FROM AP:
Denver bottled up Marshall Faulk, slowed Garrison Hearst and took LaDainian Tomlinson out of the game plan.
The Broncos have stopped three of the league's best running backs, but they still haven't faced their biggest challenge. That comes Sunday night against Ricky Williams and the Miami Dolphins.
``They're better than in years past because of Ricky Williams,'' Denver tight end Shannon Sharpe said. ``And I think the biggest thing with him is you've got a guy that's hungry and he wants to prove something. He wants to prove that New Orleans gave up on him and they didn't give him a fair shake.''
Williams, acquired in an offseason trade, has been a key reason Miami (4-1) is leading the AFC East. He has eclipsed 100 yards in each of the Dolphins' victories -- one short of the team record for 100-yard games in a season -- and is second in the league with 565 yards.
Perhaps just as important to the Dolphins, Williams has proven he can have a lot of carries and still run hard at the end of games, something Miami has lacked in the past.
Williams has at least 24 carries in three games this season, including a team-record 36 last week in a victory over New England, and is averaging 4.8 yards per carry.
``He's a talented running back,'' Miami coach Dave Wannstedt said. ``We want to run the football and you have to have players to do those things. Coaches can draw that stuff on the board and it all looks good in clinics, but you have to have players to win games and to do things.''
It should be a challenge the other way, as well.
Denver (4-1) has the league's second-best rushing defense at 61 yards per game and is holding teams to a league-low 3.2 yards per carry.
The Broncos held St. Louis' Faulk and San Francisco's Hearst to a combined 24 yards on 15 carries. Last week, Denver limited Tomlinson, the league's leading rusher at the time, to 38 yards on 13 carries in the first half. San Diego passed on 33 of its final 34 plays.
``They've always been a blitz team and a pressure team, but I see these guys just sitting in there and being able to stop the run and do things without blitzing,'' Wannstedt said. ``That's usually a pretty good indication of how good you are.''
Both teams enter the game after bouncing back from embarrassing losses.
Two weeks ago, Miami allowed 450 yards in a 48-30 loss to Kansas City, but responded by holding the defending Super Bowl champion Patriots to 245 yards in a 26-13 victory.
Against Baltimore two weeks ago, Denver lost its composure in the second quarter and fell apart on special teams in a 34-23 loss.
Last week, Denver beat the Chargers 26-9 to tie for second in the AFC West behind 4-0 Oakland.
The Broncos completely altered San Diego's game plan by taking away Tomlinson, and Brian Griese had perhaps his best game as a pro, throwing for 316 yards and two touchdowns on 26-of-35 passing.
``After two weeks ago, being embarrassed on national TV, we have fortunately another opportunity very quickly to show that we weren't that kind of a team,'' said Griese, who's second in the AFC with a 67.9 completion percentage.
``Despite the fact that we had a nice win last week, not everybody saw it. This week there is the mentality of we have something to show everybody and prove that last week was a fluke.''
The game resumes a series that has taken some odd twists.
The teams played just once between 1975-98 -- in the snow in September 1985 -- but then they played twice in four weeks.
The Dolphins, led by Dan Marino, beat Denver 31-21 in the 1998 regular season, but John Elway and the Broncos beat Miami 38-3 in the second round of the playoffs en route to their second straight Super Bowl victory.
Miami battered Griese, who grew up in Miami while his father, Bob, played quarterback for the Dolphins in the 1970s, when the teams met again early in 1999. Griese, in his second game as Denver's starter, had a broken finger, a torn labrum, a thigh bruise and a cut on his hand in the 38-21 loss.
The Dolphins won 21-10 in December, when two turnovers in 15 seconds by Denver led to 21 fourth-quarter points.
Griese, trying to avoid a sack, had an interception returned for a 56-yard touchdown by defensive lineman Kenny Mixon. Chris Cole fumbled the ensuing kickoff to set up another Dolphins score.
``I'm looking forward to getting back on the field against these guys,'' Griese said.
Revenge: That last line by Griese is what I am going on in making a wager on this game. Will await 4pm game results before making a decision on how many units, but I see Den winning this won by 6+.
