Highlights and intrigues of the 2017 Broncos schedule

[Hawgdriver]

This thought happened: do I get to see Joe Mixon run against the Broncos? I thought--yeah--think so.

Sure enough, that's late November, week 11. Also get to see Mr. 4.22 John Ross.

More than anything I can't wait to see our squad back in action, but some of these sidebar stories are compelling on their own.

Week 8 at Kansas City will be the first milestone of the season, if the last few years are any indication. Jamaal Charles back to KC!

Week one will be a great test for our offensive line. We face Bosa and Ingram from the clippers. How will our new bookends hold up?

The schedule is full of compelling stories--what are yours?

[Canmore]

This thought happened: do I get to see Joe Mixon run against the Broncos? I thought--yeah--think so.

Sure enough, that's late November, week 11. Also get to see Mr. 4.22 John Ross.

More than anything I can't wait to see our squad back in action, but some of these sidebar stories are compelling on their own.

Week 8 at Kansas City will be the first milestone of the season, if the last few years are any indication. Jamaal Charles back to KC!

Week one will be a great test for our offensive line. We face Bosa and Ingram from the clippers. How will our new bookends hold up?

The schedule is full of compelling stories--what are yours?

Quite simply, what kind of play are we going to get from the QB position and will it be enough to augment our defense.

[Buff]

I fully expect Siemian to be our starting QB - but if Paxton gets the nod week 2 against Dallas will be full of Dak vs Paxton storylines.

Vance Joseph playing both Cincy and Miami, hopefully that gives us some sort of edge.

Just noticed our Arrowhead game is a MNF Halloween-eve game. That place is going to be jumping. I don't love our odds as I look at it 6 months out.

I guess we can get ready for like 10 consecutive trips to New England after this year since the NFL seems to do those in chunks.

[Cugel]

Week one will be a great test for our offensive line. We face Bosa and Ingram from the clippers. How will our new bookends hold up?

The Chargers are nowhere near as popular as the Clippers.

[Poet]

We'll get to see the Bengals have another shitty year and continue to phase back into the 90's.

I think we'll see our offense turn into a solid unit with more brilliant plays than boneheaded ones.

The narrative that I want to see play out is how well the Broncos stop the run. Last year when teams ran on us it mitigated our pass rush and secondary. Do we stop the run and continue to make offenses weep at the prospect of playing against us? Or, do we die a slow death on defense drive after drive?

[Al Wilson 4 Mayor]

We'll get to see the Bengals have another shitty year and continue to phase back into the 90's.

I think we'll see our offense turn into a solid unit with more brilliant plays than boneheaded ones.

The narrative that I want to see play out is how well the Broncos stop the run. Last year when teams ran on us it mitigated our pass rush and secondary. Do we stop the run and continue to make offenses weep at the prospect of playing against us? Or, do we die a slow death on defense drive after drive?

I expect our run defense to be vastly improved

[HORSEPOWER 56]

I expect our run defense to be vastly improved

Man, I hope so. Peko and Kerr were decent additions to get bigger up front, but I still would've liked to see us bring in some competition at ILB. We can do better than Todd Davis and Marshall tends to get nicked up for a few games every year. I wish we could get our receivers (outside of DT and Hemanuel) sorted out. I liked the addition of Carlos Henderson, but I feel McKenzie was another wasted pick clutching at straws trying desperately to get a returner worth a shit. He's completely undersized and is another "speed" guy that projects as a Norwood/Raymond type.

An ILB would've been a more prudent pick than another JAG WR who might someday help in STs but will never be a factor on offense. I wish we could stop drafting and/or signing a bunch of worthless receivers and eating valuable roster space for almost zero return on our investment. I think our WR situation is hurting the rest of the roster. How shitty will it be if we have to cut Jamal Charles or Deangelo Henderson to get under the 53 man cap to keep McKenzie or Raymond just to be a worthless, sub par return guy?

[Al Wilson 4 Mayor]

Man, I hope so. Peko and Kerr were decent additions to get bigger up front, but I still would've liked to see us bring in some competition at ILB. We can do better than Todd Davis and Marshall tends to get nicked up for a few games every year. I wish we could get our receivers (outside of DT and Hemanuel) sorted out. I liked the addition of Carlos Henderson, but I feel McKenzie was another wasted pick clutching at straws trying desperately to get a returner worth a shit. He's completely undersized and is another "speed" guy that projects as a Norwood/Raymond type.

