Miami – Mama always said there would be notes like this. …
On a day defined by the plays the Broncos didn’t make, Ashley Lelie was the unofficial team leader. How many touchdowns would-he-could-he-should-he have scored?
“At least three,” Lelie said. “At least three.”
The first came early in the game when Jake Plummer escaped a sack and found Lelie near the end zone, only to have Lelie misjudge the ball. Later, he had an easy touchdown catch slip through his hands and had a chance to make catches on two deep passes, only to come away empty-handed.
He walked off the field with two catches for 17 yards, the first of which came in the fourth quarter after the Broncos had fallen behind 27-10. Eight times before that, Plummer had thrown the ball Lelie’s way, with nothing to show for it.
The only thing Lelie did right was live up to his lousy day.
“That’s probably the worst game I’ve played in my whole career,” he said. “I’m probably the most upset right now out of anybody in this whole locker room. A lot of those plays I can make with my eyes closed, and I wasn’t doing it. Next week is going to be a whole different story, I guarantee you that.” …
Ah, yes, next week. That would be Sunday’s game against the Chargers at Invesco. Not that they can’t afford to lose it, but the Broncos four times have opened a season with back-to-back losses. Their records in those seasons: 2-11-1, 4-10, 7-9 and 6-10. …
Al Wilson, on facing the Chargers: “It’s a must-win game for us. That’s the way we’re going to approach it. We’re going to do everything we can to get that ‘W.”‘ …
Leave it to me, Mr. Positive, to come up with a silver lining on such a miserable day. At least Bradlee Van Pelt didn’t flip off the crowd. …
Not that the season is off to a bizarre start, but the Broncos forced three turnovers and stuffed the Dolphins on two fourth-down plays, but lost by 24. Oh, and Ronnie Brown, the second pick in the draft, had 9 yards on eight carries at halftime? …
Mike Shanahan, when asked if he was surprised by the lopsided nature of the score: “Yes.” Well, all righty then. Next question. …
Since you asked, Plummer’s career stats in three starts versus Miami: 49-for-105, 582 yards, 1 TD, 8 INTs. …
The Broncos have the altitude and the Dolphins that lovely South Florida humidity. What, you think it’s a coincidence that they’re 19-3 at home in the first month of the season in the past decade? …
John Lynch, when asked if overconfidence was a factor: “I know we felt good. I really felt like we’d come in and control this game. Even coming out at halftime, we felt good. We felt like, ‘All right, we didn’t play up to our ability, but it’s only 6-3.’ We felt like we’d really take over from there. We got the turnovers early, but we could never do anything with those opportunities we were creating.” …
Maybe we should have seen it coming, what with the Broncos having beaten the Dolphins last season. The teams have played 14 times in the regular season and the Broncos have yet to pull off back-to-back wins. …
True, but strange: The Dolphins have 23 coaches. Their first staff in 1966 included seven coaches. …
Even the Broncos’ punter had a bad day. Todd Sauerbrun, supposedly the answer to the special-teams problems, averaged 45.4 yards on seven kicks. So what’s the problem? His net was 30.6, due in large part to his inability to keep the ball out of the end zone when he had a chance to pin the Dolphins near their goal line. …
The Dolphins were luckier than the Broncos, too. Case in point: Gus Frerotte throwing a pass that could have been intercepted, only to have Marty Booker grab it and outrun Lenny Walls and Lynch for a 60-yard touchdown. Said Trevor Pryce, “Gus throws into double coverage, and it just happened that (Booker) came down with the ball.
“What are you going to do about that? Peyton Manning would never have thrown that pass. … Somebody is living right when that happens, and Gus is living right.”
Catch Jim Armstrong from 6-9 a.m. during “The Press Box” on ESPN 560 AM, and on Fox Sports Net’s “Insider Edition.” He can be reached at 303-820-5452 or jmarmstrong@denverpost.com.
