Thoughts for the week--Colts

[cdumler7]

So with it finally being time for when the games actually matter I thought I would give us a spot to air some of our thoughts, concerns, excitements, news, or whatever for the week of the Colts.

Mostly this is my one day in the office that is slow this week so figured I would get most of my weekly posting in today...

First off some good news on the injury front in Wes Welker has actually been cleared to play this week against the Colts. My hope is the Broncos build up a big lead early on in this game and can bench him the rest of the time to limit his hits. I'm actually hoping the Broncos put him on a bit of a pitch count this season and save him for the playoffs. Last year after returning from his concussions his play on the field was severely impacted negatively. I would rather him be ready for the playoffs than do well early on to then be a shell of himself for the playoffs.

Second I am very excited to see our defense! This defensive line is looking nasty and well the Colts just had to sign a guy that was cut by the Ravens (horrible OL last year) to now come in and start at Center this week. Honestly I would be worried if our DL didn't get a ton of pressure this week.

Also just a cool story about one of our defensive players in Brandon Marshall. I think this guy is going to surprise some people. Coach Fox was saying this last week that when Marshall was on our practice squad last year our #1 offense kept coming to the coaches and saying that he was unblockable. In fact when he got activated to the roster at the end of the year players on the team were coming to the Coaches pleading for them to put him in the game against Oakland. He has earned the respect of his teammates and I honestly expect him to do well in place of Trevathan.

At this point there really are just too many players that I am excited to see on the field. Going to be hard as I usually have a couple of players on the offensive and defensive side of the field that I try to keep an eye on but going through the list of players it seems like I almost name every one of them even the OL where I am excited to watch Clady and Franklin and how they do.

Another cool thing that I hadn't thought about until I read an article is people keep wondering how in the world the Broncos can afford Peyton, Ware, Talib, Ward, and Clady all being on the same team. All a person has to do is look at the makeup of this team and see just how good Elway and company have been at forming this roster. I think I heard something like we are the 4th youngest team in the NFL with having a 38 year old quarterback. This happens because now of the past 4 drafts (Elway's tenure with the team) we have had 29 picks...At this time 22 of them are still with the team with 9 of them being starters. That pretty much averages out to 1 out of 3 players drafted end up a starter for this team and that is with the handicap that this year's draft is included with not a single one starting but I would bet pretty big money that at least 3-4 of them will be starters in the next 2 years.

I will stop there but will be adding to this throughout the day. Anybody else have any thoughts on roster, upcoming match up, players to watch, or whatever?

 

[MrDoc420]

That is a cool tidbit on Marshall, and I'm glad to hear it. TBH....I've watched him closely in the last couple preseason games, and I just don't see alot to be excited about. Hope I'm wrong there cause we're gonna need him the first month or so.

Agreed about being pumped to see this new defense. I think the one player I'm most excited about, even after landing a great like Ware, is TJ Ward. He just adds a nasty element to our defensive backfield that it seems like we've been missing since Dawkins left. I'm truly excited to see what kind of havoc Ware and Miller will cause coming off opposite corners. Oh yah, and for the first time in ummm....IDK about 10-12 years, I'm thrilled with our interior DL. Knighton, Sly, Wolfe (probs at DE) and Unrein are gonna be brutal for teams to deal with up the middle.

I really hope they don't rush Welker back into action. Not because we don't need him, but more so cause I wanna see Latimer get on the field. I'm sure he will anyways, but I personally wouldn't complain one bit if they sat Welker game 1 and possibly game 2 and had C-Lat, Sanders and DT out there. Welker cannot afford even one more concussion, so I hope they just give him ample time to recover 120%.

This team is ridiculous on paper. Here's to hoping they're ridiculous on the field, and we ride the Tony Gonzalez prediction right off into Lombardi land. Let's go!!!!!

 

[TDs3nOut]

Obviously looking forward to seeing the regular season debut of this team. Regardless of what you think of Woody Paige -- and he often seems to aim for making people think he's nothing more than a clown -- I tend to agree with his prediction that we blow Indy out. I'm thinking 40+ points for the Broncos to 24 or less for the Colts.