An ILB would've been a more prudent pick than another JAG WR who might someday help in STs but will never be a factor on offense. I wish we could stop drafting and/or signing a bunch of worthless receivers and eating valuable roster space for almost zero return on our investment. I think our WR situation is hurting the rest of the roster. How shitty will it be if we have to cut Jamal Charles or Deangelo Henderson to get under the 53 man cap to keep McKenzie or Raymond just to be a worthless, sub par return guy?

I'm hoping Vance is right in that not being predictable with our fronts will be helpful

[Mike]

Man, I hope so. Peko and Kerr were decent additions to get bigger up front, but I still would've liked to see us bring in some competition at ILB. We can do better than Todd Davis and Marshall tends to get nicked up for a few games every year. I wish we could get our receivers (outside of DT and Hemanuel) sorted out. I liked the addition of Carlos Henderson, but I feel McKenzie was another wasted pick clutching at straws trying desperately to get a returner worth a shit. He's completely undersized and is another "speed" guy that projects as a Norwood/Raymond type.

An ILB would've been a more prudent pick than another JAG WR who might someday help in STs but will never be a factor on offense. I wish we could stop drafting and/or signing a bunch of worthless receivers and eating valuable roster space for almost zero return on our investment. I think our WR situation is hurting the rest of the roster. How shitty will it be if we have to cut Jamal Charles or Deangelo Henderson to get under the 53 man cap to keep McKenzie or Raymond just to be a worthless, sub par return guy?

My takeaway from that is that they feel comfortable with what they have and felt that the NT wasn't able to hold blocks to let the ILB do their job. Or at least felt the DL was the bigger problem and ILB was lower end of the positions that had to be fixed this offseason.

[Cugel]

We'll get to see the Bengals have another shitty year and continue to phase back into the 90's.

I think we'll see our offense turn into a solid unit with more brilliant plays than boneheaded ones.

The narrative that I want to see play out is how well the Broncos stop the run. Last year when teams ran on us it mitigated our pass rush and secondary. Do we stop the run and continue to make offenses weep at the prospect of playing against us? Or, do we die a slow death on defense drive after drive?

A lot of that depends on whether Pecko stays healthy. They got rid of Sylvester Williams because they didn't think he panned out at NT. Well, some scouts thought he was a DE to begin with but Denver pressed him into service as a NT because they didn't have anybody better and he didn't really pan out. SO, they decided not to exercise the 5th year option on him and let him walk.

They tried to sign Calais Campbell, but he got $15M a year from Jacksonville where players go to get big contracts. I think they even gave Zane Beadles $6M a year for a couple of years.

So, is the DL improved with the addition of Demarcus Walker and Pecko? Well, it looks good on PAPER. Wolfe, Pecko, Walker, Von & Shane on the outside. It looks OK.

Good on the field? We'll see. :coffee:

[Cugel]

Man, I hope so. Peko and Kerr were decent additions to get bigger up front, but I still would've liked to see us bring in some competition at ILB. We can do better than Todd Davis and Marshall tends to get nicked up for a few games every year. I wish we could get our receivers (outside of DT and Hemanuel) sorted out. I liked the addition of Carlos Henderson, but I feel McKenzie was another wasted pick clutching at straws trying desperately to get a returner worth a shit. He's completely undersized and is another "speed" guy that projects as a Norwood/Raymond type.

An ILB would've been a more prudent pick than another JAG WR who might someday help in STs but will never be a factor on offense. I wish we could stop drafting and/or signing a bunch of worthless receivers and eating valuable roster space for almost zero return on our investment. I think our WR situation is hurting the rest of the roster. How shitty will it be if we have to cut Jamal Charles or Deangelo Henderson to get under the 53 man cap to keep McKenzie or Raymond just to be a worthless, sub par return guy?

There is no way they are cutting Jamaal Charles in order to keep a special teams WR who also returns punts. They can put one of those WRs on the practice squad. Charles is an instant upgrade as a 3rd down receiving threat coming out of the backfield. He should catch over 40 passes if healthy. Probably he can't just pound it between the tackles all day like he did in KC, but to suggest that they would cut him for some marginal WR is just silly. There's no way.

