So year number two of Josh McDaniels tenure as Broncos head coach and we have our second big trade go down.  Year number one brought us the Jay Cutler trade to Chicago and this year brings us the Brandon Marshall trade to Miami.  I’ll give McDaniels this, he doesn’t mess around, if he thinks you are a problem or potential problem, you are gone.  It’s all about the team and if you are not on board with that, it’s time to go.

Let’s break down the trade a bit.  The Broncos get Miami’s second round pick this year and Miami’s 2011 second round pick.  With Miami’s second rounder this year, the Broncos now have No. 11, No. 43 and No. 45 in the first two days of the draft.  Since the Broncos have Whatshisface (Jabar Gaffney), Old Dude (Stokley) and Eddie (Eddie Royal) left on their roster to catch balls for them, it’s imperative that the Broncos find a replacement for Marshall NOW - not next year, but now since the Broncos are handcuffed at the receiver position. 

Of course, will this matter since we have ole neckbeard (Kyle Orton) still slinging the rock?  I mean I give neckbeard props, he does win, but he’s not the kind of QB who is going to bring you back from a deficit or take over late in a game and put a game away.  He’s simply not that kind of QB, so if you look at it that way, we can have all-pro receivers all over the field, but until we get someone who can sling the rock better, it won’t matter. 

What do you say of Marshall?  I’m not sure, one thing I can tell you is this, he is NOT worth this.  “Marshall and the Dolphins reached agreement Wednesday on a four-year, $47.5 million contract extension that includes $24 million in guaranteed money, according to a league source. The deal includes close to $29 million in the first three years of the contract and makes Marshall the highest paid receiver in NFL history.” (see full story here) 

Everyone talks about Marshall’s catches, but in my humble opinion, catches are the most overrated stat in NFL history.  When you average less than 10 yards a catch, it’s easy to catch those little bubble screens and short come backers.  Look at Wes Welker and his catch total over the past 3 years. Sorry, Wes Welker is NOT that good of a wide receiver because he catches so many balls.  Same with Brandon, he’s good, don’t get me wrong, but he’s not a top five wide receiver in the league. Top 10? Yes, Brandon Marshall is a top 10 receiver in this league. 

Brandon is also one incident away from being suspended by the league for an entire year.  Now, $24 million in guaranteed money, Southbeach and Brandon Marshall go together like a Chinese firecracker.  I smell explosions already and they seem to be coming from the Miami area.  Marshall, in my opinion (obviously not fact) lacks the breakaway speed needed to be a top flight receiver.  His hands are also suspect since he drops some easy balls and also fumbles quite a bit too. 

Do I sound like a typical fan “oh, he sucks now that he isn’t on my team”??  Sure, maybe, but I’ve always thought that about Brandon.  He has so many positives, but he also has so many negatives that are off the field issues.  He is one incident away from a year long suspension by the NFL.  He has a history of violence against women and not being able to stay away from the “bad influences”.  His cousin and he were the ones that caused the Darrent Williams incident.  He almost cut his hand off while horsing around with his cousin.  He quit on his team at the end of the 2009 season after he reached his personal goals.  He quit on his team in practice because he was mad he didn’t get a big contract at the start of the 2009 training camp.  Should I go on, or do you see the point?  Brandon has a $24 million dollar body and a 10 cent head. 

Will Tony Sparano be able to control him?  Maybe, it’s going to take a very authoritarian coach to deal with Brandon because he is like the spoiled child who needs all the attention in order to stay out of trouble.  Bill Parcells, who is running the show in Miami, does have a great football mind.  Maybe he is right?  Maybe Brandon is worth all the headaches.  That is yet to be seen, at this point, Denver no longer has to worry about Brandon and his issues.  For that, I am grateful.  Every day you wake up as a Bronco fan and hold your breath hoping there wasn’t some issue with Brandon. 

Now we shift our focus to the draft and building a team for the future.  With so many draft picks this year and a deep draft, the Broncos can build a team that can compete now and in the future.  Who will Denver take at #11 now? 

Some say Dez Bryant since we do not have a top-tier wide receiver.  Others disagree, saying Dez is Brandon Marshall (head-case wise) minus the known quantity of him being a good NFL player.  I say the off the field issues with Dez are overblown April talk.  Usually in April, teams start leaking “stories” to try to get players to fall to them, it happens every year.  This year, it’s Dez’s turn to be part of that.  If teams look at his on the field play and talk to his coaches, I’m sure they have a good idea of who Dez the player is. 

Others say Denver might take Florida center Maurkice Pouncey.  This is probably the safest of the picks since Denver doesn’t have a legitimate center on their team anymore.  Supposedly Pouncey is a sure-fire NFL ready center.  This draft is deep with O-linemen, so maybe we take a skill position player and get our O-line later in the draft.  Who knows, McDaniels and the rest of the Broncos are keeping a tight lip and nothing is going to slip.

