This is just unreal.
http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,...631850,00.html
Let the blood flow, the contempt seethe and the violence intensify. Let's put 100 angry men from the Broncos and Colts in the same room and, you know, see what happens. I will guarantee one thing when Denver and Indianapolis butt heads in the NFL playoffs:
It's going to hurt.
Did you see how Denver safety John Lynch tried to slobber-knock the teeth of tight end Dallas Clark through the back of his Indianapolis helmet?
"If a team's playing basketball on grass, you've got to hit 'em in the mouth," Lynch said Sunday. "That's what New England did to them in the postseason last year. That's what we were trying to do to them today."
Well, sir, the pain has only just begun.
Denver has a hunch about Indianapolis and its pretty guys in blue all lined up in a row.
The Broncos suspect these Colts are baby soft. Long on finesse. Short on guts.
Denver wants to stomp on the dancing feet of running back Edgerrin James. The Broncos intend to be 50-grit sandpaper on the smooth hands of receiver Marvin Harrison. And, please, can't somebody shut the yada-yada mouth of quarterback Peyton Manning as he gesticulates like a choreographer staging a Broadway musical before every snap?
"Their receivers are small guys. They don't like contact. You see them ducking on the ground a lot," Denver safety Kenoy Kennedy said. "You just go and try to be physical, as physical as you can. They start dropping balls. No matter how good your hands are and how fast you are, when you get hit, it hurts."
This it's going to be. Bring bandages. And aspirin.
Manning owns 49 touchdown passes in 2004, drop-dead beautiful statistics, as close as football ever resembles Waterford crystal.
The Broncos are going to mess them up.
New NFL regulations force a cornerback such as Denver's Champ Bailey to be sent to his room without supper for doing anything more malicious than playing patty-cake with Indy receiver Brandon Stokley.
"The rules have changed. We pay cornerbacks $4 million a year and don't allow them to be shutdown corners," Kansas City coach Dick Vermeil recently told The Post. "We pay pass rushers a ton of money to knock the heck out of quarterbacks, but now, it's unbelievable. You can get fined $10,000 for a normal football play."
Leading with his helmet, Lynch blasted Clark so hard in the first quarter it dislodged the football from the Indy tight end and knocked the referees senseless.
"You try to play clean, but this is a physical game," said Lynch, making no apologies for his wicked shot. "I think that sparked this team."
While Clark weaved a woozy path to the bench, the zebras needed five full minutes to regain their wits. Dazed and confused, the refs threw a flag, picked up the hankie with apology, gossiped nervously among themselves, stood around while instant replay made a fool of them all, then took it out on Lynch.
In his debut with Denver way back in the opening week of this NFL season, Lynch smacked Kansas City receiver Dante Hall with such brute force it put a $7,500 dent in the safety's wallet.
Will Lynch get fined even more money for laying the wood on Clark?
"I plead the fifth," Lynch said. "I did tell the referee: 'C'mon, man. You're killing me. I've got three kids to send to school."'
But no matter how much the smackdown costs Lynch, the fine will be money well spent.
"You've got to find some way to slow them down. And I think the only way anyone has ever found is to be physical with them," Lynch said.
A year ago, the Broncos exited the playoffs red-faced, spanked 41-10 at the RCA Dome with a defeat so humiliating coach Mike Shanahan overhauled his roster and changed the attitude of the way Denver approaches football.
The play from that Indianapolis debacle seared in the memory is Harrison falling to the turf after a catch, then casually standing up and waltzing to the end zone for a touchdown, as stupefied Denver defenders watched.
"We going to remember that game for how they did us," Kennedy said.
Can an NFL team be intimidated? Have the Colts proved they won't back down from a fight? Behind all those pretty numbers on offense, does Indy turn softer than taffy if chewed?
"I don't get intimidated by anybody. It doesn't matter who's over there on the other side. I don't think they intimidated us at all," Colts running back Dominic Rhodes said.
Denver cannot run, dance or exchange scores with Indianapolis.
It won't stop the Broncos from trying to beat the Colts black and blue.
