Tim Tebow fell from grace on Sunday after last week's emotional win. (Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

Forget “Tebowing.” There’s a new trend called “Staffording.”

Staffording = going 21-of-30 for 267 yards and 3 touchdowns against the Denver Broncos. Matt Stafford has perfected the fad and it went viral on Sunday.

The Broncos lost to the Detroit Lions 45-10 in The Night Afternoon of the Living Dead Part II. If you remember correctly, last October  we saw the Broncos fall to the Oakland Raiders 59-14. Instead of a 45 point loss, it was a 30 point loss. Same month, same result, different year.

The Cardiac Kid, Tim Tebow, tried to put the paddles to the Broncos’ heart. Nothing but flatline readings came out on the scoreboard. The Broncos didn’t score their first touchdown in the game until there was 8:19 left in the fourth quarter. Too little, too late, too much hoopla.

After the Broncos beat an 0-5 Miami Dolphins team in the final minutes last week, the home field score keepers probably considered turning the play clock forward for Tebow in the first half. It isn’t until the final minutes of a game when Tebow’s pulse fires up and in turn ignites the offense. Tebow finished the day going 18-of-39 for 172 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, and 1 fumble. Add in 63 yards on 10 carries and you have yourself the Broncos starting quarterback. Take it or leave it, this is what the people chanted for.

Eric Decker was Tebow’s main man and he finished with 6 catches for 72 yards and one touchdown.

The Detroit Lions are for real. So is the Denver Broncos’ quarterback conundrum.

Tebow testing grounds are full of supporters but can the second-year pro succeed as an NFL QB? Another question for you: Why does fat chance and slim chance mean the same thing?
(more…)

Champ Bailey has the pleasure of covering Calvin Johnson on Sunday. (Jack Dempsey/AP Photo)

Earlier this week we talked about what a threat Lions’ wide receiver Calvin Johnson is on the field.

Champ Bailey agrees with our assessment and states that no one can stop Johnson in one-on-one coverage for the duration of the game.

“I think one guy could be successful, but it does take a team effort to defend him all day,” Bailey said. “You can’t just match up on him and think it’s going to work all day, if he has a good quarterback throwing the ball. There’s sometimes when he goes up, nobody can get to that height that he reaches. He’s about as tall, strong and unique as they come.” – Detroit Free Press 

The Broncos safeties will be in “help mode” all day while the team’s pass rush will be pressuring Matthew Stafford up front. The less time that he has to find Johnson, the better. It’s better to contain a flood by turning off the water rather than scooping up buckets of water.

Make sure to follow Predominantly Orange on Facebook and on Twitter.

The Broncos celebrate after recovering a fumble against the Dolphins. (Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)

The mid-way point of the NFL season has the Denver Broncos (2-4) hosting the Detroit Lions (5-2) in what will be an absolute slugfest. These two teams have met just 10 times with the Broncos holding a 6-4 edge in the series. The Broncos won last week while the Lions have dropped two in a row since their 5-0 start. The Lions will be entering their bye week after this game, so expect the team to go all in to get this last game before their time off. The Broncos have not won two games in a row since October 2009. Here’s what we can expect from the offense, defense, special teams, and coaches.

Offense

Broncos: The Broncos have not come out getting points up on the board early in games. The key in this one is getting off to a fast start instead of playing catch up at the end. Willis McGahee is likely sitting this one out so Knowshon Moreno and Lance Ball will need to pick up the slack. The Lions have given up some big plays on the ground this year. The Lions bring a strong pass rush, so the offensive line will need to be at their best and Tim Tebow will need to make his reads faster. The thing that will help Tebow is if the ground game gets going early so that the play action works later. The Broncos are ranked 16th in rushing and 26th in passing. With one nerve racking game under his belt, let’s see if Tebow will let it fly more early on rather than waiting to work his magic until the end.

Lions: The Lions are ranked 27th in rushing and 11th passing. Matthew Stafford hurt his ankle last week, but claims that he’s ready to go this week. His No. 1 target Calvin Johnson is the team’s biggest offensive weapon. He’s got 10 touchdowns on the year and he’s dangerous in all areas of the field because of his ability to make plays on the ball and shed tacklers after the catch. Running back Jahvid Best is sitting this one out. The team gets former Bronco tight end Tony Scheffler back after he sustained a concussion in week 5. This is a situational running team that relies on the pass. Stafford is fourth amongst QBs in touchdowns with 16 while only throwing 4 interceptions.
(more…)