Broncos vs Colts preview

The Broncos have their hands full this week; in more ways than one. To start, my condolences go out to Kenny McKinley’s friends and family. Tragic. Not only do the Broncos have to deal with the death of their teammate, but they also have to deal with the Indianapolis Colts, whom they haven’t legitimately beaten since October 3rd 1993. Denver’s last two wins vs Indianapolis were in 2003 and 2004, which both games were thrown by the Colts so they could prepare for the playoffs. Peyton Manning is 7-2 vs Denver (including those 2 meaningless games). How can Denver win this Sunday? Keep Peyton Manning off the field. That means converting on 3rd down by running the ball and spreading the ball evenly on offense through the air, keeping Indianapolis off balance defensively. Indianapolis is very good on defense with all star pass-rushers Rashean Mathis and Dwight Freeney. Ryan Clady should be able to neutralize Freeney on the left side, however we might have issues on the right side with Ryan Harris unable to play due to injury. Facing Mathis might be too much for rookie Zane Beadles, so Denver must line up in the “bunch” formation utilizing Daniel Graham and Spencer Larson to help block these monsters. If the Broncos expect to score points we must keep Kyle Orton’s jersey as clean as possible. One thing Denver can lean on is the fact that Kyle is 1st in the NFL in QB rating on 3rd down (138.3) with 2 TD’s, a completion percentage of 73.7, and 181 yards. He is 8th in the NFL in winning percentage among active starting NFL Quarterbacks with at least 40 starts (30-20, winning pct .600). Cutler is not on that list. Defensively, Denver must create a pass rush. Robert Ayers must produce. He has shown improvement but must continue to wreak havoc in the pocket. Denver must find a way to hit Peyton Manning, considering the fact cornerbacks Andre Goodman and Champ Bailey are banged up. If they are unable to play, it will be up to rookie cornerbacks Perrish Cox, Syd ‘Quan Thompson, Cassius Vaughn, and veteran corner Nate Jones. Peyton Manning has a history of torching rookie cornerbacks and torching the Broncos so if Bailey and Goodman can’t go, it will be extremely difficult to win. In order to win this game, I come back to the fact that Denver must keep Peyton Manning off of the field as much as possible, not just by converting on 3rd down, but also through special teams; similar to how the Saints onside kicked in the Super Bowl. To win this game it’s going to mean taking risks like aggressive blitzes and onside kicks for chance to get the football back in Orton’s hands. For the sake of being positive I’ll mention some good historical stats, but honestly they have no bearing on this game! Since 1996, Denver is 1st in the NFL in the 1st month of the season with a record of 39-15 (ironically, Indianapolis is 2nd at 33-16). Since 2002, the Broncos are 14-1 at home in September (our one loss was vs Jacksonville on September 23rd, 2007).