Nick Ferguson is obviously a glass-half-full kind of guy.
“You have to take a positive out of a negative situation,” the Broncos safety was saying not long after Sunday’s 34-31 loss to Indianapolis. “We fared better against them than we have in the past. We didn’t give up any deep throws. We kept everything in front of us.”
It would be easy to say Ferguson was obviously shell-shocked, his sensibilities jarred from too many bombs going off overhead. But technically he was correct in this go-round against the team that by now is in the Broncos’ heads like a bunt laid down in front of a Detroit Tigers pitcher. There weren’t the quick-strike pyrotechnics that marked the 49-24 beatdown inflicted the last time the teams met.
Even so, there were enough similarities – certainly too many holes exposed in a defense that, regardless of what the calendar said, was facing its biggest test of the entire season – that one could reasonably wonder, what has changed when it comes to the Colts?
After weeks of peering through record books, here are the pertinent numbers for Denver: 34 points and 437 yards allowed. Which, despite Ferguson’s rose-tinted viewpoint, goes along quite nicely with the 530 yards total offense amassed by the Colts in January 2005. Or the 41 points and 479 yards Indy put up in a 2004 playoff rout.
If the idea was to invent a defense to counteract Peyton Manning and the Colts’ offense, it’s clear no one will be heading for the patent office this morning.
“We didn’t get it done,” John Lynch said.
But the sun will come up tomorrow, according to Ferguson. In time, the rest of the Denver defense may come around to that way of thinking, but that wasn’t the case Sunday.
The hang-dog faces scattered throughout the Broncos’ foxhole spoke to the opportunity that was lost. In that sense, it didn’t really matter that Darrent Williams literally had no words, breaking away from inquiring minds like, well, the way Reggie Wayne managed to break away from his coverage for most of the day.
Before Williams bolted, he was called over for a quick sit-down with Al Wilson. But when the pep talk broke up, the linebacker, who had his share of missteps, decided to follow the adage about what to do if you can’t say anything nice about a situation …
“Not today, baby,” Wilson said softly.
But that was really what Sunday was all about – if not now, when? It is entirely possible the Colts could lose at New England on Sunday night, and then again against Jacksonville or Philadelphia later in the season, and lose home-field advantage in the playoffs. It’s possible that, just like a year ago, come January, Denver won’t have to worry about meeting Peyton Manning again in the postseason – although, unlike idiot kicker Mike Vanderjagt against Pittsburgh, I wouldn’t count on Adam Vinatieri missing any clutch attempts down the stretch.
But those scenarios would take more than positive thinking, it would be almost divine providence. Now that Indianapolis has continued a remarkable streak – Sunday’s win was the Colts’ 28th straight in games played before clinching a playoff berth – it would appear any team hoping to make it to Super Bowl XLI will have to go through the RCA Dome.
One thing the Broncos may want to work on, should they indeed come up against the Colts again, is coming up with a way to stop Marvin Harrison and Wayne.
“We’ve got a lot of weapons, man. I’m just happy to be on the same side as all of them,” said Wayne who had 10 catches Sunday for 138 yards and three touchdowns. In his last game against Denver, the 2005 playoff contest, Wayne had 10 grabs for 221 yards and two scores.
Manning and Harrison are certain to be inducted into the Hall of Fame someday – the Broncos seem determined to make sure Wayne goes to Canton right beside them.
While downplaying his efforts Sunday, Wayne delivered many of his responses with just the hint of a smirk on his face. At one point, he was asked if he expected the Broncos to get to the point where they’d start paying a little more attention to him.
“That’s on them. I’m just going to line up on the left side, regardless,” Wayne said. “If that’s what they want to do, then good luck. If it isn’t, then, good luck.”
The smirk was still there.
Anthony Cotton can be reached at 303-954-1292 or acotton@denverpost.com.
