Broncos 2-0 ... against Ohio

[CrazyHorse]

Source:http://www.denverpost.com/commented/ci_13382622?source=commented-


The good news is the Broncos are 2-0. Now for the bad news: There are no more Ohio teams on their schedule.

But then, maybe that's being too cynical. Hey, it's easy to do after watching the Bengals and Browns in back-to-back weeks.

Maybe the Broncos' defense is this good. Maybe Mike Nolan, in the span of one offseason, has changed the culture of failure on the defensive side of the ball. Maybe the Broncos' defense, after all those poundings and all those pink slips, is ready to stand up and be accountable.

All we know for sure is this: Two games into what most people assumed would be a lost season, the Denver defense has been nothing short of dominant. The offense? Um, did we mention how dominant the defense has been?

The Broncos didn't need much offense Sunday, beating the Browns 27-6 in Josh McDaniels' home debut. About that point total for Denver most of it came in the fourth quarter when the Cleveland players appeared to have one eye on the field and the other on the team bus.

The Broncos had 10 points at halftime. The boo birds were in perfect symphony and Kyle Orton had 11 completions in 27 attempts. But Denver led 10-6.

One quarter later, the Broncos were clinging to a 13-6 lead when the offense quit spinning its wheels. With the fourth quarter came a 49-yard pass to Jabar Gaffney and a 45-yard touchdown run by Correll Buckhalter.

But the story of the day was the D. Are you ready for some football statistics? The Broncos have seven sacks in two games, one more than they accounted for in the final eight games of 2008. Elvis Dumervil set a career high and matched the team record Sunday, sacking Brady Quinn four times.

The cynics in the crowd will want to see it again. Not against the likes of Cincinnati and Cleveland, but against the A listers on the Broncos' schedule. After playing at Oakland on Sunday, the Broncos enter a nasty stretch of games that includes Dallas, New England, San Diego, Baltimore and Pittsburgh.

How will their defense fare against those teams? Who knows? But at least they're going to be worth watching. That's a far cry from the past two seasons, when Denver had arguably the worst defense in the league.

The Good
Our defense is looking dominant. We've allowed 7 points or less against teams that scored 28+ against MN and GB, not exactly swiss cheese defenses. Mike Nolan has done more in one year than Shanahan did in three. I place the accomplishment more so however on Mike Nolan the McDaniels. We started out similar in 2006 but faded down the stretch. This is a young team in terms experience and cohesiveness on both sides of the ball so I worry about that happening again.

The Bad
Our offense has looked pretty anemic so far. McDaniels hasn't been the offensive genius that he was proclaimed to be. There is a big drop off in talent from New England to Denver though. Going from Brady and Moss to Orton and Marshall is a challenge. New England doesn't look as good this year without McD so that's a plus. If it starts clicking we'll be a force to be reckoned with.

The Ugly
I still think if we had Cutler and Shanahan our offense would be intact. I think the change needed to be made. If Shanahan could have only done what McDaniels has and given full control to the defense to someone that knows what they're doing we could have possible won another championship.

[broncofaninfla]

First place in the AFC west as well.....

[claymore]

Im hoping the Bengals were allot better than I/we/NFL pundits have given them credit for.

The score yesterday is what a good to decent team should have done to the Browns.

[CrazyHorse]

First place in the AFC west as well.....

We can only hope it lasts...
Orton has played his role well so far. He's done enough for us to win and hasn't costs us any game. I am still concerned about his ability to win games when it falls down on his shoulders. This is something I didn't worry about with Cutler. If were talking hypotheticals I think Cutler COULD be doing better but then again he's very inconsistent which shows his lack of maturity.

[Elevation inc]

any given sunday.....the bengals on the road put up 31 points on a solid GB team that was fresh off a good win over a solid bears team, which just upset the defending champs last night....


if thats not any given sunday i dont know what is.....play all out for 60 minutes and good things happen....so far we put the effort in on d both games and the results have been great

[wbmustang]

I was going to make a thread about my thoughts of the season so far but this looks like a good place to put them as well.

