Broncos takes lumps from opening snap

By Lee Rasizer, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published October 20, 2008 at 11:03 p.m.

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Photo by Joe Mahoney © The Rocky

The finger of Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler appears swollen. Cutler injured the play when he was hit on Denver's first play from scrimmage.

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FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The damage was inflicted from the first offensive snap Monday night - and not just on the scoreboard.

Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler dropped back, was pressured up the middle and banged his throwing hand on the helmet of on-rushing defender Vince Wilfork of New England.

Cutler would stay, leave and return.

The Bailey brothers, meanwhile, were out for the count.

Linebacker Boss Bailey was KO'd again, twisting his left knee in the opening period.

Pro Bowl cornerback Champ Bailey, charged with shadowing Randy Moss, pulled up lame with a groin injury in the second quarter and didn't return.

Running back Michael Pittman did finish but fought through a neck stinger and rib problem with Denver short-handed at tailback.

For Denver, the night was like that scene in Rocky III when Clubber Lang is asked if he had any predictions for his upcoming bout: "Pain" was the response.

The Broncos (4-3) already were without tight end Tony Scheffler and running back Selvin Young with groin injuries and wide receiver Brandon Stokley with a concussion.

The newcomers were only added to that list while suffering an embarrassing 41-7 rout.

The biggest concern may be Champ Bailey, who locked down Moss for one catch and nine yards before departing. Bailey was backpedaling in zone coverage when he came up limping immediately, grabbing himself in pain and grimacing on the sideline while receiving treatment.

Moss scored two TDs afterward as New England looked nothing like the team that was slammed in San Diego and Denver hardly resembled the club that began the year 3-0.

Bailey was walking without a noticeable limp but will get a magnetic resonance imaging exam today. He isn't sure of the severity of his injury since he's never previously had a groin problem.

"I just turned funny and the next thing I know, I'm hobbled. I really don't know exactly what happened. I just lifted my leg up, turned around and felt that thing just go," he said.

Asked if he might be sidelined a few weeks, Bailey responded, "I don't know. Hopefully it's just pain."

Boss Bailey's snake-bitten season continued. He badly sprained his left ankle in the preseason opener and periodically has limped off after returning to action. Now, it's his knee. He'll also have an MRI today.

"All I know is I got up and my knee felt strange," he said. "I'm going to have to get it checked out and see what's going on with it. It doesn't feel that serious. But I really couldn't do nothing with it, especially when it's cool out like that. You stiffen up so fast. I was trying to stay loose, but it kept stiffening up on me.

"It's tough. I'm trying to not make too much out of it right now before I react about it, really."

As for Cutler, Dallas' Tony Romo isn't the only one drawing attention for a finger issue, though the Broncos quarterback insisted he was fine - no break based on an X-ray, or a dislocation.

Denver's quarterback was able to make his way back, throwing a TD pass to tight end Daniel Graham to spoil the shutout in the fourth quarter. But he finished with 168 yards on 17-of-26 passing while getting sacked twice and tossing a pair of interceptions - part of five Denver turnovers.

"I'm not going to make excuses. I was good to go. . . . I could throw fine," Cutler maintained.

Still, the third-year quarterback spent some of the first half inspecting his right index finger and thumb, circling and spreading his fingers apart trying to manage the discomfort and attempting to play through an injury that was bothersome enough Denver's pass-heavy offense early on went to a major dose of the running game.

That was fine until Pittman had to depart twice and Andre Hall replaced him, fumbling twice and setting the rout in motion.

Pittman eventually did come back and log 20 attempts for 88 yards.

"I got a bad stinger in my neck. My arm went numb a little bit, but I played through it," Pittman explained, adding his head was driven into the turf on a tackle, causing the problem. "Then, early in the second quarter I got a rib, too, landed on the turf wrong but had to play through it."

Cutler did throw a couple of nice touch passes - noticeably one to Brandon Marshall that was wiped out by an offensive pass interference penalty. But most of Cutler's passes often were low or lacked zip.

When he left to ice his hand just before halftime, Patrick Ramsey entered and promptly was hit and fumbled.

It was fitting on this night, reminiscent of last November's 37-point debacle in Detroit.

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