Let’s hope 2011 doesn’t bring the drama the 2009 and the 2010 off-season has.  I just want a nice quiet off-season for once as a Bronco fan.  Is that too wrong to ask for?  Let’s go Broncos!!!

So as I sit down to write my diatribe on the state of the Denver Broncos, I want to apologize my dear reader (yeah, I said reader, in the singular sense…but I do appreciate that one reader) about not writing last week.  I guess I’m rather hit or miss on my motivation.  Blame it on my upbringing, blame it on my lack of work ethic, blame it on my upbringing, but whatever you do, do NOT blame it on the rain.  I want to apologize to the web master, sorry Jessica, I’m worthless, but hey, at least our Broncos are not worthless. 

After I left them for dead after their loss to the Redskins, the Broncos have decided to start playing some football again.  6-0, 0-4 and 2-0.  I guess that is a sign of an inexperienced team - rather than fold after losing four in a row, the Broncos took it on themselves to turn it around.  In my eyes, that shows class, character and a desire to get better.  There was a players only meeting headed by Brian Dawkins, and after that meeting, Denver decided to not give up and push through the adversity.

Next up in Week 14, the humble heroes in orange and blue will visit the great and mighty Peyton Manning in Lucas Oil Stadium.  Now, the Broncos do not have a great history against the Colts.  Let’s reflect and cry a little:

2002- Colts 23 Broncos 20

2003- Colts 17 Broncos 31

2004 (playoff) – Colts 41 Broncos 10

2005 (Peyton did NOT play) – Colts 14 Broncos 33

2006 – Colts 34 Broncos 31

2007 – Colts 38 Broncos 20

Looking back at this, when it counted, Peyton Manning is the Broncos daddy.  If Peyton says jump, the Broncos say how high.  But wait, John! Broncos won 31 – 17 in 2003, no???  Sure, I’ll give that one a legit W - we thoroughly kicked their posterior, but the Colts made up for that by destroying us in the playoff game later on that year.  We throw 2005 out; Jim Sorgi doesn’t count.  2006 was finally a close game but we still lost and then 2007 was destruction. 

Now we turn to 2009 and the Broncos are coming to town, are the Denver boys and girls scared?  As a player I doubt they are, but as a fan I’m already accepting my fate.  I’m visiting the prison TV series Oz and taking it like a real man would.  The Colts enter this game 12-0 and fresh off a victory over the once hot Titans.  The Broncos enter this game with a record of 8-4 and winning two games in a row. 

The Broncos are basically the last hope, sans a playoff game, for the 1972 Dolphins.  If the Broncos don’t beat the Colts this weekend, there is little hope, based upon the opponents left, that Indy will lose to any of the teams.  The Colts have and easy schedule and to top it off, if the Colts win this weekend, they are guaranteed home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

What can the Broncos do to stop the Colts?  Nothing, plain and simple.

Manning the elder is playing at such a high level that Bill Belichick had the right idea - keep the ball away from Peyton, do NOT give him a chance to beat you.  The only thing you can do is to keep the ball away from Manning, but even then, that doesn’t always work out.  That doesn’t mean you don’t want to run the ball though - you have to keep the ball away from Peyton as much as possible.  The more Peyton has the ball, the more he is dangerous.  I view him as the Predator and us as Jesse “The Body” Ventura. 

We are going to be left an empty shell with our chest cavity exposed.  So should you blitz Peyton so disrupt his timing???  Surely, that’s what you do, I mean, it’s only Peyton, he has happy feet, he is going to make a mistake right???  No he won’t, I believe his stats from this year are just ridiculous versus the blitz.  I can’t think of what they are, but let’s just say they are near perfection.   So you can’t hold the ball from him, you can’t blitz him??? What can you do, nothing really, other than pray deeply!  Seriously, nothing you can do, other than just laugh at it and hope he has a bad game. 

The Colts own us, plain and simple, and I don’t see this week being any different.  With the Colts having the motivation to win home-field advantage throughout, you go over every possible scenario and in every scenario you see the Broncos getting destroyed by the Colts. 

I just can’t go against logic, no matter what my heart says.  In my heart, I think the Broncos pull it out, but in my head, I don’t even see that being possible.  Colts are going to win this big, 37  – 18.  So close up the barn doors and prepare for a butt-whipping of epic proportions. 

Until next time……….

As I write this, I realize something, Denver isn’t as good as I thought they were, nor are they as bad as I thought they were going to be at the beginning of the season.  I believe, like most people, I had Denver putting out a losing record, somewhere along the lines of 4-12 or 5-11, nothing like what they are now. 