He's a HUGE weapon if used right. Unless his knees give out or he just looks washed up out there he's not only on the 53 man roster, but is the #2 RB and the change of pace 3rd down threat.

Really, the weakest link on the team right now, outside of a veteran LT, is TE. When Butt is 100% healthy and ready to start in the NFL they should have a serious TE threat. But, that might not happen this season. He's recovering from surgery, and it takes rookies a while to learn the NFL game.

[Buff]

I thought Elway's comments on day 2 of the draft were revealing where he was saying that it's going to be difficult for some of the rookies to make the team - there just aren't that many slots to compete for on this veteran-laden team that has pretty good depth.

So while we could probably use improved ILB play, I believe his logic was that the return specialists in later rounds have a better chance of cracking the 53 man roster than does a 3rd string ILB. Even though maybe in a vacuum some of those 3rd string ILBs were better players than the specialists who we're taking a chance on.

[HORSEPOWER 56]

There is no way they are cutting Jamaal Charles in order to keep a special teams WR who also returns punts. They can put one of those WRs on the practice squad. Charles is an instant upgrade as a 3rd down receiving threat coming out of the backfield. He should catch over 40 passes if healthy. Probably he can't just pound it between the tackles all day like he did in KC, but to suggest that they would cut him for some marginal WR is just silly. There's no way.

He's a HUGE weapon if used right. Unless his knees give out or he just looks washed up out there he's not only on the 53 man roster, but is the #2 RB and the change of pace 3rd down threat.

Really, the weakest link on the team right now, outside of a veteran LT, is TE. When Butt is 100% healthy and ready to start in the NFL they should have a serious TE threat. But, that might not happen this season. He's recovering from surgery, and it takes rookies a while to learn the NFL game.

I'm excited about Butt like everyone else and Derby showed flashes of being a decent receiver last year so I'm not as worried about TE anymore. I'm just tired of carrying 7 receivers when only 2 catch any balls because the others are garbage hoping one of the remaining 5 will actually do something for the team. I doubt we carry 4 RBs which leaves either Henderson (who might make the PS), or Charles (who is only a 1 mil cap hit if released - especially if he can't go to start the season) as the odd man out in favor of guys like Taylor, Raymond, Lattimer, Mckenzie, or Fowler who bring pretty much nothing to the table but wasted roster space.

[BroncoJoe]

I'm excited about Butt like everyone else and Derby showed flashes of being a decent receiver last year so I'm not as worried about TE anymore. I'm just tired of carrying 7 receivers when only 2 catch any balls because the others are garbage hoping one of the remaining 5 will actually do something for the team. I doubt we carry 4 RBs which leaves either Henderson (who might make the PS), or Charles (who is only a 1 mil cap hit if released - especially if he can't go to start the season) as the odd man out in favor of guys like Taylor, Raymond, Lattimer, Mckenzie, or Fowler who bring pretty much nothing to the table but wasted roster space.

I like Butt too.

[Hawgdriver]

I am most excited about Charles this season.

I figure QB play will be improved as long as our main offensive ingredients stay healthy (CJ, Charles, O-line, DT, Sanders).

Our fortunes this season will be closely tied to RB performance, and I can't wait to see it. Don't sleep on CJ, especially now there is another stud in the stable.

[OrangeHoof]

I guess we can get ready for like 10 consecutive trips to New England after this year since the NFL seems to do those in chunks.



Not if we aren't winning our division.

[Cugel]

I'm excited about Butt like everyone else and Derby showed flashes of being a decent receiver last year so I'm not as worried about TE anymore. I'm just tired of carrying 7 receivers when only 2 catch any balls because the others are garbage hoping one of the remaining 5 will actually do something for the team. I doubt we carry 4 RBs which leaves either Henderson (who might make the PS), or Charles (who is only a 1 mil cap hit if released - especially if he can't go to start the season) as the odd man out in favor of guys like Taylor, Raymond, Lattimer, Mckenzie, or Fowler who bring pretty much nothing to the table but wasted roster space.

Why would Jamaal Charles not be ready to go to start the season? He's perfectly healthy right now. If his knee fails again for the third year in a row, his career is probably over, like what happened to Ryan Clady.

Only Clady is 6'6" and 320 lbs. and Jamaal Charles is 5'11" 197 lbs. That's a lot less force on the knee.

