by Davey, Blown Coverage
To say that the Denver Broncos had a rough off-season is quite the understatement. Two players, Darrent Williams and Damien Nash tragically passed away since the season ended last year. Williams was the victim of a cowardly drive-by shooting while Nash collapsed after playing in a celebrity basketball game.
Besides that, it's the usual story surrounding the Broncos. Can whomever is lining up under center follow in John Elway's massive footsteps and lead the team to the Superbowl?? From Brian Griese to Jake Plummer, and now the next in line is Jay Cutler. Mike Shanahan handed the team to Cutler midway through the season last year and now Cutler has to step up.
The Broncos got off to a great start in 2006, starting the season 4-1 thanks in part to their very strong defense. But the team went into a tailspin losing their next 4 games and that's when Mike Shanahan replaced Jake Plummer with Jay Cutler. Cutler started 5 games for the Broncos, going 2-3, but it was the loss against the 49ers on the last day of the season that eliminated Denver from play-off contention.
Cutler completed 59.1 % of his passes and threw for 1001 yards to go along with 9 Td's and 5 interceptions. The running game was stellar as usual as Tatum and Mike Bell combined for 1702 yards and 10 Td's. Javon Walker had a nice season receiving as he hauled in 69 passes for 1084 yards and 8 Td's. The aging Rod Smith was the closest to Walker with 512 yards receiving and 3 Td's. A big addition this season is tight end Daniel Graham who comes over from New England and look for him to be a big target for Cutler in the passing game.
Cutler has to step up now and lead an offense that was 21st in the league last season in total yards (309.4) and 17th in the league in points scored (19.9). With Jake Plummer gone, Partick Ramsey and Preston Parsons will be backing up Cutler.
There's that saying that you could put David Wells behind Denver's O-line and that he'd go out and rush for 1300 yards and 10 Td's. And yes, we all know the reason for that. Going over the past 10 years or so, the Broncos have gotten great yardage from Terrell Davis, Olandis Gary, Mike Anderson, Clinton Portis, Reuben Droughns, Tatum Bell and Mike Bell.
Now, while a couple of those guys are great running backs (Davis, Portis), you can't argue that Denver's run-blocking scheme can make any running back better. The next guy to take his turn in the Bronco running back chain is Travis Henry. Henry was signed from the Titans after Tatum Bell was traded to the Detroit Lions.
When Henry has been the main guy rushing the ball, he has put up good numbers in his career. He had 1438 yards rushing for Buffalo in 2002, 1356 in 2003 and he put up 1211 yards and 7 Td's last season in Tennessee. Now Henry gets to line up behind Denver's line and everyone that has seen him so far has said that he's a perfect fit for Denver's system. So yes, get ready for another Denver running back to run for about 1350 yards and 10 Td's.
Denver's defense got off to a great start in 2006 but even though they fizzled a bit down the stretch, they still finished 8th in the league in points allowed (19.1) and 14th in the league in total yards allowed (326.4). The big addition to the unit is cornerback Dre' Bly. Bly came over in the trade with the Lions that sent Tatum Bell and George Foster to Detroit.
Bly now gets to team up with Champ Bailey to form the best corner tandem in football. And even though the team tragically lost Darrent Williams, the addition of Bly to along with Bailey, Dominique Foxworth and John Lynch still makes this secondary one of the league's best.
The defensive line has also gone through some changes. Since 2005, the Broncos have acquired 8 players for their defensive line who were playing for the Browns. While a few of these ex-Browns remain, the Broncos decided to go younger through the draft as they drafted defensive ends Jarvis Moss and Tim Crowder and defensive tackle Marcus Thomas with 3 of their 4 picks back in April.
These young guys might have to contribute even sooner now that Ebenezer Ekuban has been likely lost for the season. Ekuban tore his achilles tendon in Denver's 2nd preseason game against the Cowboys and his production will sure be missed as he had 63 tackles and 7 sacks last season.
Another key loss for this defense is linebacker Al Wilson. Wilson led the team in tackles last year with 102 but he was released as a result of injury and salary cap reasons. But the linebacking unit is still strong with D.J. Willians and Ian Gold.
The first Bronco you should pick is definitely Travis Henry. Henry figures to put up big numbers behind this line but don't forget that Mike Bell will also get carries and also those in the red-zone as he finished last year with 8 Td's. If you could get Henry and Bell, it would be the ideal situation.
Javon Walker is also a nice fantasy option as he remains one of the best receivers in the league. The addition of Daniel Graham should also be a big boost for the offense as Jay Cutler will probably look plenty in his direction. Don't forget about Tony Sheffler either as he has great hands and looks to improve on his 4 receiving Td's of last season.
Jason Elam remains one of the most consistent kickers in the NFL and Denver's defense should be a top 10 defense.
The Broncos have a relatively favorable schedule as they play against their usual AFC West opponents and also the teams from the AFC South and NFC North.
The tough home games are against San Diego, Jacksonville and Pittsburgh. The tough roadies are at Buffalo, at Indy, at San Diego, at K.C (never easy) and at Chicago.
Oakland, Detroit, Tennessee, Houston, Green Bay and Minnesota are teams that should be handled.
The Broncos are one of the AFC's best teams and will be fighting with the Chargers for supremacy in the AFC West. I expect the Chargers to win the division but I think that Denver will make it in as a wild card team.
At worst they'll have another 9-7 year and at best I see them at 12-4. The running game should be good as always and Daniel Graham brings another needed weapon for the passing game. The defense will be solid, especially with the addition of Dre' Bly and I see Jay Cutler maturing some more and leading this team to a 10-6/11-5 record if things fall nicely into place.
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Sunday, August 19, 2007
NFL Preview : Denver Broncos
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