Apparently, a 31-point ***-whuppin' wasn't enough. Let's make it about...oh...50 or so this time...
http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,...631850,00.html
Let the blood flow, the contempt seethe and the violence intensify. Let's put 100 angry men from the Broncos and Colts in the same room and, you know, see what happens. I will guarantee one thing when Denver and Indianapolis butt heads in the NFL playoffs:
It's going to hurt.
Did you see how Denver safety John Lynch tried to slobber-knock the teeth of tight end Dallas Clark through the back of his Indianapolis helmet?
"If a team's playing basketball on grass, you've got to hit 'em in the mouth," Lynch said Sunday. "That's what New England did to them in the postseason last year. That's what we were trying to do to them today."
Well, sir, the pain has only just begun.
Denver has a hunch about Indianapolis and its pretty guys in blue all lined up in a row.
The Broncos suspect these Colts are baby soft. Long on finesse. Short on guts.
Denver wants to stomp on the dancing feet of running back Edgerrin James. The Broncos intend to be 50-grit sandpaper on the smooth hands of receiver Marvin Harrison. And, please, can't somebody shut the yada-yada mouth of quarterback Peyton Manning as he gesticulates like a choreographer staging a Broadway musical before every snap?
"Their receivers are small guys. They don't like contact. You see them ducking on the ground a lot," Denver safety Kenoy Kennedy said. "You just go and try to be physical, as physical as you can. They start dropping balls. No matter how good your hands are and how fast you are, when you get hit, it hurts."
This it's going to be. Bring bandages. And aspirin.
Manning owns 49 touchdown passes in 2004, drop-dead beautiful statistics, as close as football ever resembles Waterford crystal.
The Broncos are going to mess them up.
New NFL regulations force a cornerback such as Denver's Champ Bailey to be sent to his room without supper for doing anything more malicious than playing patty-cake with Indy receiver Brandon Stokley.
"The rules have changed. We pay cornerbacks $4 million a year and don't allow them to be shutdown corners," Kansas City coach Dick Vermeil recently told The Post. "We pay pass rushers a ton of money to knock the heck out of quarterbacks, but now, it's unbelievable. You can get fined $10,000 for a normal football play."
Leading with his helmet, Lynch blasted Clark so hard in the first quarter it dislodged the football from the Indy tight end and knocked the referees senseless.
"You try to play clean, but this is a physical game," said Lynch, making no apologies for his wicked shot. "I think that sparked this team."
While Clark weaved a woozy path to the bench, the zebras needed five full minutes to regain their wits. Dazed and confused, the refs threw a flag, picked up the hankie with apology, gossiped nervously among themselves, stood around while instant replay made a fool of them all, then took it out on Lynch.
In his debut with Denver way back in the opening week of this NFL season, Lynch smacked Kansas City receiver Dante Hall with such brute force it put a $7,500 dent in the safety's wallet.
Will Lynch get fined even more money for laying the wood on Clark?
"I plead the fifth," Lynch said. "I did tell the referee: 'C'mon, man. You're killing me. I've got three kids to send to school."'
But no matter how much the smackdown costs Lynch, the fine will be money well spent.
"You've got to find some way to slow them down. And I think the only way anyone has ever found is to be physical with them," Lynch said.
A year ago, the Broncos exited the playoffs red-faced, spanked 41-10 at the RCA Dome with a defeat so humiliating coach Mike Shanahan overhauled his roster and changed the attitude of the way Denver approaches football.
The play from that Indianapolis debacle seared in the memory is Harrison falling to the turf after a catch, then casually standing up and waltzing to the end zone for a touchdown, as stupefied Denver defenders watched.
"We going to remember that game for how they did us," Kennedy said.
Can an NFL team be intimidated? Have the Colts proved they won't back down from a fight? Behind all those pretty numbers on offense, does Indy turn softer than taffy if chewed?
"I don't get intimidated by anybody. It doesn't matter who's over there on the other side. I don't think they intimidated us at all," Colts running back Dominic Rhodes said.
Denver cannot run, dance or exchange scores with Indianapolis.
It won't stop the Broncos from trying to beat the Colts black and blue.
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