At last, the regular season is here. It should be an interesting one.
I’m not sure anyone really knows how to evaluate the pre-season outside the coaching staff. It seems as if the Broncos made progress and took steps forward. It is time to find out.
Going into the pre-season, I was as interested in seeing how this Broncos team came together as I’ve been in a long time. Now that the regular season is here, I’m even more interested to see how good this team is.
I still believe what I believed heading into training camp: The Broncos are a good, solid football team. There is certainly plenty of room for improvement and if they make that improvement, the Broncos could be better than a good, solid football team. I believe they have that kind of talent, but only time will tell how good they are.
Here are some thoughts on the season that is upon us:
THE MAN. Without a doubt, his name is Jay Cutler. Cutler is poised to take some major steps forward and I think he will. I believe the Broncos will, first and foremost, rely on him. While I think the Broncos’ running game will be fine, it wouldn’t surprise me at all to see them use the pass to set up the run, which would be a departure from the way they have done things.
Think back to the draft three years ago when Cutler, Matt Leinart and Vince Young came out of college. The way things stand now, the Broncos got the best of the group. I think Cutler will show that even more in 2008. Young has not shown himself to be a consistent passer and Leinart, at least for now, hasn’t been able to win Arizona’s starting job over an aging Kurt Warner.
THE OTHER MAN. His name is Brandon Marshall. He is poised to become one of the most productive receivers in the NFL. And I think he’ll take big-time steps in that direction. Remember, former Broncos’ great Rod Smith said during training camp that Marshall could be the best receiver the organization has ever had. The Cutler-Marshall combo should have a huge year and the Broncos will need it.
THE RELIABLE. Cornerback Champ Bailey. Need we say more?
THE QUESTION MARK. The defensive line. If this unit proves to be tough, stout and a force, the Broncos defense could be really good. If this unit has trouble figuring things out, it could be frustrating to watch the Broncos this year. So much of a defense’s success hinges on the defensive line. Those guys are the first line of attack against the run. Those guys can throw an offense into chaos by getting consistent pressure on the quarterback.
The Broncos took a step in the right direction when they acquired defensive tackle DeWayne Robertson during the off-season. He needs to stay healthy. And guys like Marcus Thomas, Jarvis Moss and Tim Crowder have to raise their levels of play. No doubt it takes some time for defensive linemen to develop; the Broncos have to hope these guys are on the fast track.
THE OVERLOOKED. The tight end position. Coach Mike Shanahan has sung the praises of tight ends Daniel Graham, Tony Scheffler and Nate Jackson. Graham is the best blocker of the three, Scheffler is likely the best receiver and Jackson has shown to be versatile. I’d love to see these guys get a major role in the offense.
THE SECRET WEAPON. Actually, it’s the secret weapons. Kicker Matt Prater has done a terrific job putting kickoffs in the end zone for touchbacks in the pre-season. He can really help the special teams and the defense if he continues to do this.
On returns, the Broncos need to get production out of Eddie Royal. He has the moves, he has the speed. Now he has to get it done when it counts.
The Broncos have talent, they also have questions to answer. If they answer those successfully, they could find themselves in pretty good shape at the end of the season.
How well do you think the Broncos will do this year? Feel free to offer your thoughts below.
Enjoy the first weekend of the season. I’ll check in after the Raiders game.
Thanks for reading,
Mike
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I believe 11-5 is obtainable, but 10-6 can be done. The Broncos are a solid team and after what happened to Brady, and how the Colts were manhandled, the AFC has got to be wide open. If we beat the Raiders, we lead the division and we’ll see what happens from there.
Did you ever have those years where you say to yourself “Man, we’re going to be good!” then it doesn’t happen.
Well, I mean it this year. I thinK we’ve answered the questions we had to in order to compete for a championship. Who would of ever thought that the team that played the best all around football thus far was the Bears. WHAT! and guess what their record was laste year?????????? YEP 7 – 9….Kind of ironic huh? Brady is gone, Indy has got major holes. Did San Diego scare you yesterday? Not after losing at home to Carolina. How about KC? to young……Jacksonville goes down to Tennessee…….GUYS THE AFC COULD BE OURS IF WE PLAY THE WAY WE KNOW WE CAN!
I’ll say it now, Denver – Chicago Super Bowl……..
GO GET EM’ BOYS!
Ok, let’s not go overboard here… Regarding the Broncos or the Bears. The Broncos look to be a much improved team over last year. With good injury luck, 10-6 or MAYBE 11-5 could happen… If these improvements carry on into the regular season. But I feel like 9-7 might be the most realistic projection. Remember, on papaer, it looked like we had made significant improvements last year too. And we all know how that turned out. The O-line, with their inexperienced bookends (and missing the cornerstone that is Nalen) have to show that they can hold up against actual defensive game planning and blitzing, two things you practically never see in the preseason. The Running Backs have to get it done and stay healthy. Dewayne Robertson has to get back closer to the form that made him the #6 overall pick, and stay away from the form that made him expendable for a day two pick. The 2nd year guys on the D-Line have to, absolutely have to step up their game. I’ve seen good things from Thomas (who I love, and expect to develop into a pro bowl level DT) and Crowder. Moss has shown less, but if he can play all season he could do good things. One of the young guys has to beat out Engelberger for the starting spot at some point this season. As long as we have a “run-oriented” DE starting who can’t actually catch most RB’s, we are in serious trouble. Either of the drifters that we’re touting as MLB’s have to turn out to be good enough to get us through draft day next year. Boss has to show that he can stay healthy, and that he’s better than he ever showed me while he was in Detroit. At this point, our second best linebacker (Woodyard) will almost never see the field, because he’s backing up our best linebacker. Our Safety position is an embarassment, in my opinion. And sadly, in terms of on the field production, it got better by losing Lynch. The special teams cannot play like they have for the past few seasons. We need to tackle better, we need to return better. If Prater can keep getting the touchbacks on kickoffs, that helps a lot. If Kern can speed up his motion to prevent blocks, that would be great, too.
As for the Bears… They absolutely rolled the Colts. Just keep it in perspective. Jeff Sturday is out, Manning hadn’t played in 8 months, Addai got what sounds like a concussion, no matter what Dungy says. Dallas Clark went out really early. And while Indy’s defense was inexplicably awesome last year, I’m willing to bet that was an aberration, and they drift more towards the middle/lower ranks where they’ve been for most of the last decade.
it’s now Tuesday morning and I feel even more comfortable about my post than before kickoff when I wrote it…
Dave, great points though
I feel where you’re coming from. I just truely believe it’s one of those years. One of those years!
GO GET EM’ BOYS!
Many improvements were made in the defense this off season. But thats on paper. Hopefully it will translate onto the field too. I not I think the early rounds of next years draft should be spent on the defense.