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).

The Rockies are in great shape right now. It's their favorite time of the year and they find themselves 4.5 games back from leading the NL West and 5 games back from leading the wild card. Ubaldo Jimenez finally got his 1st win since the all star break, bringing his total to 18 (1st in the National league, 2nd in the majors). After so many bailouts from Ubaldo early on in the season, Colorado's bats were able to return the favor yesterday vs the Reds, with 10 unanswered runs spanning from the bottom of the 3rd inning through the 7th inning, propelling Colorado to a 10-5 win.15 of Colorado's remaining 25 games are at home, which is a good sign since they are 44-22 at home up to this point in the season, 4th best in baseball. Carlos Gonzalez continues to play lights out with a .340 batting average (1st in the National league, 2nd in all of baseball), 31 home runs (5th in the National league), and 97 RBI's (3rd in the National league), which makes all Colorado fans forget about Matt Holliday. The Rockies currently are tied for 3rd in the National league in total runs this season with 645. This time last year the Rockies were 78-60 which is 5 games better than where they stand today. This means the Rockies must keep their bats going and continue not to leave games up to the bullpen. I like the Rockies' bullpen but they don't seem as strong as last year. The only positive has been Manny Corpas not blowing games. I'm sorry Manny, I hope you get better soon from your injury but with you not playing, it is simply addition by subtraction. Street had 35 saves last year, whereas up to this point in 2010 his save total is at 15, with many other opportunities left on the table. The season is far from over, and it looks like the Rockies' best hope for a postseason birth is going to be winning their 1st division championship in franchise history. And from the looks of San Diego losing 10 of their last 11, they aren't the team to worry about; it's San Francisco.

Final Preseason analysis

Finally, the 2010 NFL season is ready to start. The Broncos made their final cuts this past weekend and the 53-man roster is in tact. I was surprised by some of the cuts and other moves made. Lets start with Jarvis Green, who never played a down in Denver. Green signed a 4 year, $20 million deal on March 9, 2010, only to be released September 4th, of this year. Obviously McDaniels saw something great in Green in order to sign him, but what changed from March until September? The Green signing was a waste of time and money. The only positive thing I see from the Green signing was the emergence of Ryan McBean who eventually beat him out on the defensive line. One would have to think McBean would've stepped his game up with or without competing with Green for the starting roll. Alfonso Smith, who was acquired in 2009 in exchange for a 2010 1st round pick, was just traded to Detroit in exchange for tight end Dan Gronkowski, who originally was a 7th round draft pick. Green and Smith are two glaring examples where McDaniels failed to evaluate talent, which was why Mike Shanahan was fired at the end of 2008. Much like Shanahan, McDaniels has proven to be a great head coach and play caller, but he still has yet to convince me he knows how to evaluate and draft quality players. Last year's draft was a not good, drafting the likes of Alfonso Smith (no longer on the team), Richard Quinn (3rd string tight end), Tom Brandstater (no longer on the team), Robert Ayers (showing improvement), and Knowshon Moreno (wore down toward the end of the 2009 season). Until proven otherwise, David Bruton was the best player to come out of the 2009 draft. He is a promising safety who is great on special teams and gives us great depth in the secondary.
To McDaniels' credit, this year's draft was much better however none of these players have taken an NFL regular season snap. I love cornerbacks Perrish Cox and Syd'Quan Thompson. Both had a great preseason and if they play at that same level this regular season we have two great young corners to look forward to. Offensive linemen Zane Beadles and JD Walton also look very good. I was a little surprised to see them both take the majority of the snaps all 4 preseason games. If they play through all 16 games this regular season, they will have played 20 games in one season, which is unheard of for offensive linemen; at least since Ryan Clady did it in 2008. Wide receiver Eric Decker looked very good in the preseason and I look for him to be on Orton's radar all season. Eric Decker actually led the NFL this preseason with 16 catches. Demaryius Thomas has the build of a dominant receiver but he's been injured since Denver drafted him so I am not yet excited about him. And yes, Tebow showed flashes of greatness in the preseason, but he was playing against 2nd string defenses most of the time. He looked like a typical rookie at times against these 2nd stringers as well. I am excited for the potential Tebow has. He has a great attitude, he's physically gifted, and he has great coaching. Hopefully he will be patient learning from the sidelines until 2012.

