Orange Colored Glasses – Denver Broncos vs. Pittsburgh Steelers preview
You never know where you’ll find a fellow sports fan. I, for one, found the writer of ‘Orange Colored Glasses’, John Krischel, on Twitter – @mtokBronco. Mr. Krischel, a self-proclaimed die-hard Denver Bronco fan has agreed to share his love of all things orange and blue with the world right here on www.freelantzsports.com and I am glad to provide such an avenue for his thoughts. So, welcome to his rants and raves!
Seriously though, the Broncos are my obsession, when I watch them, Animotion starts playing in my head. I started watching them when I was 7 years of age and that was B.E. Think about it dear reader, B.E., if you have ever watching the Broncos from 1983 till 1998, you’ll know who I’m talking about. I rooted for Craig Morton for crying out loud. So with that being said, read on if you dare….enter the mind of a Bronco fan, don’t be scared, it’s ok, I’ll try not to hurt you.
The Denver Broncos play the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday, November 9, 2009 on Monday Night Football. The Broncos enter this tilt with a record of 6-1 and the Steelers are 5-2 and coming off of a bye week. Currently the Steelers are a 3.5 favorite over the Broncos, IN DENVER.
Ok, let’s first talk about that.
The Broncos did just lose their last game 30-7 to the Baltimore Ravens, but if anyone watched that game, the 1985 Bears would have had a hard time beating that team that day. The Ravens were like O.J. spying Nicole talking to a waiter at his old house, full of rage and ready to kill. Not many teams would’ve beaten them that day.
Combined, the win loss record of the teams Denver has beaten is 22-22 - not bad at all - so to say they have played a weak schedule is ludicrous. *point of fact, undefeated Indy’s win loss record of teams they have beaten is 17-33* So to those naysayers that believe Denver hasn’t played anyone, they can all go jump off a cliff – to put it nicely.
So, with that being said, how is it that Denver is a 3.5 dog AT HOME??? Steelers have beaten a couple of nice teams, the Vikings and ummm, yeah that’s it, the Vikings are the ONLY team the Steelers have beaten with a winning record. Not to compare wins and losses, but when the other teams you have beaten are the Titans, Chargers, Lions and Browns, HOW in the H-E double hockey sticks is Denver a 3.5 underdog at home? Is it because the mighty Steel Curtain won the superbowl….last year?
To quote the disaffected youth….WHATEVER.
Denver is a good team, they have proved it this year. No team is going to go undefeated, so to say that last week’s 30-7 loss showed who this team really is…they need to get a part in this movie. Do I think we are a superbowl team? I wear orange colored sunglasses, but I’m not crazy.
We are good enough to defend our turf at home. Denver will prove that on Monday night.
Denver offense vs. Pittsburgh defense
Statistically speaking, Denver is 14th in the NFL on offense. Not great, but not bad either. In contrast, Pitt’s D is 8th in the NFL. Breaking it down further, Pitt is 16th in the NFL vs. the Pass and Denver is 16th in pass efficiency.
So who has the edge?
Neither - if you look at stats - but I think Brandon Marshall against any of the Pittsburgh secondary members is a distinct advantage for the men in blue and orange. Sure Troy Polamalu is a complete stud, but I don’t think he can cover Marshall one on one. Pittsburgh is going to have to roll Polamalu over on to Brandon’s side, so if there was a time for Tony Scheffler or Eddie Royal to show up, the time is now.
Especially Eddie - I don’t know what happened to him, if it’s the new offense or what, but Eddie is not Eddie this year. Royal had over 90 catches last year, this year he is on pace for over 30 catches. If Eddie can get on track, Denver can be a force on offense.
The real problem is the Pittsburgh pass rush. Anytime you are plugging the middle with Casey Hampton and bringing James Farrior and James Harrison on the outside is the real issue. Well, that and Dick Lebeau, since he is the master of disguising blitzing. The offensive line is going to have to have a HUGE game this week, especially after last week’s debacle. Ryan Harris is also out for Denver this week with a bum toe. Tyler Polumbus is going to take over for him this week and he will have his hands full.
I expect a lot of screens (as usual) to try and offset this blitz and get the ball out of Kyle Orton’s hands fast so the vaunted Steeler pass rush won’t decapitate ole Neck Beard. Ben Hamilton has to have a better game this week as well, last week was the worst I have seen Ben play in a long, long time.