Denver bottled up Marshall Faulk, slowed Garrison Hearst and took LaDainian Tomlinson out of the game plan.
The Broncos have stopped three of the league's best running backs, but they still haven't faced their biggest challenge. That comes Sunday night against Ricky Williams and the Miami Dolphins.
``They're better than in years past because of Ricky Williams,'' Denver tight end Shannon Sharpe said. ``And I think the biggest thing with him is you've got a guy that's hungry and he wants to prove something. He wants to prove that New Orleans gave up on him and they didn't give him a fair shake.''
Williams, acquired in an offseason trade, has been a key reason Miami (4-1) is leading the AFC East. He has eclipsed 100 yards in each of the Dolphins' victories -- one short of the team record for 100-yard games in a season -- and is second in the league with 565 yards.
Perhaps just as important to the Dolphins, Williams has proven he can have a lot of carries and still run hard at the end of games, something Miami has lacked in the past.
Williams has at least 24 carries in three games this season, including a team-record 36 last week in a victory over New England, and is averaging 4.8 yards per carry.
``He's a talented running back,'' Miami coach Dave Wannstedt said. ``We want to run the football and you have to have players to do those things. Coaches can draw that stuff on the board and it all looks good in clinics, but you have to have players to win games and to do things.''
It should be a challenge the other way, as well.
Denver (4-1) has the league's second-best rushing defense at 61 yards per game and is holding teams to a league-low 3.2 yards per carry.
The Broncos held St. Louis' Faulk and San Francisco's Hearst to a combined 24 yards on 15 carries. Last week, Denver limited Tomlinson, the league's leading rusher at the time, to 38 yards on 13 carries in the first half. San Diego passed on 33 of its final 34 plays.
``They've always been a blitz team and a pressure team, but I see these guys just sitting in there and being able to stop the run and do things without blitzing,'' Wannstedt said. ``That's usually a pretty good indication of how good you are.''
Both teams enter the game after bouncing back from embarrassing losses.
Two weeks ago, Miami allowed 450 yards in a 48-30 loss to Kansas City, but responded by holding the defending Super Bowl champion Patriots to 245 yards in a 26-13 victory.
Against Baltimore two weeks ago, Denver lost its composure in the second quarter and fell apart on special teams in a 34-23 loss.
Last week, Denver beat the Chargers 26-9 to tie for second in the AFC West behind 4-0 Oakland.
The Broncos completely altered San Diego's game plan by taking away Tomlinson, and Brian Griese had perhaps his best game as a pro, throwing for 316 yards and two touchdowns on 26-of-35 passing.
``After two weeks ago, being embarrassed on national TV, we have fortunately another opportunity very quickly to show that we weren't that kind of a team,'' said Griese, who's second in the AFC with a 67.9 completion percentage.
``Despite the fact that we had a nice win last week, not everybody saw it. This week there is the mentality of we have something to show everybody and prove that last week was a fluke.''
The game resumes a series that has taken some odd twists.
The teams played just once between 1975-98 -- in the snow in September 1985 -- but then they played twice in four weeks.
The Dolphins, led by Dan Marino, beat Denver 31-21 in the 1998 regular season, but John Elway and the Broncos beat Miami 38-3 in the second round of the playoffs en route to their second straight Super Bowl victory.
Miami battered Griese, who grew up in Miami while his father, Bob, played quarterback for the Dolphins in the 1970s, when the teams met again early in 1999. Griese, in his second game as Denver's starter, had a broken finger, a torn labrum, a thigh bruise and a cut on his hand in the 38-21 loss.
The Dolphins won 21-10 in December, when two turnovers in 15 seconds by Denver led to 21 fourth-quarter points.
Griese, trying to avoid a sack, had an interception returned for a 56-yard touchdown by defensive lineman Kenny Mixon. Chris Cole fumbled the ensuing kickoff to set up another Dolphins score.
``I'm looking forward to getting back on the field against these guys,'' Griese said.
Revenge: That last line by Griese is what I am going on in making a wager on this game. Will await 4pm game results before making a decision on how many units, but I see Den winning this won by 6+.
