The Broncos are entering this weekend’s game against Tampa Bay 3-1, fresh off the team’s first loss of the season. The Buccaneers are also 3-1, but Tampa has put together three straight wins following the team’s opening weekend loss against New Orleans. Both teams have taken different routes to get where they are a quarter through the NFL season, but to each team Sunday’s showdown is critical in keeping their productive starts going.
Denver will attempt to rebound and collect some of its early season momentum while Tampa will try and keep its winning steak alive. Regardless of what each team has done up to this point, both know a 4-1 start is better than a 3-2 one.
Jay Cutler said every game comes down to preparation and execution.
“It is a chess match,” Cutler said. “Each and every game is and all season long is about how you can arrange, adjust and tweak things.”
The Broncos will face a well-rounded Bucs squad. Tampa Bay is efficient on both sides of the football with its offense at 11th in the NFL in points scored offensively and its defense at 11th in fewest points given up.
Head Coach Mike Shanahan said that Tampa Bay’s offensive is both productive and balanced.
“Offensively, they have some good balance, both in the running game and the passing game,” he said. They are in the top 10 in both areas. Their starter (running back Earnest Graham) is averaging 5.9 yards per rushing attempt, so they are doing some good things.”
The same can be said for the Buccaneers’ defense.
“Last year they were (ranked) second (in the NFL),” Shanahan said. “They are consistently one of the best defenses in the National Football League. I think they were third in turnovers (forced) last year. (Last week) Green Bay had 180 yards of total offense, had eight first downs, averaged 1.8 yards per rushing attempt and I think we all know what type of offense Green Bay has. It’s a very good football team on defense.”
Tampa Bay has been one of the leagues top defenses for quite some time. The Bucs have been a top five defense four out of the previous five seasons. Cutler said he knows this weekend the Broncos offense will be tested by Tampa’s defense.
“We have been talking about how they are one of the best defenses in the NFL for a long time,” he said. “Monte Kiffin is one of the best defensive coordinators out there. They are extremely sound, and you don’t see a lot of bust on that defense. They are extremely fast, they react to the ball well and they read the quarterbacks eyes. They are getting a lot of turnovers, and that is one thing that killed us last week. This week we will put more of an emphasis on it.”
The Broncos gave up a season-high four turnovers last weekend at Kansas City and Daniel Graham said they must avoid those same kinds of takeaways this week.
“You have to be careful,” he said. They have playmakers back there that will make plays. We have to be sound on our offense. We have to be in the right spot every time. Little mistakes will turn into turnovers and we know that we can’t turn the ball over if we expect to win this week.”
Both the Broncos and the Buccaneers have potent offensive attacks. Denver is first in the NFL in yards per contest and the Tampa Bay isn’t far behind with the seventh most in the league. Given the track records of both teams this season their offenses will come out firing and both defenses are focused on limiting offensive production. Marlon McCree said the Broncos defense has been improving each week, albeit not as much as they have been hoping for, but this week is another opportunity to improve and correct mistakes.
“It is baby steps,” he said. “It is not what our fans want, obviously what we want is to have had taken bigger strides. We put on the tape this morning and we saw four plays where (Larry Johnson) got over 100 yards. Those are little, little things, it is not like we were blown off the ball or just out manned or out matched. That is encouraging knowing that it is correctable and that we can improve.”
The Broncos know Tampa Bay will be bringing all its weapons to INVESCO Field at Mile High on Sunday and that they will be as hungry for a 4-1 start as the Broncos will be.
“This team can do anything,” McCree said. “They threw the ball almost 60 times last week and didn’t give up one sack. They also have a very explosive running game. They are a big challenge for us, they are 3-1 and we have to be ready.”
-Jake Grilley, DenverBroncos.com
Tags: Daniel Graham, Jake Grilley, Jay Cutler, Marlon McCree, Mike Shanahan, Tampa Bay Buccanners
i love the broncs but r d is the last in the nfl when have we ever been thw worst d in the nfl (32)
This game will truly be a stiff challenge for the Broncos, but they’ll be fine if they don’t turn the ball over. I see this one going to the wire, and I think we’ll be 4-1 once the smoke clears. Hopefully, we force a couple of turnovers ourselves.
I think if we can stop the run early and force Griese to throw and get some pressure on him, we’ll be able to get some turnovers ourselves. I also think that we need to watch out for the deep ball. We’ve been getting kinda beat with that a few times already. Jay also needs to settle down and get comfortable right away in the game. I think that this game will be a great one.
the broncos play well when they get off to a fast start so jay needs to come out hitting on all cylinders. that will get the crowd into it and the team into it. last week we got off to a slow start with the fumble and never got going. stick with j williams at nickel he will get better and blitz blitz blitz this team.
We are definately going to need Elvis in the house on Sunday. I’m counting on Dr. Doom to put some pressure on Griese. I gotta believe that Champ and Dre are going to have ample opportunities to pluck a few interceptions.
Let’s go Broncs!!
I just want the D to remember this weekend that Brian Griese throws Interceptions!
Go Get ‘em!
Lets silence the critics
Its time to show that last week was a fluke.
We shot ourselves in the foot with all those turnovers, and its time to shine.
B-Marsh=UNSTOPABLE
get em BoyS!!!!!!!!!!!!
4-1
DdK
Denver is a good team and I think they have good talent on each side of the ball. That said, a lot of the quotes from players/coaches this year regarding the defense sound remarkably similar to the quotes from players/coaches last year regarding the defense. I don’t want to hear about “things that can be corrected” or “getting this thing right” or “we have a lot of talent on defense” when they are ranked last in the league. I would like to hear them stop talking completely until they actually do it on the field. Play a complete game and stop giving up 30 pts per. Regardless of the circumstances they’re placed in during the game, good defenses step up and get it done. Until then, I wish they would be less talkative.
This is going to be a tough game but I think we can come out on top. We have to get some pressure on Griese. We all know what happens we he gets pressured. I told my brother (who is a Bucs fan) that he is good for an int or 2 especially in the redzone. I do think the defense is better than we were last year. I was at the game last week in KC and I too have been saying the same thing about LJ’s big day. He had a 65 yarder in the 1st quarter, a 17 yarder in the 2nd quarter, an 18 yarder in the 3rd quarter and that back-breaking 30+ yarder late in the 4th. That is 130 yards on 4 carries. The rest of the time he was so freaking bottled up. On that long one I believe it was Winborn that was out of place. Nate put several big hits on him and so did Boss and Champ (who flipped him and made him fumble). We didn’t pressure Huard and he made smart plays off our turnovers. All of there first half score came on short fields after turnovers. I think the went over 70 yards twice for a TD. The D held them to 2 fgs, a missed fg and then the TD right before the half where there only needed 3 yards for the score.
Now granted these guys have to get some pressure on the QB because even Champ looks pretty regular when the QB has all day to pass the ball. Another thing I noticed is Jack Williams lined up against Bowe on 3rd ad long situations while Champ and Dre stayed on the other side of the field covering Darling and some other nobody that plays for the Chiefs. Huard hit Bowe for 1st downs almost everytime. I figure Champ is out best cover guy so he should be on the best reciever. bronco1263 another thing about the quotes sounding the same. Last year we had a horrible record and this year we are at the top of our division. Big big difference. We will get it corrected!!!