Basically, it boils down to this, if we can give Orton some time, I believe Denver can find some holes in the Pittsburgh secondary. That is easier said than done obviously, since Pittsburgh is an animal on the pass rushing scene.
Of course, you could always say, why doesn’t Denver just run? Well, that might be easier said than done, after all, Denver is 11th in rushing and Pittsburgh is #1 against the run, only giving up 76.6 yards a game. Sure, Denver is going to have to run, but running alone isn’t going to do it for this game.
Knowshon Moreno CANNOT fumble this game. Turnovers are going to be a huge key (and water is wet, duh) in this game and we cannot afford any rookie mistakes. If Denver can get 100 yards rushing this game, we will win, mark it down…not backing down from that statement. Of course, I don’t see that happening. I’m somewhat a realist, I mean somewhat; I even predicted Denver would lose last week. Me - with the sunglasses of orange.
Anyway, I say the Steelers have the slight advantage here, just because Denver’s O line played so horribly last week. If they don’t let Neck Beard Orton get killed, we might be able to break a few big plays on them.
Pittsburgh offense vs. Denver defense
You think of Denver, you usually don’t think of defense, at least in the last four years you don’t. This year is a different story.
With Mike Nolan calling the shots and only two starters coming back from last year’s defense, Denver is for real on the defensive side of the ball. Pittsburgh is solid on offense conversely, they are ranked 6th in total offense this year and Denver is #1 on defense overall, thus far.
I don’t think there is any need to bore you all with the grimey details, it’s like this - Pittsburgh isn’t a running team anymore. Sure, Rashard Mendenhall has had some good games since becoming a starter, but it wasn’t exactly against all star teams. He has only broken 100 yards once against an anemic San Diego Charger defense.
It’s all about Big Ben and stopping him. What concerns me is last week. Joe Flacco is a strong, big quarterback who moves just enough not to get sacked and Denver’s defensive linemen and linebackers couldn’t seem to hold on to him. There were many opportunities to bring Flacco down, but he slipped away. Denver HAS to convert those sacks this week.
Big Ben is so big and strong, you can’t just arm tackle the beast, you actually have to wrap him up and make sure he goes down. If Denver can get to Ben and disrupt him, Denver is going to win this game, no doubt about it. If Ben gets away and manages to evade the sacks and passes for a lot of yards, Denver is going to lose.
Also, today November 6, 2009, the Broncos signed 35 year old cornerback Ty Law. With this move, the top five Bronco defensive backs are an average age of 32.6 years. WOW. I mean, I’m a little older than that, but I also don’t play football for a profession. Either the Broncos aren’t very happy with Alphonso Smith’s progression as a rookie (remember, the Broncos gave up a first round pick for this dude, hopefully he’s not a bust) or Ty Law has found the fountain of youth. Does this acquisition make Denver better on defense, who knows…. Can it hurt? Doubt it. But does it make us that much better? Doubt it. I call it a wash, at least he won’t get lost like Alphonso looks out there.
I’m not blowing anyone’s minds with this analysis, I realize that, but it’s pretty simple, if Denver can slow down Big Ben, Denver wins….Elvis Dumervil, I’m talking to you. We need to hear the crowd say DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM about 3 times. It will probably help that Denver is playing at home also. I mean, Denver was getting MAULED by the Raven’s offensive line last week, but rarely were they called for the holding call and a little home cooking should help remedy that.
Advantage, Denver I suppose, although neither team is that much more dominant than the other.
Special Teams vs Special Teams
I’d say with Eddie Royal returning punts and if Matt Prater has his head screwed on straight, Denver has the advantage here. Jeff Reed is too busy getting in trouble with the police lately, anyway. Besides, look at his picture, tell me he doesn’t look like a gigantic D.B.??? The Steelers should lose just on how Jeff Reed looks. I’m surprised he doesn’t wear a shirt that talks about his being a F.B.I. agent.
Advantage Denver.
Based upon the intangibles of coming off a humiliating defeat on the road and playing at home, plus what was talked about above, I think the boys in blue and orange can squeak out another close game, 24-20.
Mark it down, because I’m rarely wrong…until next time, keep it orange!
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