Denver Broncos: What To Expect

Aaaaaaah, Football…….

Let that soak in a sec…….

Good stuff, right? Preseason or not, after what we just went through I am grateful. Even if there had been no lockout I would still be excited for preseason this year. We have a lot of open spots and should see good competition. Coach apparently has spoken to John Fox and they reached a gentleman’s agreement to keep physicality to tolerable levels, possibly also to keep schemes vanilla to prevent injuries. Even so, I am stoked to see us hit someone not in a blue and white uniform.

The Broncos are an organization in flux. Coach McDaniels really ran them through the wringer, hence, the sly ol’ Fox coming in to guide the ship. While they have not had a massive turnover of talent, this team will probably have a different look in 2011. This is evidenced on the mile High Report, as their site’s activity has jumped in the last few weeks. They also had six draft picks in the top four rounds, so they will see some internal turnover.

They have a QB controversy, probably the best one in the league… And who doesn’t love some good non-Cowboys related controversy? I personally think they could do worse than Orton. He is not a TO machine, but his good games are few and far between. I like Tebow as a person. He doesn’t cause trouble, you never hear him speaking down on someone else and the kid is a competitor. Many Broncos fans were pulling for him to start this year, but his TC performance has led that enthusiasm to trickle off. We can expect to see the best out of both of these men; Orton should get the first team nod.

Their problem will be that they have no one to throw to. Okay, so it’s not that bad, but after Lloyd and Eddie Royal, their receiving corps drops off. Also, I find it hard to believe that any team in the league is in worse shape than Denver concerning TEs. They have several on the roster, but none that stand out. If NFL.Com is correct the six TEs have a combined fifteen years experience and about 100 catches between them. Graham and Gronkowski can pass-protect per PFF, but more is needed in this league. They drafted Julius Thomas in the fourth round, we’ll get a look at him.

Denver has hard runners in Moreno and Mcgahee. Mcgahee has only one season with over forty catches, which is to be expected with the Ravens, but Moreno is a legit receiving threat. They should be able to try the flats and test our LBs. (Their rookie Fannin suffered an injury, was waived, then cleared waivers and was placed on IR.)

According to PFF, the Broncos’ O-line has been mid-pack for the last two seasons. That, of course, is starters. Their depth is unremarkable. They drafted O-lineman Orlando Franklin out of Miami in the second round, he is actually projected to start @ RT, we may see Spencer and Spears flatten a rook. What has traditionally been a tough running team just wasn’t under JM, it will be interesting to see what Fox tries to make work.

The Denver defense gets me all excited. We get to see the debut of Von Miller!!! Yeah, buddy, I want to see this kid play. Dumervil will be back, so watch for Smith to get tested right away. Aaaah, Here We Go!!! DT Broderick Bunkley is one of the best in the game. Costa will have his hands full. (EDIT: I had stated the Broncos picked up Matt Roth. That was an unsubstantiated report. Hat tip to KD for clearing up my ignorance,) All around, we are going to see our o-line tested, and I couldn’t be more excited.

I do not recognize many of the Broncos’ names in the secondary. At least no one that is under 50 (I kid… PFF ranks Bailey very well all-around,). They drafted Rahim Moore in the second round, so we will get a look at what we passed up on for Carter.

All being said, the Broncos’ are going to be a good test for our perceived weaknesses. While both coaches have agreed to tone down the gameplan/aggression, I expect things to get chippy, as both teams are proud franchises coming off of terrible seasons and chomping at the bit to beat up on someone other than their own teammates.

I am sure I missed some info/storylines… What say you, BTB?