Are the Broncos that good?

[cdumler7]

You know you had it easy when they say that the oakland raiders are going to be the best defense they faced so far!!!
The broncos are very good, but until they play a good defense playing well we have no clue how good there offense actually is... Its a good thing that they dont have the most difficult schedule...

So they put up 49 points on a defense that the next week only gives up 6 yet they haven't played any good defenses?

Do we really have to question of whether they can play against good defenses considering even before the season started the Broncos were being counted as one of the top 3 offenses in the NFL as they did that last year and that was with mediocre play from the slot and TE position that have both improved.

 

[Breaker99]

So they put up 49 points on a defense that the next week only gives up 6 yet they haven't played any good defenses?

Do we really have to question of whether they can play against good defenses considering even before the season started the Broncos were being counted as one of the top 3 offenses in the NFL as they did that last year and that was with mediocre play from the slot and TE position that have both improved.

The ravens gave up only six points!!!! No need to mention that it was against the
Browns.

 

[MilkSpiller22]

So they put up 49 points on a defense that the next week only gives up 6 yet they haven't played any good defenses?

Do we really have to question of whether they can play against good defenses considering even before the season started the Broncos were being counted as one of the top 3 offenses in the NFL as they did that last year and that was with mediocre play from the slot and TE position that have both improved.

The question is not whether they can play good defenses it is are they this good... they played 2 defenses that did not look good, is it because they were facing denver's offense?? maybe... but until they face a good defense playing well we will not know how good the offense is...

 

[Broncos6482]

The question is not whether they can play good defenses it is are they this good... they played 2 defenses that did not look good, is it because they were facing denver's offense?? maybe... but until they face a good defense playing well we will not know how good the offense is...

I think any defense, no matter how good, will have a tough time shutting Denver down for 60 minutes. They've just got too many offensive weapons. The only way I see to do it is you have to get good, consistent pressure from your front 4 so you can drop 7 into coverage. Blitzing won't work because Manning will find the 1 on 1 coverage and exploit it. So it's got to be done from the front 4.

What I think will be most interesting to see is how well they can replace Clady at tackle. Nothing can shut down a high powered offense faster than poor line play. As long as Chris Clark can do a decent job holding off the rush, the Broncos will be just fine.

 

[briz almighty]

no.

 

[Broncos6482]

One other thing, IMO Denver still has room to improve offensively. They've had a lot of drops already (the main culprit being Eric Decker). According to Pro Football Focus the Broncos have had the second most drops in the league. If they can get that closer to the league average, and get off to a little bit quicker starts (they've only scored 24 first half points compared to 66 in the second half), I think their offense can get even more lethal.

 

[MilkSpiller22]

I think any defense, no matter how good, will have a tough time shutting Denver down for 60 minutes. They've just got too many offensive weapons. The only way I see to do it is you have to get good, consistent pressure from your front 4 so you can drop 7 into coverage. Blitzing won't work because Manning will find the 1 on 1 coverage and exploit it. So it's got to be done from the front 4.

What I think will be most interesting to see is how well they can replace Clady at tackle. Nothing can shut down a high powered offense faster than poor line play. As long as Chris Clark can do a decent job holding off the rush, the Broncos will be just fine.

I am convinced that the broncos are going to be 16-0 this season but lose in the playoffs to the Bengals in the AFC championships...

 

[cdumler7]

The question is not whether they can play good defenses it is are they this good... they played 2 defenses that did not look good, is it because they were facing denver's offense?? maybe... but until they face a good defense playing well we will not know how good the offense is...

I understand your thought I am just saying how do we know that the two defenses they played are really that bad? Yes I know that Baltimore played Cleveland but any time you can hold a team to 6 points you are doing a pretty darn good job. The Giants in the first game had a defense have to deal with the offense that gave up 6 turnovers...again this last game they had to deal with giving up what 4 turnovers. Any defense no matter how good is going to struggle some when the offense is doing very little to help and giving the offense short fields. I'm not saying Baltimore and the Giants are great defenses but neither of those programs have been known as bottom of the barrel defenses either. In fact both have been known for great defensive play for years. So just because they got burned big time doesn't mean that they are bad defenses it could just mean they ran into a good offense.

Now I do agree with the wait and see approach as two games does not teach us a whole lot of how a full season was going to go. Otherwise you would have like a certain Patriots Fan claiming that they have an elite defense all of a sudden because they did well against two pretty pathetic teams. So in essence I do agree to wait and see but I don't agree that the Broncos just played two horrible defenses. I think they maybe played a couple of average defenses. I would love to see what they can do against Seattle and that secondary but well that wouldn't happen until the Superbowl and we are a long ways away from figuring out who is an actual Superbowl caliber team at this point.

 

[Broncos6482]

I am convinced that the broncos are going to be 16-0 this season but lose in the playoffs to the Bengals in the AFC championships...

Unless Andy Dalton suddenly turns into a good quarterback, I don't think that will happen. Now going 16-0 and then losing to the Seahawks in the Super Bowl...

 

[MilkSpiller22]

Unless Andy Dalton suddenly turns into a good quarterback, I don't think that will happen. Now going 16-0 and then losing to the Seahawks in the Super Bowl...

I am just very high on Cincin this season, but the regular season is a totally different animal, i just dont see denver losing any games...

 

[Broncos6482]

I am just very high on Cincin this season, but the regular season is a totally different animal, i just dont see denver losing any games...

