Miami – Mike Anderson kept running on the Denver sideline, trying to figure out a way to get back in the game Sunday after suffering a rib injury.
“I kept running and running, but it didn’t feel right,” the sorely missed Anderson said after the Broncos’ 34-10 loss at Miami. “I couldn’t do it.”
Anderson departed on the Broncos’ second series and did not return, being replaced by second-year player Tatum Bell. Anderson finished with 5 yards rushing on four carries.
Anderson said he expects to be able to play Sunday when Denver hosts San Diego. He described his injury as a bruise, “like a charley horse on your ribs.” He’ll be evaluated, and likely get an MRI, today.
“Physically, I’m fine. Mentally, I’m beat up,” said a downcast Anderson, who could not make a difference for the Broncos in his first game after earning the No. 1 tailback job in training camp.
The Broncos especially missed Anderson in the second quarter. Bell was stopped three times inside the Miami 3, including a 1-yard loss from the 1 on fourth-and-goal.
Anderson was frustrated while watching from the sideline. Denver, which struggled inside the opponents’ 20 last season, scored a touchdown on only one of four trips inside the red zone Sunday. The Broncos were 1-for-12 on third- down conversions.
“That’s what we worked on all training camp,” Anderson said. “We’ve got to get better there.”
Bell finished with 47 yards on 13 carries. He, too, was discouraged by the red-zone issues.
“I will have to find a way to get (in the end zone) like the coaches say, but we just can’t make excuses, just have to get (the ball) in there,” Bell said. “We have to find a way to stay on the field in third-down situations.”
Dayne not active for game
For the longest time, Broncos coach Mike Shanahan was often dubbed “The Mastermind.”
The moniker was against his wishes. If Shanahan could have wished for anything Sunday, it would have been the mind of Nostradamus.
Perhaps the Broncos’ most surprising game-roster decision was deactivating running back Ron Dayne, while Todd Devoe dressed as the fifth receiver. The decision backfired when Anderson was hurt early in the first quarter, leaving Bell as the Broncos’ only experienced tailback.
“You don’t regret; you make decisions and you go with them,” Shanahan said. “If you would have told me Mike Anderson was going to go down on the second (series), would you have wanted a third running back, oh, sure. But when you have 45 guys (to choose from the 53-man roster), you have to make decisions.”
That Dayne didn’t dress Sunday despite a strong preseason (34 carries, 187 yards, 5.3 yards per carry) showed the confidence Shanahan had in Bell as his backup to Anderson and also fullback Cecil Sapp’s ability to spot in at tailback. When Anderson went down, however, the Broncos could have used the more powerful Dayne on their first-and-goal opportunity from the 3-yard line in the second quarter.
Shanahan indicated that if Anderson can’t play Sunday against San Diego, Dayne would be activated.
Frerotte avoids getting sacked
Although Gus Frerotte is hardly a mobile quarterback, the Broncos never sacked him Sunday. Take that back. Middle linebacker Al Wilson sacked Frerotte on a blitz early in the first quarter, but the play was wiped out on a holding penalty against defensive end Ebenezer Ekuban.
Instead of third-and-13 at the Dolphins’ 6, it became first down at the 18. On the next play, receiver Chris Chambers took an end-around 61 yards, and the Dolphins were on their way.
Otherwise, Broncos defensive end Trevor Pryce credited the Dolphins’ short passing plan as the reason the defensive line couldn’t get to Frerotte.
“You can see from the stat sheet, when you throw (36) balls for (275) yards, that’s the way the NFL is; drop the quarterback back 3 yards and throw the ball as quick as you can,” Pryce said. “It was so hard – by the time you even tried to pass rush, the ball was gone. And Gus is a good quarterback, man, I don’t care what anybody says. He has that thing down. He’s not a ‘drop back in the pocket and tap the ball a couple times’ type of quarterback. He gets rid of the ball.”
Adams ahead of Watts
Charlie Adams, like Devoe, won a backup receiving job with an electric preseason performance. Neither had an NFL reception entering Sunday’s game. Adams has two catches now, and Devoe had a fumble recovery on punt coverage.
Adams was the Broncos’ No. 3 receiver. Darius Watts played sparingly and didn’t have a catch.
“In a game like this, I don’t think anyone’s satisfied with the way they played,” Adams said.
Statistically, wide receiver Rod Smith had a typical game for him, catching seven passes for 90 yards, extending his streak of catching at least one pass to 93 games. Backup tight end Jeb Putzier benefited from the Broncos’ game plan of using the double-tight end set and had seven catches for 67 yards.
Chambers gets redemption
Dolphins wide receiver Chambers went from goat to hero in less than one quarter Sunday.
Chambers fumbled on his first touch of the game but redeemed himself in the Dolphins’ next offensive series when he busted a 61-yard run. The end-around, a career long for Chambers, led to Miami’s first score of the season – a 29-yard field goal by Olindo Mare – and an early 3-0 lead.
“Anytime you get big touches like that, it definitely helps our offense to get down the field,” Chambers said.
Taylor gone with the wind
Dolphins defensive star Jason Taylor went searching for the oxygen mask after his game-ending 85-yard fumble return for a touchdown. Taylor stripped Jake Plummer, scooped up the ball and raced the length of the field all on the last play of the game.
“It was the longest 20 seconds of my life,” said Taylor, who did postgame interviews with an IV bandage around his left forearm. “It took me all day, but I finally made a play.”
Taylor was upset with himself for jumping offside twice on third-down plays. His fumble return for a touchdown, the longest in Dolphins history, was the fifth of his career and tied an NFL record for most fumble returns for touchdowns. Taylor shares the record with Jessie Tuggle.
Terrell cut, expected back
As expected, Broncos receiver David Terrell was released Sunday before the game. Terrell was cut so Denver could avoid paying him a guaranteed season salary of $540,000. The base salary of vested veterans is guaranteed if they are on the roster in Week 1.
Terrell is expected to be re-signed as soon as today. Denver made a similar move with defensive tackle Darius Holland before the opening game last year. Denver had just 52 players on the roster Sunday and made seven inactive instead of the usual eight.
Terrell was signed Wednesday, replacing Jerry Rice, who retired Monday.
Brown deactivated
Other Broncos deactivated Sunday were defensive end Courtney Brown, defensive tackle Demetrin Veal, cornerbacks Karl Paymah and Roc Alexander, and tight ends Nate Jackson and Wesley Duke. Brown missed the entire preseason with a dislocated left elbow but is expected to play Sunday in the Broncos’ home opener against San Diego.
Miami beat
The Broncos’ 34-10 loss dropped their record to 0-7 vs. the Dolphins at Miami:
1966 Miami 24, Denver 7
1967 Miami 35, Denver 21
1969 Miami 27, Denver 24
1975 Miami 14, Denver 13
1998 Miami 31, Denver 21
2001 Miami 21, Denver 10
2005 Miami 34, Denver 10
Jim Armstrong and Joseph Goodman contributed to this report.