When I was in my 20's I used to live in Boulder and run up Flagstaff mountain 4 times a week. 2,000 ft. elevation gain - 12 miles round trip - and my knees seriously regret it now. But, if I'd been 6'6" 320 or something I seriously doubt I could have done it at all. Too much impact pressure on the knees.

But, at 197 lbs. there's a good chance Jamaal will be completely healthy for the entire season - if they use him right and don't grind him down by making him an every down between the tackles back. Booker can spell CJ on first and second down, leaving Jamaal to be a third down specialist.

As for the WRs, outside of Henderson, they are all designated Special Teams players. They already got rid of some of the dead wood and there's plenty left to go:

WRs currently on the roster who probably won't be Game 1:

15 Brown, Marlon WR 6-5 214 26 5 Georgia
16 Fowler III, Bennie WR 6-1 212 25 3 Michigan State
14 Latimer, Cody WR 6-2 215 24 4 Indiana
19 Raymond, Kalif WR 5-9 160 22 2 Holy Cross
17 Sharp, Hunter WR 5-11 198 23 1 Utah State
87 Taylor, Jordan WR 6-5 210 25 2 Rice

DT & Sanders + Rookies who will probably take 2 roster spots = 4 roster spots:

11 Henderson, Carlos WR 5-11 199 R Louisiana Tech
5 McKenzie, Isaiah WR 5-7 173 R Georgia

That leaves perhaps 1 or 2 roster spots for other WRs. Maybe Kalif Raymond. I'd get rid of all the others. We don't need stiffs like Latimer or Jordan Taylor.

Looks OK to me.

[Cugel]

Not if we aren't winning our division.

Well, somehow, despite the 3rd place finish, the Broncos are playing the Patriots AGAIN! And virtually every other good team in the NFL in what can only be termed a giant middle finger from the NFL schedule makers to Broncos fans everywhere.

Meanwhile the Patriots get to play Jacksonville, Buffalo and the Jets twice. No wonder they win 12 games every year.

[OrangeHoof]

I love the way the NFL schedule is created because it is a plug and play formula with no surprises. It just so happens the AFC East plays the AFC West this year and will every three years. Most of the other times recently have been because both clubs won their divisions.

[Cugel]

I love the way the NFL schedule is created because it is a plug and play formula with no surprises. It just so happens the AFC East plays the AFC West this year and will every three years. Most of the other times recently have been because both clubs won their divisions.

If you think it's fair that a 3rd place team plays the worst schedule in the NFL this year we part company. I can't agree with that. They need to have flexible bye weeks, so that the teams with the worst records have the best byes and the Patriots get the earliest bye every single year and not week 8 or 9 every damn time.

Yes, the AFC East sucks and that gives the Pats an advantage. But the league doesn't need to compound the problem by giving them extra help.

[OrangeHoof]

We fall for this every year that Team x has a weak schedule based on the previous season and Team Y has a tough schedule. But schedules are a zero-sum game. For every team that got better, some other team got worse. Each conference has a small handful of "always goods" followed by a chunk of "playoff possibles" then a handful of "playing for next year" and those groups change over time.

I remember the old scheduling system when you almost never saw the Steelers and Raiders in a meaningful regular season game and nobody could explain why they rarely faced off in the regular season. In the present schedule, it's fair. While you may be able to tweak the bye weeks and the week-to-week scheduling, we all know right after the season ends who's on our home and road schedules for the next year and it is guaranteed that every NFL team will play every other NFL team at least once every four years.

If you think *you're* tired of seeing the Patriots every year, how do you think Dolphins, Bills and Jets fans feel?

[underrated29]

Latimer will make the team. He will be the #3 or #4 WR. Make no mistake. Likely the #4 behind Carlos, but it will be a good battle. If you recall last year and the year before Latimer was tearing it up in camp only to go back to the bench because we only used 2 wr most of the time or tried the small guys in the slot.

You may also recall that he was our best on ST and on nearly every single big run- he was the WR out there setting the edge or blocking downfield.

He is not DT, but he makes the team over Taylor, Raymond, Noorwood, etc.


DT, ES, Carlos, Latimer, Mckenzie, 1 of fowler/taylor/raymond/brown- We will carry 6 this year for sure.