Category — Denver Broncos

In a game in which Jay Cutler played near-perfect, Denver rediscovered its offense. All the team’s scores were from 40+ yards out, two of which were passes where the receiver shed his tackler and picked up the final 20 with his feet.

And it came at a crucial time in the season. If Denver would have lost last night, they would have fallen to 4-6 and playoff hopes would have begun to slip even further away, perhaps from sight.

Instead the team is now 5-5 and tied with San Diego at the top of the AFC West, which is important because it looks very doubtful we’ll see a Wild Card team emerge from the division weakened by injuries and questionable coaching.

The Denver Broncos may soon be getting a longtime teammate back in the game. Rod Smith, who was placed on the team’s PUP list before the start of the season, was practicing Wednesday, and according to head coach Mike Shanahan, the 37 year old receiver could be ready to play Monday night against the Packers.

Smith’s return for the game could be pivotal, too. It would certainly help the Broncos injury-plagued corps if another receiver was back, and, perhaps more importantly, it would give the team a motivational boost to have him back.

Reports make it obvious that his teammates are excited to see him catching balls in practice.

With every pass Smith caught in warmups, the chants of “We love Rod” from the defensive backs grew louder.

Just when we thought they were dead, the Broncos rose to the occasion (on Sunday Night Football, no less). And they beat one of the best teams in the AFC — no doubt the Steelers are among the top three with Indianapolis and New England bundled in the group — in the process.

The NFL’s top defense? Burned by Jay Cutler. His 248 yards and 3 touchdowns without a running game lifted the Broncos to victory. Hey, he was a major part of the team’s efforts on the ground when he ripped off a 31 yard run.

Denver’s league-worst run defense? It held Willie Parker to under 100 yards. In fact, it kept the Steelers’ dominant ground game to just under 120 on the day.

The Denver Post is reporting that Javon Walker will not need microfracture surgery to repair the damages in his right knee. The Broncos’ star receiver has missed the past two weeks with the injury and recently underwent successful arthroscopic surgery Friday. Doctors reported that he will likely miss six weeks, though there is the possibility (not likely, however) things could take a turn for the worst which would result in his missing the entire season.

This all brings us to the question, should fantasy owners keep him or drop him? The earliest he’ll be back, according to reports, is week 13 against the Raiders. That’s just prior to most fantasy playoffs, a time when Walker may be needed.

In some unfortunate news, though not totally unexpected, Denver running back Travis Henry has reportedly tested positive for marijuana. To all Travis Henry owners and Denver fans out there: ouch.

The experiment in Denver has officially failed; it was one of the chief reasons the move was considered a little sketchy. Risks were involved, but Denver was willing to take them because, while the Broncos might be able to plug anyone into their backfield and walk away successful, Henry brought a lot of talent to the table. Plus, he fit the system perfectly.

Before the season started, you probably assumed that the AFC West would shake down something like this: San Diego in first place, followed (in order) by Denver, Kansas City, and Oakland. Fast forward to today, four weeks into the season, and you probably have a hard time believing the Raiders, Broncos, and Chiefs are in a three way tie for first place while the Chargers are coming apart at the seams, dropping their past three games, two of which they were heavy favorites.

So what happened? Why the shift in dominance?

Looking at San Diego, it seems obvious that the coaching change from Marty “can’t win in the postseason” Schottenheimer to Norv “can’t win any time of the year” Turner was a bad move. It was criticized the day it was announced and things are only going to get worse unless the Chargers salvage the season and go on a tear to make the playoffs. Unlikely.

The third week of NFL action kicks off tomorrow, and now might be a good time to quickly preview some of the most intriguing games to watch Sunday and Monday night. And don’t forget that you can check how 5 football minds expect the games to play out at NFL Experts Pick ‘em.

Arizona @ Baltimore — Both teams enter tomorrow’s matchup with a 1-1 record and an eye on their respective division crowns. Neither is a sure-thing to win Sunday, though the Vegas spread (Baltimore by 8 ) might make you believe Baltimore will coast to a victory.

It was bound to happen. It happened the day he was drafted, the day he arrived in Denver. It was happening before that, even.  And Jay Cutler knew it: people are going to compare him with John Elway. Whether in whispers or to his face, it’s inevitable that he be stacked up against the Denver legend.

And he’s handled it incredibly well.

His response has been tremendous. Though his arm and decision making skills are hardly perfect at this point — there’s plenty of maturity to be made there — his off-field handle of the media has been applaudable.

Just after Sunday’s come-from-behind victory over the Bills, Cutler was due for his meeting with the media. No one wanted to compare him to John Elway. Why bring that up? It’ll probably just frustrate him. So no one brought it up.

Simeon Rice isn’t afraid to tell anyone who tops his list of candidates to sign him before the regular season begins.

“The Broncos are better than 50-50,” Rice said. “They’re like 55-45, maybe 60-40. Things are leaning their way. They’re classy, man. All class. I want to knock on wood, but I feel like this is the place. I feel like this is a team that will challenge for the Super Bowl and create a Camelot type of experience.”

Without a doubt, Rice is a playmaker and a leader, someone who, with former teammate John Lynch, could rally Denver’s defense throughout 2007. Last season the team fell apart during the second half of the season after having a great first half. The team’s greatest weakness was a strong pass rush, thanks (or no thanks) to a group of Cleveland Brown-rejects.

Denver made some noise this offseason, signing three key veterans to add some much-needed experience to the offense. The result? Three starters who could make the difference between a Super Bowl and missing the playoffs entirely.

But can any make the difference between a fantasy title and competing in your league’s “toilet bowl?”

Absolutely.

All three are projected to be drafted post-first round, including Travis Henry. Expected to go in the second round of most drafts, Henry poses a threat to opposing defenses. Not only is he now a part of The System, but he’s the most talented back to enter the system since Clinton Portis.