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All Grown Up: Broncos in the NFL, Weeks 14, 15, and 16

All apologies! It has been quite a while...explanations, stats, and player updates, after the jump...

Hey guys, I must apologize for the lengthy delay in between the last post and this one. I work at FedEx, and the last couple of weeks have been quite hectic for us, as you might imagine with the holiday season. I do however, have some good plans for the All Grown Up series here in the next coming months. Stay tuned for more.

In the meantime, we have had some big time performances from our former boys in blue, so let's get all caught up with what has been going on for the Broncos in the NFL.

Richie Brockel, TE, Carolina Panthers

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via static.nfl.com

The big news for Richie came in week 15 when he scored his first NFL rushing touchdown. And boy was it something. I know this has been posted already, but the trick play was a thing of beauty. Probably straight out of the ole' Boise State playbook for Richie. Here's the linkage to his TD run:

http://www.nfl.com/videos/auto/09000d5d8252a60e/TE-Brockel-7-yd-run-TD

Great trickeration there. Timing had to be just right for Newton to hand it to Richie, almost like handing the ball back to the center for a quarterback. In the past three games, Richie has gotten some more playing time, getting 3 runs for 12 yards and that touchdown, to go along with two receptions for eight yards. In those three games, the Panthers went 2-1 to bring their season total to 6-9.

Chris Carr, CB, Baltimore Ravens

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via cdn0.sbnation.com

Chris spent weeks 14 and 15 on the injured list for the Ravens and made his return to the lineup last week against the Bengals. He had a quiet game against Cleveland last week, making a tackle and assisting with another, but unfortunately also drew a costly interference call. Next week the Ravens play Ginger Dalton, AJ Green, and the Cincinnati Bengals, but with the rusty play by Carr last week, the Ravens may look to other players in the secondary to step up.

Ryan Clady, LT, Denver Broncos

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via cdn3.sbnation.com

Since beating Chicago back in week 14, the Broncos have had a 2 game slide against the Patriots and Bills. And it hasn't been close. Both losses were blowouts. Much of this can be attributed to the injuries that are nagging the Broncos defense late in the season, but the Broncos are also not built as a team to carry the defense with the offense. Ryan was also named an alternate to the Pro Bowl, an accolade supported by the Broncos league leading rushing attack at 163 yards a game, which he helped block for.

Daryn Colledge, LG, Arizona Cardinals

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via cdn3.sbnation.com

In the last three weeks, the Cards have gone 2-1, with wins against San Francisco and Cleveland and last weeks loss to Cincinnati. Since he was from North Pole, Alaska, Daryn has been the subject of many a news article asking about his hometown, including this entertaining interview. Certainly a lineman, that Daryn. The talk at Revenge Of The Birds, the Arizona Cardinals SB Nation site seems to indicate that Daryn has done a well enough job for them this year to warrant keeping him on the squad as opposed to trying to look for a top dollar free agent replacement.

Quintin Mikell, FS, St. Louis Rams

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via cdn0.sbnation.com

St. Louis fans haven't had much to look at on the field in the past three weeks that would make them happy. Having lost the previous three games, St. Louis has their sights set on next year. Quintin has racked up 20 tackles the last three games, including a solid 10 tackle outing with two forced fumbles against the Bengals. Unfortunately for him, he also gave up a 55 yard touchdown pass to AJ Green.
Quintin touched on the issue of concussions in the NFL this last week. When asked if independent neurologists should be on the sidelines during games, he said, "They've got guys looking at your uniform to make sure you're wearing the right kind of socks. Why not have somebody there to protect your head? I think we definitely should have that." Coming from someone who plays at a position known for the hard hits they give out, I would have to agree with his reasoning.

Legedu Naanee, WR, Carolina Panthers

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via cdn3.sbnation.com

Legedu put together a string of two reception games the past three weeks, only to go down with a season ending broken bone in his foot last Sunday. His season totals topped off at 44 receptions for 467 yards and one touchdown. Legedu started off somewhat slow for the Panthers, but had a strong second half of the season to put up a career high in receptions and yardage.

Austin Pettis, WR, St. Louis Rams

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via cdn2.sbnation.com

Let's get the good (okay, average at best) news out of the way first. Austin had eight receptions for 68 yards in weeks 13, 14, and 15. Now the bad. Austin was suspended last week for using performance enhancing drugs that violated NFL policy. Pettis issued this statement: "I apologize to the St. Louis Rams, my teammates, and our fans for making a poor decision that led to my suspension. I tried Adderall, but I failed to follow the proper procedures set forth by the NFL before using such medication. I accept full responsibility and must endure the consequences for my action. I promise to emerge on the other side of this suspension as a better person and player."

Well, call me biased, but I am willing to accept what sounded like a very humble and remorseful apology. We all make mistakes Austin, it's what we choose to learn from them that speaks of our character. We'll see you next season.

Orlando Scandrick, CB, Dallas Cowboys

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via cdn2.sbnation.com

Orlando has had 12 tackles in the last three weeks and will have his hands full with Victor Cruz of the New York Giants this week. The Cowboys went 1-2.

Winston Venable, SS, Chicago Bears

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via cdn0.sbnation.com

Winston figures to be getting some on the field playing time on defense this week, as the Bears are now down to just three healthy safeties on the team, including Venable, who is on the depth chart behind the likes of Craig Steltz and Brandon Meriweather. Last week he had two tackles in the Bears loss to the Packers, and will figure to get a tryout this week against the Vikings.

Kyle Wilson, CB, New York Jets

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via cdn0.sbnation.com

The last three weeks have been rough on the Jets, as they have been knocked of playoff contention. In their game against the Giants, prior-to-this-season-no-one-has-even-heard-of-this-guy Victor Cruz burned Wilson and Antonio Cromartie for a 99 yard touchdown, in which both missed tackles on him, and on another play in which Cruz bested him. The season was mostly positive for Wilson though, as he grew from being criticized as a first round draft pick to being a solid defensive contributor.

Titus Young, WR, Detroit Lions

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via cdn0.sbnation.com

Putting up a solid past three weeks, Titus caught two touchdowns on 13 receptions and 147 yards. Certainly no Megatron numbers yet, but I can envision him becoming a good number two receiver in Detroit's offense next year. The Lions have rolled the past three weeks, winning all of their games, and now look forward to the playoffs after they face Green Bay tomorrow. Lions101.com had this to say about Titus:
"Titus Young will become a great NFL receiver. It's been mentioned in The Hunt Report before, but we like the development of Young, the rookie out of Boise State, and are incredibly bullish on him. In every game this season since the opener, he has improved his route running and has even made some improbable catches. As he stays mature and humble, the touchdowns will continue to come. Saturday, Young did the little things well, like converting a few first downs while holding onto the ball. After some early season lumps, Young's second half has shown that his ceiling will be incredibly high moving into 2012."

We certainly hope things go well moving forward for him.

Korey Hall of the Saints and Jeron Johnson of the Seahawks were both inactive the past three weeks.

This content was not created by OBNUG and therefore may not meet our standards. On the contrary, it probably exceeds them.

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