ENGLEWOOD, Colo.—Javon Walker watched practice from the sideline Thursday with an ice pack wrapped around his right knee.
However, the Broncos receiver said the swelling in his surgically repaired knee is nothing to worry about and that he fully expects to play Sunday at Indianapolis.
“This is too big of a game,” Walker said. “Everybody wants to play in a game like this.”
Broncos coach Mike Shanahan will evaluate both Walker and safety John Lynch (groin) on Friday and make a decision on whether they’ll play. Shanahan said both will be game-time decisions.
“We’ll see how much they recover over the next couple of days,” Shanahan said.
Walker missed almost all of his 2005 season in Green Bay after tearing his right ACL. He joined the Broncos in a draft-day trade last year and caught 69 passes for 1,084 yards and eight touchdowns.
Walker leads the Broncos in receptions this season with 19 for 230 yards. He was held to two catches for 10 yards in a 23-14 loss to Jacksonville on Sunday.
“It felt pretty good today,” Walker said of his knee. “I’ll probably give it a tryout (Friday) at practice and see how it feels, and get ready for Sunday. It’s nothing that got repaired or anything to be concerned about.”
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QUICK STUDY@: Returner Domenik Hixon went back and studied film of his fumble on the second-half kickoff Sunday against Jacksonville.
He wanted to make sure it didn’t happen again.
“I had a good grip on it. I just fumbled the ball,” Hixon said. “I didn’t execute.”
Hixon is ranked 19th in the league in kickoff returns, averaging 23.4 yards on seven attempts.
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JIBBERISH@: Ice cream, Bentleys, high schools and colleges. Those are just some of the things Peyton Manning will chatter about as he surveys a defense at the line of scrimmage.
“It’s just crazy, just to hear some of the stuff that he says,” cornerback Dre’ Bly said. “A lot of that stuff, the play is already called, and that’s what Peyton does to try to throw you off and try to make you think he’s changing the play. You just have to stay buckled down.”
Champ Bailey has stopped trying to figure out what Manning’s jabbering about.
“It’s like trying to learn Chinese,” Bailey said. “It’s not going to happen. You try to pick up on something, he’ll know it and try to take advantage.”
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SPORADIC PLAY@: The play of linebackers D.J. Williams, Ian Gold and Nate Webster has been too inconsistent for defensive boss Jim Bates’ taste.
“There are times that it looks like we’re on tap as far as getting the job done,” Bates said. “There are times we’re sort of feeling and it’s like it isn’t natural for us yet.”
Bates said he expects Williams to get better the more comfortable he grows in the role of middle linebacker.
“It’s a process,” Bates said. “He will improve.”
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YOUNG GUNS@: Colts coach Tony Dungy is impressed by the savvy of Denver’s Jay Cutler and Tennessee’s Vince Young.
“What he and Vince have done, to go in and win games as a young quarterback, that’s hard to do,” Dungy said. “It’s unusual for it to happen, but I think Jay has given them what had hoped for—big plays in the passing game. And a guy who is growing every time out.”
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QUICK HITS@: DE Elvis Dumervil has had two sacks in each of Denver’s last two games. “He’s been doing an excellent job for us,” Bates said. … The Broncos lead the league in fewest passing yards per game (88.3) and yards per pass play (3.96). … RB Travis Henry is fourth in the league with 302 yards rushing, despite being held to just 35 yards against the Jaguars. … RB Mike Bell (concussion), S Hamza Abdullah (hip) and G Ben Hamilton (concussion) are listed as out for the game Sunday. … TE Stephen Alexander (calf) participated in practice Thursday on a limited basis.