Recovering Broncos

The Broncos’ offense seems to be coming around. Kyle Orton is the symbol of stability and it seems like most of the players are healing from their injuries. I am pretty happy with rookie left guard Zane Beadles and rookie center JD Walton on the offensive line. They have played most of the preseason games at Cincinnati and vs Detroit and didn’t look too bad. Sure, at times in the Detroit game there were hurries and sacks allowed but Denver’s two best blockers Daniel Graham and Ryan Clady weren’t in action to block Pro Bowl defensive lineman Kyle Vanden Bosh and 2nd overall pick Ndamukong Suh. Pass protection shouldn’t be a problem with Denver this year. I am more concerned with run-blocking on the offensive line. Part of that should be fixed with Denver completely going away from zone blocking to the power blocking scheme. This should make it easier for Knowshon Moreno, Correll Buckhalter, and LeDale White to gain yards.
Today, I heard news of Eddie Royal being used as a slot receiver. I think it’s a great move. He’s the best route runner on the team and he can make huge plays from short passes. We know Jabar Gaffney will be Orton’s #1 receiver but #2 is still up in the air. Demaryius Thomas was drafted to make up for the loss of Brandon Marshall but he seems to keep re-aggravating his foot injury and now appears to have a stress fracture. I predict either Eric Decker or Brandon Lloyd will take the #2 spot opposite Jabar Gaffney. We will see. So far it looks like Denver’s diamond in the rough is tight end Marquez Branson. The undrafted free agent out of Central Arkansas has looked good in preseason games so far! (3 catches for 20 yards and a touchdown vs Detroit). I am just thrilled to see signs the Broncos are healing and appear primed for the regular season in a few weeks.

True "Wild" card team

It is that time of year again. When the Rockies have slacked off much of the season and pull it together when it matters (kind of how Shaq used to in his prime). The Rockies once again have proven they can beat any team at Coors Field. Their home record to date is 41-20 (2nd in major league baseball), but no one has ever questioned the Rockies at home. Their road record is a pitiful 25-40 (tied for 9th worst in baseball). Surprisingly, the Rockies have the same road record as the Kansas City Royals! Whether the Rockies make the playoffs or not, they will look back on this season and see not one road trip going .500 or better. This makes me glad I never vacationed to see the Rockies play on the road this season. I will assume they correct their mistakes on the road and I will proudly represent the purple and black somewhere away from Coors next season.
All hope is not lost for Colorado this year. The Rockies are on a 4-game win-streak and are only 4 games back from the wild card spot at 66-60. The Rockies have little room for error from now until the end of the season. Granted, they don’t necessarily have to win 21 out of 22 but they have to play much better baseball on the road. This time last year the Rockies led the wildcard with a 72-54 record but on the road they were 36-30! Of the 36 games remaining in the season, Colorado plays 19 games at home, leaving 17 road games. If the Rockies plan on making the playoffs they must play stellar on the road winning at least 14 of their remaining 17, and continue to win at home, taking at least 12 of their remaining 19 games. If the Rockies can manage to win 26 of their remaining 36 games they will make the playoffs. The Rockies must find consistency in their bats like they have during this win streak. Carlos Gonzalez and Troy Tulowitzki cannot carry the team by themselves. The Rockies need continued production from Dexter Fowler and Todd Helton, as well as Ian Stewart and Seth Smith. The bullpen must be able to close out games. Huston Street has saved 2 straight games after coming out of his rut, and Joe Beimel has played very consistent lately. Rafael Betancourt disappointed me Monday night when he let the Braves back in it in the 9th inning. If Tracy leaves Manny Corpas on the bench and the bullpen consistently closes out games, the Rockies should be in great shape for October.

