Players-only meeting serves its purpose as Broncos go back to basics

DENVER -- Denver Broncos defensive end Vonnie Holliday has been around the league for 12 seasons, so he is a tough one to crack when it comes to the locker-room mentality of a Mafia-like style of Omerta, the code of silence.

Holliday was a part of the Broncos' players-only meeting Tuesday, one aimed at helping the team end a four-game losing streak, but he wouldn't bite on any attempts to divulge what happened.

Whatever happened in that players-only meeting works for the Broncos defense on Thanksgiving. (Getty Images)

"What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas and what happens in a players-only meeting stays in that players-only meeting," Holliday said laughing.

This much we know: Veteran safety Brian Dawkins led the meeting and several veterans spoke up. It never got heated, according to one Broncos player, but this point was hammered home: turn it around now or the season will be over.

Whatever was said in that meeting -- "What meeting?" asked Broncos linebacker Andra Davis -- should be bottled up to be used again. In two days, it helped turn the Broncos from a team we were ready to bury to a team with some life.

The Broncos (7-4) dominated the New York Giants at Invesco Field Thursday night in a 26-6 victory that had them looking more like the team that jumped to a 6-0 start than the team that lost four consecutive games.

Put the shovels away. The grave we all were digging -- you were too -- can wait.

Maybe the Broncos are a team that doesn't like basking in its success. When the Broncos opened 6-0, it shocked everybody. They weren't expected to be that good. Then after losing four straight, they were considered burnt.

Coach Josh McDaniels went from the toast of the town to toasted. His supposed verbal challenge to the San Diego Chargers players last week -- "We own you" he allegedly said to them in pregame warm-ups -- mattered little four days later.

Another loss and it might have. Another loss and his being caught cursing on air during the Giants game could have been made into a big deal.

Asked about it after the game, McDaniels jabbed the league's own network.

"It's The NFL Network," he said. "It doesn't surprise me."

The Broncos entered Thursday's game as six-point underdogs on their home field against a team that had lost four consecutive games before winning last week.

"I think we might be better as the underdogs that nobody expects much from," Holliday said.

After what happened against the Giants, expectations might be on their way back up.

The Broncos did to the Giants what they did to their opponents the first six weeks, which was to run the ball, hit a few passes down the field and play great defense. The Broncos didn't allow the Giants to cross midfield in the first half and limited them to three first downs and 38 total yards.

Did the Giants eat turkey for their pregame meal? It sure looked like they were loaded with that L-tryptophan, which supposedly helps make all of us sleepy after eating turkey. (You know you zonked after diving into the bird.)

This was the same Giants team that rolled up 456 yards last week in beating the Atlanta Falcons. The Giants finished with 267 yards and much of that came in garbage time as they were scrambling to get back into the game.

Quarterback Eli Manning was 24 of 40 for 230 yards and one pick. He was sacked three times and hit four other times. It looked worse than that. Denver defensive end Elvis Dumervil, who leads the league in sacks with 14, took Manning down twice.

"We gave up sacks and got into second-and-longs and third-and-longs and we weren't able to run," Manning said.

The Giants finished with 57 yards on 16 carries. Take away a 14-yard run by backup Danny Ware and it's 43 yards on 15 carries. The Broncos played a lot of single safety, trying to stop the run and daring the Giants' receivers to beat their corners.

Most of the time the Giants receivers didn't win. It helps having a great player like Champ Bailey, who can play single coverage the entire game and allow the single safety to help everywhere else, which led to Manning holding the ball.

"They were good because they really didn't not have anything else to defend," Giants coach Tom Coughlin said.

Davis said the Denver defense played better than it has in the past four games because players stayed true to their assignments. He wouldn't come right out and say it, but he hinted there were too many blown assignments and too much straying from the defenses that were called.

The offense also got back on track against the Giants. The Broncos had 373 yards of total offense and Kyle Orton, who didn't start last week because of a bad ankle, threw for 245 yards and a touchdown. Denver also ran it 40 times for 138 yards.

That's putting a sledgehammer to a defense, which hurts -- instead of slamming each other, which the Broncos did last week.

During their loss to the Chargers last week, receiver Brandon Marshall confronted running back Knowshon Moreno after he fumbled at the goal line. Players brushed it off as a heat-of-the-moment incident.

But when you lose four consecutive games, it becomes magnified. Some theorized it was the end of the Broncos' magical run, a good start gone to waste. They were coming undone.

Did the meeting help turn that around? Did something so trivial really work?

"I think it helped," Dawkins said.

Maybe some, but once you hit the field it's more about blocking, tackling and moving the football. Get hit in the mouth once and all that stuff goes away.

I've never believed in coach-speak, or bulletin-board material impacting a game. But if they think it helped, let them believe it.

"Anytime you can get guys talking to each other about what's going on or what is going wrong it's a good thing," Holliday said. "I think it was something that we needed."

So it worked?

"I would say yes," Holliday said.

If they can make a playoff run the rest of the way, maybe what was said in that meeting will become part of Broncos lore, like their win-one-for-the-Gipper moment.

Of course, what happened in that meeting will stay in that meeting.

Remember never to break the locker-room code.

What meeting?