 

[cdumler7]

TDs3nOut I agree with Woody Paige (that tasted bad coming out of my mouth). Manning seems to play some of his best football very early in the season. In fact he has actually won 9 of his last 10 week 1 games. You give Manning months to prepare for a team and watch out. Last year we saw against a lot better defense in the Ravens him throw for 7 touchdowns. Now I don't see him quite repeating that as I think we will work hard to establish the run but I could see a 5 touchdown game for Manning in this one.

 

[cdumler7]

Captains were announced for the upcoming season...Not really any surprises with Manning and Thomas on offense and Knighton and Ware on defense with Bruton getting the nod for Special Teams. Pretty good mix with 2 HOFer's leading the way in Ware and Manning.

 

[MileHigh64]

This game is shaping up to feel a little like the "revenge" game that we opened against the Ravens last year. I certainly wouldn't be disappointed if Peyton Manning put up 7 touchdowns! However, I really want to see the Broncos improve the run game. I would be thrilled if the Broncos backs ran for 200 yards collectively and our new O-Line was dominant in run blocking.

I'm like everyone else regarding defense. Bring the nasty. Can't wait! Go Broncos!

MH64

 

[cdumler7]

Anybody going to the game or planning anything special for our first game? Right now the plan at my house is another guy in town and I to go Dove Hunting the next few days and shoot as many as we can (within the limit of course) then cook them up on the grill with some stuffed jalapeño peppers. Of course then cook up the usual of chips and dips, drinks galore, and maybe a jalapeno eating competition at half time to keep things interesting.

 

[cdumler7]

Crap one of my favorite guys to possibly start in the next year or two was just snatched up off our practice squad in Vinston Painter by the Browns. With our new open spot I guess we signed a long snapper in Kevin McDermott. He was the long snapper for the 49ers last year and was a surprise cut. Supposedly the Broncos are going to have a snap off between him and Brewer this week and winner gets to be on the roster. I didn't know the Broncos were questioning Brewer and his abilities as I thought he had done a decent job for us. We shall see what happens though.

 

[cdumler7]

Some good news for us Bronco fans...Chris Harris has been a full participant in practice this week. He is expected to start against the Colts. Harris is probably my favorite player on the team. Little known kid that has worked his tail off to get where he is today that still doesn't get the attention he deserves always gets a thumbs up in my book. I honestly think he is one of the main reasons especially the last couple of years that we have gotten the best UDFA classes in the NFL. Players have figured out the Broncos actually give them a chance to make the team.

 

[TDs3nOut]

Didn't realize how badly the Colts o-line is banged up until I read this:

Denver Broncos vs. Indianapolis Colts: First Look - Mile High Report

Excerpt:
" Starting LG Donald Thomas was lost to a season-ending quad injury the first week of camp. Starting center Khaled Holmes has yet to practice since spraining an ankle in the preseason opener. Tackle Ulrick John was placed on season ending IR, and just about every backup is dinged up or will be unavailable to play Sunday."

Should be a good opportunity to hopefully get a nice start on setting a new single season sack record.

 

[DownSetHutch]

Wow, I almost feel bad for Luck. Sunday could be a very long day for him.

 

[TDs3nOut]

Wow, I almost feel bad for Luck. Sunday could be a very long day for him.

That's what I'm thinking. My son and I were just speculating on the number of sacks we post! I'm hoping for at least two each by Ware and Miller with three or four more among Jackson, Wolfe, Ward, and company.

 

[Broncosr0k]

Keep in mind, Luck is a deceptively good scrambler.

Some people have predicted the colts not finishing well this year because Luck won't make it through without getting banged up.

I don't want a win because the colts are injured so this news is a little sour for my tastes. I plan on watching the game with some colts fans and I am hoping the game keeps it fun.

 

[TDs3nOut]

Keep in mind, Luck is a deceptively good scrambler.