There are a few tough ones. The Patriots might have Gronk and Amendola back by the time we go there, that could be tough. Playing at Arrowhead is always tough for the Broncos (they almost beat us there last year). Also at Houston. Those are the 3 I'm looking at. I think Denver will be favored in every other game they play though.

 

[Tacoma_canuck]

nobody is going 16-0. 15-1 is possible maybe but even that is a stretch in this league. There is a reason that it rarely happens. 14-2 is a safe bet, imo and that would be good enough for HFA in the play-offs. I do think that Denver has the most dynamic offense in football but there are a couple of games out there that won't be easy. Somebody already mentioned New England and KC at Arrowhead won't be a cakewalk either.

 

[flaraider]

One other thing, IMO Denver still has room to improve offensively. They've had a lot of drops already (the main culprit being Eric Decker). According to Pro Football Focus the Broncos have had the second most drops in the league. If they can get that closer to the league average, and get off to a little bit quicker starts (they've only scored 24 first half points compared to 66 in the second half), I think their offense can get even more lethal.

They are near league leading penalties too, btw.

 

[Stevein2012]

Good point rave, but I think the whole Peyton chokes in the post season is somewhat overrated.

Somewhat overrated yes. Somewhat relevant also yes.

 

[Broncos6482]

They are near league leading penalties too, btw.

Good point, although my guess is most of those are defensive penalties.

 

[MilkSpiller22]

One other thing, IMO Denver still has room to improve offensively. They've had a lot of drops already (the main culprit being Eric Decker). According to Pro Football Focus the Broncos have had the second most drops in the league. If they can get that closer to the league average, and get off to a little bit quicker starts (they've only scored 24 first half points compared to 66 in the second half), I think their offense can get even more lethal.

I disagree with this point... Drops will always be a factor for all football teams... dont forget the one knock on welker is that he drops to many passes... So i dont see the drops changing dramatically... but what i do see is that as the season goes they will start to run the ball more... The Broncos are in the position of SB or bust, and the thing with the playoffs is that whether wise it is colder and you are facing better teams/defenses... It will be a big mistake waiting for the playoffs to establish their running game... So i expect by week 10 montee ball will carry the ball 19+ times a game, and that will decrease the amount of passes manning will be able to throw, and it will weaken the offense a little...

 

[MilkSpiller22]

The broncos also throw the ball much more than league average, so of course the drops are going to be higher than league average...

 

[69er]

Let's see them play against an actual team because so far, the Ravens and Giants, our last two Superbowl powerhouses, has looked like shit so far.

The good news is, at least all the other 3 divisional rivalries look improved. So far, I'm impressed.

 

[Broncos6482]

I disagree with this point... Drops will always be a factor for all football teams... dont forget the one knock on welker is that he drops to many passes... So i dont see the drops changing dramatically...

I don't expect the drops to change that dramatically, just get closer to the league average. I really don't expect the Broncos to be among the league leaders in drops by the end of the season.

but what i do see is that as the season goes they will start to run the ball more... The Broncos are in the position of SB or bust, and the thing with the playoffs is that whether wise it is colder and you are facing better teams/defenses... It will be a big mistake waiting for the playoffs to establish their running game... So i expect by week 10 montee ball will carry the ball 19+ times a game, and that will decrease the amount of passes manning will be able to throw, and it will weaken the offense a little...

Montee Ball will not be averaging 19+ carries a game. The Broncos as a team are averaging 26 runs per game. I don't expect that to change much, maybe a little. But the Broncos are really taking a running back by committee approach, so none of their running backs are going to be averaging 20 carries a game by season's end.

The broncos also throw the ball much more than league average, so of course the drops are going to be higher than league average...

Not really. The Broncos are 9th in the league in attempts per game at 42.5. The Bengals are 16th at 39, and the Ravens are first at 47.5. So right now the Broncos are closer to the middle than they are to the league leaders. Last season the Broncos were 10th in passing attempts per game at 36.8. The Lions were first at 46.2 and the Packers were 16th at 34.9. So last season they finished closer to the middle than the top. My guess is they finish around the same place this year, maybe a little higher but not much.

 

[MilkSpiller22]

I don't expect the drops to change that dramatically, just get closer to the league average. I really don't expect the Broncos to be among the league leaders in drops by the end of the season.




Montee Ball will not be averaging 19+ carries a game. The Broncos as a team are averaging 26 runs per game. I don't expect that to change much, maybe a little. But the Broncos are really taking a running back by committee approach, so none of their running backs are going to be averaging 20 carries a game by season's end.



Not really. The Broncos are 9th in the league in attempts per game at 42.5. The Bengals are 16th at 39, and the Ravens are first at 47.5. So right now the Broncos are closer to the middle than they are to the league leaders. Last season the Broncos were 10th in passing attempts per game at 36.8. The Lions were first at 46.2 and the Packers were 16th at 34.9. So last season they finished closer to the middle than the top. My guess is they finish around the same place this year, maybe a little higher but not much.

Yes but another factor is that Peyton manning is one of the best QBs so therefore there are more opportunities to drop... Flacco throws a lot but he is a gunslinger, many of his throws were not even catchable... Yes this happens to all QBs, but the better QB you are the less this happens... so if the Broncos are 9th at 42.5 i am sure much more of those are catchable balls...