Elvis Out

Losing Dumervil last week in training camp obviously hurts the Broncos. Although Dumervil is Denver’s best player, all hope is not lost for the 2010 season. Josh McDaniels has built the Broncos on the philosophy of all players performing as a team, not relying on one player or super star to win. This exact philosophy is about to be put to the test. As long as Robert Ayers steps up Denver should be fine. Without Dumervil, Denver's linebackers consist of guys like DJ Williams, Wesley Woodyard, Mario Haggan, Jarvis Moss, Darrell Reid, and Spencer Larson. Since DJ Williams has played all linebacker positions with Denver, maybe Coach Martindale should consider moving him back on the outside and start Spencer Larson in the middle. Denver could also help themselves by signing Adalius Thomas to a one-year deal to fill the void left by Dumervil. Sure Adalius doesn't rush the quarterback like Dumervil but he would sure help relieve some of the pressure off the rest of the linebackers. Plus he used to play in New England with Josh McDaniels and he is a very versatile linebacker/defensive lineman hybrid similar to what Dumervil is, just not as good. Denver also has hope because our front 3 defensive linemen are all proven veterans in Justin Bannan, Jamal Williams, and Jarvis Green. Our depth is solid in our front 3 with Ryan McBean, Ronald Fields, Marcus Thomas, and LeKevin Smith backing them up. In years’ past our defensive line has traditionally worn down toward the end of the season, so not only will these guys be ready for a 16-game regular season, they also make our linebackers’ jobs easier despite the loss of Dumervil. With a strong defensive front 7 that should make our secondary’s job easier as well. Future Hall of Famers Champ Bailey and Brian Dawkins will be impactful as usual, along with roll players Andre Goodman and Renaldo Hill bringing consistency to the secondary. I really like rookie Perrish Cox. He already seems more impressive than 2nd round pick Alfonso Smith whom we traded a 1st round pick to Seattle in exchange for. Now we have the defense covered I will cover our young, up and coming offense later this week.
It’s amusing how most of the national media predicts a 6-10 season for the Broncos after news of Dumervil’s injury. They predicted a similar outcome after we lost Jay Cutler, yet we still managed to go 8-8 last year. In reality, looking at the Broncos’ schedule we play 6 games vs the AFC West (otherwise known as the AFC Worst) with a combined record of 22-26 last year. Granted, each team in our division will be improved, but so should the Broncos. I expect 3-4 wins out of our 6 games vs the AFC West. Denver also faces the weak NFC West which had a combined record of 24-40 last year. The NFC West is clearly in rebuilding mode with Seattle changing coaches/regimes, Arizona losing their future Hall of Fame QB Kurt Warner, and St Louis, is well.. St Louis. The team I am most concerned about out of the NFC West is San Francisco. This game is played in London in late October, which will be tough for Denver because of travelling fatigue and they are facing a team that loves to wear down their opponents with the run-game. Coach Singletary made his commitment to the run-game very clear when he drafted 2 offensive linemen in the 1st round of this year’s draft (Mike Iupati and Anthony Davis). Hopefully McDaniels has a plan to stop it or at least contain it. Denver’s clear advantage vs San Francisco is at QB, where all 3 of our QB’s are better and more serviceable than Alex Smith, who’s game is rubbish. Out of the NFC West I am expecting at least 3 wins, which brings our win total just from the AFC West and NFC West to around 6-7 wins. This leaves 6 other games (@Jacksonville, vs Indianapolis, @Tennessee, @Baltimore, vs New York, and vs Houston) to find 2-3 more wins. All hope is not lost in Denver. We should remain competitive.

Floyd Little

Congratulations to Floyd Little for being the third Denver Bronco to be enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame! He deserves it. I obviously wasn't around to see him play but I know he meant a lot to the Denver Broncos. Back in the 1960's the Broncos were terrible and no one cared to attend the games. His nickname was “The Franchise” because he forced the build out of Mile High Stadium and was so exciting to watch he started selling out the stadium and saved the Broncos from relocation. Mile High Stadium sell-outs are a tradition that still lasts to this day. I am on a 5-year waiting list for season tickets to the Denver Broncos. In 1971, Little was the first Bronco to exceed 1,000 yards in a single season, with an NFL-best 1,133 yards that year. In 1972 he was voted “Running back of the Year” by the Professional Football Writers of America. From 1968-1973 he led all of professional football in rushing yards and retired 7th all time in professional football history with 6,323 yards and 54 touchdowns. Little was the first Bronco to have his jersey (44) retired. Although he retired 7th all time, the top 6 ahead of him had already been voted in by the Pro Football Hall of Fame, which was common for pre-merger players of AFL teams. Little finally got his turn this past Saturday when he was enshrined. His hall of fame speech was inspiring. He urged anyone who heard his voice to be a leader in whatever you do; to leave a legacy for your family to be proud of. Floyd Little never gave up; even when odds were against him in his life. 37 years after he played his last game, he still personifies who a true Denver Bronco really is.