Some people have predicted the colts not finishing well this year because Luck won't make it through without getting banged up.

I don't want a win because the colts are injured so this news is a little sour for my tastes. I plan on watching the game with some colts fans and I am hoping the game keeps it fun.

Definitely a good point and I know it is less likely that we get 7 or more sacks than it is that we fail to reach that total. As far as not wanting win due to the Colts being banged up, however, I'll simply say that you are a better sport than I am. I am not all averse to taking advantage of their injuries!

 

[iknowftbll]

Definitely a good point and I know it is less likely that we get 7 or more sacks than it is that we fail to reach that total. As far as not wanting win due to the Colts being banged up, however, I'll simply say that you are a better sport than I am. I am not all averse to taking advantage of their injuries!

Same here. I haven't heard one single Seahawks fan say anything like, "We won the Super Bowl, but it isn't as satisfying as it should be because the Broncos had so many injuries..." Nobody cares about our problems and I sure as hell don't care about any other team's problems.

 

[DownSetHutch]

I'm on the same side of the fence with B-rok, I prefer the other teams (and of course ours) to be fully healthy, to see where we really stand in comparison. And these days, I pretty much expect a victory every time, so it's not like I'm hoping for any advantage we can get. The Broncos are at the top of the heap right now. Bring 'em on, and let 'em bring their "A" game - it won't be enough.

 

[MileHigh64]

Injuries are as normal a part of the game as controversial referee calls, homefield advantages, weather disruptions and any other factor that weighs in on the outcome of games. My stance is similar to several others but I would word it like this:

I won't use my team's injuries as an excuse for losing and I won't bring up your team's injuries when the Broncos clobber them. It's all part of football. The only reason that I could imagine being a fan that was opposed to playing another team that was dealing with injuries is if a) I wanted my team to have a stiffer test to see where we are at or b) I was afraid an opposing fan would just tell me the Broncos only won due to injuries.

If either of those scenarios was to play out, I would refer back to my original statement on the subject.

Having said all that......the Broncos are going to crush the Colts on Sunday night. Go Broncos!

MH64

 

[Broncosr0k]

a) I wanted my team to have a stiffer test to see where we are at or b) I was afraid an opposing fan would just tell me the Broncos only won due to injuries

These are my reasons.

After the beating we took in the SB I want the broncos to come out and pummel some good teams. Even if we win Sunday there will still be a little doubt that it was because of injuries. I understand they are part of the game and I will take a win where I can get it. My thought is that if I had the option I would want a win against a healthy team.

Sidenote: I have seen some interesting predictions for Sunday's game. Some have the broncos winning but it is either by less than a field goal or by like 50-35. I would love to hear the reasoning given all that has occurred in the offseason.

 

[cdumler7]

At this point I would say both teams could claim injury or missing player concerns. For the Broncos they are without the guy I would consider one of the best leaders on the defense in Trevathan while also having Welker and Prater suspended. Throw in Harris has yet to actually play in a game and Von Miller has been limited. So to me as injured as the Colts are I wouldn't say we are at full strength right now either.


As for the differences in scores I think it depends on your thoughts about our defense and that of Andrew Luck. There are some who see our DL just obliterating Luck play after play while others think because he is an elite quarterback that the pressure won't matter and he will get himself into a shoot out. I think mostly the close scores are because people are only focused on Peyton and Luck in the game. To me because this is such a team game you have to look at the full picture. For the Colts they lost the one guy who can really get pressure on a consistent basis on Peyton. That secondary of theirs looks terrible. On the other side the Colts biggest weakness is going against our biggest strength in the plays of the lines. Only way I can see the Colts staying in this one is if Harris isn't back to full strength, Webster is still bothered by his injury, and Roby has his head spinning in this one. Our secondary would have to have a melt down in my opinion.

 

[TDs3nOut]

I will be very disappointed if we give up even close to 35 points. I know that Luck is a very good qb and that he has some forformidable weapons, but I expect our pass rush to dominate the injury plagued Indy line.