There aren’t many Day-timers placed in NFL lockers.
Who needs them in a one-week-at-a-time business? But if the Broncos could be snapped from their trance for Sunday’s game against the undefeated Indianapolis Colts, it wouldn’t take much foresight to see how Oct. 29 could directly impact Jan. 21.
The AFC championship game will be played on Jan. 21. Should the Broncos beat the Colts this Sunday at Invesco Field at Mile High, both teams would be tied for the AFC’s best record at 6-1. And the Broncos would have the tiebreaker going forward.
“It’s never too early to start that kind of thing,” Broncos safety John Lynch said. “You have to take the one-game-at-a-time approach, but sure, you understand we can put ourselves at the top of the AFC. Now would that mean we’d stay there? You’d have to keep on doing it, but it would certainly be nice.”
Should the Broncos lose, the Colts would be 7-0, Denver would be 5-2 and the playoff road to Super Bowl XLI would be laid through Indy and its artificial surface.
“I guess you can say thank goodness St. Louis was an NFC team,” Broncos defensive end Ebenezer Ekuban said about his team’s season-opening loss. “But Indy being an AFC team, every win we get inside the conference is big. At the same time, we’re not thinking that far ahead. It’s only Game 7. All that other stuff will take care of itself when late-November, mid-December comes around. That’s when the playoff picture crystallizes. Right now, we’re just about this week.”
Perhaps no one playing on Oct. 29 wants to look ahead to Jan. 21. But come Jan. 21, everybody may well be looking back at Oct. 29.
Lelie trade update
If the season ended today, the Redskins, who are tied for the NFL’s 25th-best record at 2-5, would have to surrender their third-round pick in the 2007 draft and fourth-round pick in 2008 to the Broncos, who are tied for the third-best mark.
Not bad compensation for receiver Ashley Lelie, who has only 12 catches and no touchdowns in six games for the Atlanta Falcons.
The Redskins and Broncos were part of a three-team, preseason swap that sent Lelie from Denver to Atlanta and running back T.J. Duckett from the Falcons to Washington.
Duckett has only five carries and 24 yards for Washington.
Ultimate sacrifice
For kicks, the next time Paul Ernster boots for the Broncos, keep an eye on No. 53 Louis Green and No. 54 Patrick Chukwurah. They are the designated wedge-busters.
“We jump on the grenade for the team,” Green said.
Most kickoff return teams use four-man wedges. Others use three. Still others use three-man wedges, but have the up, return back join the others for a four-man wedge.
Green and Chukwurah, who also are on the Broncos’ punt coverage team, could play an important role Sunday because the Colts have a fine returner in Terrence Wilkins, who has an 82-yard touchdown return this year.
“The last thing we need to do is to give Peyton Manning and that offense any extra field position,” Green said.
Hurting big toe
Defensive tackle Gerard Warren is hoping to practice today for the first time this week after suffering a sprained ligament in his right big toe Sunday at Cleveland.
The injury seemed odd only because Warren dislocated his other big toe during training camp. Two big-toe injuries in 2 1/2 months? Warren said it’s not the shoe but his position.
“You can look at the shoes, but I told them I just so happened to have been caught in an awkward position with my feet planted in a certain way,” Warren said. “When somebody falls on the back of your heel and jams your toe in the ground, you can dislocate or tear something.”
Warren said he will be ready to play through the pain against the Colts, but his official status remains questionable.
“I have no question he can play through pain, but the key is, can he play at the level he’s been playing at?” Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said. “Sometimes the pain will keep you from doing that. We’ll have a chance to see more (today).”
Footnotes
Heavy snow forced the Broncos to hold their two-hour practice Thursday down the street at an indoor sports bubble. … Former Broncos linebacker Tom Jackson was here Thursday afternoon interviewing Broncos linebackers for a story that will air Sunday on one of ESPN’s pregame shows.
Mike Klis can be reached at 303-954-1055 or mklis@denverpost.com.