After last Mondays debacle I really thought Denver was really bad.  I lamented about it on Twitter, I was called a bandwagon fan after my whining.  Eh, no bandwagon fan, but my self-esteem is so low, that my mood depends on a pro football team.  Is that sad?  I dunno, maybe less sad than not being able to admit it and admittance is the first step. 

With that being said, the Steelers are a really good team, especially with the long-haired crazy man back in the secondary.  The Steelers won the Super Bowl last year and this just in…..they are still REALLY good.  Their offensive line is coming together and with Rashard Mendenhall running the ball now, they have a running game.  Point of fact, they are probably going to go to playoffs and with Indy and New England; they are the favorite to win it all.

Now, Denver, they are still going through a learning phase.  Our offensive line is changing from a zone blocking scheme to a power blocking scheme.  Some players are struggling with this, namely, Ben Hamilton.  

Ben has started every game he’s been healthy for.  He’s a great zone blocker, but he was getting OWNED when he tried to man up with some of the bigger players in the game.  So, this week, coach McD replaced him with Russ Hochstein.  Now Russ is an old New England Patriot and knows this offense well, plus he’s 15 pounds heavier.  So, goodbye Ben, we knew you well, you were a great zone blocker for us, but with this new offense, you just don’t fit anymore.  Is this going to put us over the top?  No, but we are still a good team (not great) and will continue to get better.

Which brings me to next point - I was hacking on Orton Monday night, he was TERRIBLE, he can’t throw a pass over 15 yards…..that being said, I watched Jay Cutler on Thursday night. 

Sweet fanciful Moses, THAT was the reason Coach McD let him go.  5 INTs Jay, FIVE???? 

Jay is a great QB from either side of the 20’s, but once Jay enters the fabled red zone, Jay turns in to this man.  Jay may have all the tools, but there are some important things he is missing, football smarts and the ability to realize throwing the ball away is more important than trying to squeeze in an impossible throw between 5 defenders. 

Jay is who he is, and Frank Schaub, the beat writer from the Colorado Springs Gazette still thinks he’s the “bees knees”.  He and I have had a few back and forth about Jay and if he really is an elite QB.  Frank thinks that Jay will get better, he’s only 26.  My point is, you are who you are in your career.  He hasn’t had a winning record in football since his senior year of High School. 

So after saying all of that, would I rather have Orton or Cutler???  I’d rather take a tile Chuck and get another one, but at this point, since there is no other option, I’ll stick with Cutler.

On to the game at hand, the Denver Broncos take on the Washington Redskins on Sunday, November 15, 2009.  The Redskins are 2-6 and in a total free fall, but they are actually pretty solid defensively.  Denver is playing them at home too.  It’s never easy to win on the road, but with the fans turning against this team and the owner, maybe that home field advantage won’t be as great. 

Our defense is good enough to shut out this pathetic Redskins offense.  The ‘Skins are going to be without Clinton Portis, POSSIBLY his backup Ladell Betts and Chris Cooley.  Those are their main offensive weapons, plain and simple. 

Their offense is ugly, the problem is, the past few games, so is Denver’s.  Denver has scored a total of 10 points of offense in the past 2 games.  Again, the Redskins defense isn’t too bad at all.  Albert Haynesworth in the middle is going to give our team some trouble (a HUGE reason Ben Hamilton was benched). 

This isn’t the usual breakdown, but this game doesn’t excite me.  I know it’s the NFL and the old cliché of anyone can beat anyone on any given week, but the simple fact is, good teams beat bad teams in crunch time.  With half of the season gone now, it is crunch time.  The ‘Skins aren’t good and Denver has an appearance of a possible playoff team.  Denver plays San Diego next week and we MUST win this week, especially with a 2 game losing streak. 

So Denver needs to be all over the ‘Skins like a fat kid on cake.  Our defense can hold them to less than 10 points and our offense is just good enough, with the help of some turnovers, to gimp this one out on the road.  I say Denver wins 17-10. 

Next week is the test, the stinking HATED Chargers and that (insert expletive here) Phillip Rivers comes to town, so get ready Bronco fans, bring the hate often and early.

Welcome to the first installment of the Denver Bronco game previews.  First, let me introduce myself, I am a lifelong Bronco fan, so for me to try and be objective is simply not going to happen. If you are expecting some sort of “real” objective preview, stop reading now.  No, seriously, stop reading, because I’m only going to anger you if you do not like the Broncos. 

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 14^th in the NFL on offense.  Not great, but not bad either.  In contrast, Pitt’s D is 8^th in the NFL.  Breaking it down further, Pitt is 16^th in the NFL vs. the Pass and Denver is 16^th 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 11^th 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 6^th 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!