NFL game in three seasons, will take over for injured Kyle Orton today when the skidding Broncos (6-3) play host to the surging Chargers (6-3) for sole possession of first in the AFC West.
Orton sustained a severely sprained left ankle last week in Denver's 27-17 loss to Washington, leaving the game after the final offensive play of the first half. He hasn't practiced all week. After taking a last look at the former Bears starter, Denver coach Josh McDaniels made the decision Sunday morning to sit Orton. McDaniels is expected to activate rookie quarterback Tom Brandstater on the 45-man game day roster.
The best NFL news on Wednesday was that Brian Westbrook will not play this week. He may be your starting running back in your fantasy league, but the Philadelphia Eagles' all-time leader from scrimmage with 9,711 yards also is a man who is recuperating from two concussions in 20 days.
Right now, Westbrook is not just an NFL star. He is a medical patient.
Thankfully, everyone realizes it's time to focus on Westbrook's health and future well-being, and not how he can help move the chains for the Eagles' offense.
Wednesday's news that Raiders coach Tom Cable had decided to bench struggling quarterback JaMarcus Russell and go with journeyman reserve Brad Gradkowski as the starter for now is remarkable for this reason: It showed Cable is doing what's best for the 2-7 franchise by getting hands-on owner Al Davis to agree with him about the move.
In fact, Cable said there wasn't even give-and-take with Davis on the decision to make Russell a No. 2.
"No, no. He left this up to me; this is my decision," Cable said of Davis. "We talked about it and he supported it."
The Raiders' lease with the Oakland/Alameda County Coliseum Authority was set to expire at the end of the 2010 season. Considering the city of San Francisco and the South Bay city of Santa Clara have been offering stadium locations and are competing for the 49ers' services, the future home of Al Davis' franchise was very much in question.
While the lease agreement must still be formally approved by the Joint Powers Authority, the City of Oakland, the County of Alameda and the NFL, it's a foregone conclusion that the Raiders -- love 'em or hate 'em -- aren't going anywhere. At least for the time being.
SAN DIEGO -- Brian Westbrook's Oct. 26 concussion was so troubling for the Philadelphia Eagles running back, he openly discussed the touchy subject of NFL head trauma and how concerned he was for his long-term health because of it.
Three weeks later, Westbrook sustained another concussion, one that took him out of the Eagles' 31-23 loss to the San Diego Chargers on Sunday at Qualcomm Stadium. And now it's almost a certainty that the running back's season will be cut short.
SAN DIEGO -- LaDainian Tomlinson's blessings simply flowed on Sunday. Two hours before his San Diego Chargers claimed a share of first place in the AFC West with a 31-23 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles, the NFL's No. 3 all-time touchdown king received a gift from his wife, LaTorsha.
Tomlinson found it in front of his locker at Qualcomm Stadium, a decorative purple bag -- "TCU colors," he explained later -- tied with a bow. The attached note implored "Please Open Immediately - LaTorsha." Inside was a box, and what it contained was a pregnancy test. A positive test.
"My wife is pregnant," an emotional Tomlinson announced on a day when one of the NFL's greatest running backs reached two significant milestones: His season-high 96 yards on 24 carries pushed him past Thurman Thomas and Franco Harris for 12th place on the NFL's all-time rushing list with 12,145 yards.
LAS VEGAS -- There is no more debate. No one can question the boxing dominance of Manny Pacquaio, not after yet another devastating defeat of another of the sport's greats. Pacquaio's relentless speed, even at his heaviest weight ever, was absolutely too much for WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto.
Pacquaio won his unprecedented seventh world title in seven different weight classes Saturday night with a one-sided, 12th-round TKO over Cotto with 55 seconds remaining at a sold-out (16,200) MGM Grand Garden Arena, where a ticket couldn't be had for weeks.
LAS VEGAS -- Boxing is alive and thriving, and you can see it in the nationalistic pride that enveloped Las Vegas on Friday. The Filipinos and Puerto Ricans descended on The Strip with their colorful flags and chants, and they queued in orderly groups -- Manny Pacquiao's publiko/bayan here, Miguel Cotto's publico/paisanos there -- for a raucous weigh-in Friday afternoon at the MGM Grand Garden.
So much excitement, for two 145-pound boxers standing on a scale. But Pacquiao-Cotto is the biggest thing to happen to boxing since Pacquiao-Oscar De La Hoya. Or Pacquiao-Ricky Hatton.
The five stages of grief are being played out in NFL-mad Denver, where Broncos fans -- teased into believing a stunning 6-0 start had canceled out the challenges of a first-year head coach, new quarterback and assorted volatile team personalities -- are well into the process of re-evaluating a season gone horribly wrong.
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