Lang Thanksgiving

[deadheadct]

20 DIME - DENVER BRONCOS - (Buy up the 1/2 point if you have 6, or 6 1/2 on Denver)

Oh how the mighty have fallen. Or have they?

After starting 6-0 the Broncos were the toast of the NFL. Their 33-year old head coach attained immediate rock star status. He was the media's flavor of the month as far as coaches were concerned.

Then came a trip to Baltimore off a bye week against a Ravens team that had lost 3 in a row, and they too were coming off a bye week.

Bottom line is Denver was just at the wrong place at the wrong time versus the Ravens. In fact, I'm not so sure any team who played the Ravens that day wouldn't have suffered the same fate.

Off their first defeat the Broncos come home to face the Steelers on Monday night and just flat out got beat by a better team.

All of a sudden at 6-2 they have to travel to Washington and battle the Redskins and I don't care who you are, any team loses their starting QB on the road in the NFL in the first quarter, you are going to struggle.

And finally, now at 6-3, the Chargers come to town facing back up Chris Simms. It is safe to say Simms wasn't the answer as the first drive of the game would lead you to believe.

Winning the coin toss and getting the ball first at their own 26 the Broncos run the ball 7 straight times picking up 3 first downs and arriving at a 2nd and 2 at the San Diego 17 yard line.

They decide to drop Simms back to pass for the first time and he is sacked, fumbles, and the Chargers recover.

The next 2 Broncos drives are stalled by penalties while the 4th, with Kyle Orton pulling a Willis Reed off the bench with the bad ankle, immediately sparks the offense.

Starting from his own 36 he completes a 22 yarder to Marshall, 38 yarder to Gaffney and had them at 1st and goal at the 4 yard line. Touchdown here and game on.

Nope. Rookie Moreno fumbles and pretty much all the momentum in the world was gone with it.

So as you can see, it may look like 4 straight losses, but it wasn't as if those 4 losses were against the Lions, Browns, Bucs or Rams.

The world is all wrapped up in this 4 game losing streak but as you can see, little more to it than that.

Who are the Giants, on an 0-5 ATS run their last 5 and who's defense still can consistently stop anybody for an entire 60 minutes, to be laying a full touchdown on the road against an AFC opponent?

It's not like Denver is going to just lay down in this spot here. Quite to the contrary. I believe they are going to step up and play one of their best games of the year.

The points are too good to pass up for me and it wouldn't suprise me to see the Broncos get consistent pressure on Eli Manning and for Eli to throw up a Thanksgiving clunker and for Denver to win the game outright.

FREE SELECTION - TEXAS-TEXAS A&M OVER