Personally I think that our defense is looking much more improved. We are out there bustin heads and making plays. I can't remember the last time we actually got turnovers and we are getting them now.

Penalties penalties penalties. We need to get more disciplined and tighten up in this area in general on offense.

Brandon Marshall. What a tale of two halves. First half I was like wtf is going on and why is he on the bench. Even with him out there being worthless he is a good decoy. Second half he played well and stepped his game up. The only thing I didn't like is him lining up to truck stick someone with the same arm the ball is in and not covering it. Good thing he didn't fumble but B Marsh needs to do better at protecting the ball.

Kyle Orton can look so good and yet so bad. I give him props but I was not very happy with the throws at the end of the first half he has to tighten up. Also if any teams get pressure on us we are in trouble because I do not think he deals with it well. Like I told my buddy at the bar I think that Kyle Orton won't do anything to lose or win a game he is just a game manager tbh.

Running game was solid yesterday and Knowshown also looked pretty shifty when in space.

Offensively though it does like we are improving and I think the real test will be Week 4 when we play Dallas but obv don't want to overlook the Raiders.

Kick Off Returns. We are never going to house a kickoff with Hillis running them back although we will get good field position if he doesn't fumble. I don't like Royal returning kicks because he is too important. What about Alphonso Smith I know he can return kicks but it was killing me watching him run out of bounds make a play :-)!

One last thing I forgot to address was the kicker Prater. We can't leave points on the field like that but it did look pretty windy out there so I dunno if I should cut him some slack.

[silkamilkamonico]

The Ugly
I still think if we had Cutler and Shanahan our offense would be intact. I think the change needed to be made. If Shanahan could have only done what McDaniels has and given full control to the defense to someone that knows what they're doing we could have possible won another championship.

If Shanahan was still coach, we'd undoubtedly be among the league's top in yards, and then merely average in points scored. Again.

McDaniels has impressed me on both sides of the ball. Great playcaller, still trying to work with Orton and does a great job of putting him in situations he can be successful in. He's also very hands on with what's going on with the defensive preparation. Let's not forget that Orton had 3 drops yet again yesterday on third down, all balls that should have been caught. The one Stokley dropped was really bad.

I completely disagree with your comments about the anemic offense, and McDaniels shown not to be an offensive genius. We hall hailed Shanhan as an offensive genius, and he couldn't figure pout how to score points.

[FanInAZ]

More good news: Our next opponent is the Raiders!

[broncophan]

I live here in central Ohio.....and work with alot of bengal and browns fans.....needless to say......they are not too happy....:D....

Here's hoping we get another win next week......because I don't see another win for a long stretch of games after that............hope I am wrong...

GO BRONCOS!!!

[Shazam!]

Sorry, but you have to give some credit to the Defense to McDaniels if you're going to give it to Nolan. He brought him in. Credit and kudos works hand in hand.

[WARHORSE]

The Ugly
I still think if we had Cutler and Shanahan our offense would be intact. I think the change needed to be made. If Shanahan could have only done what McDaniels has and given full control to the defense to someone that knows what they're doing we could have possible won another championship.


".................and OHHHHHHH........Ive been travelin down this road too looong..........just tryin to find my way back home........the old team is dead and gone..................dead and gone..............."


My daughters play that song over and over............



All I gotta say is this: Bowlen grabbed McD by the hand, and put that hand on the throttle of the Broncos. He opened the pocketbook for McD to the tune of 100 mil............that is not something he was gonna do for Shanny.

McDaniels was so impressive (Im assuming) in showing Bowlen his plan for free agency, that Bowlen fired the Goodmans.

And lets be frank, the Goodmans record stands on its own, but the methodical way that Josh broke down the skill specific players he wanted to bring in here, was nothing short of professional.

They had to be excellent on STs.
They had to make open field tackles.
They had to be able to catch the ball.
They had to be smart.
They had to be leaders of character and work ethic.
They had to be civil off the field.
They had to be tough.
They had to be versatile.

Of course this is skewed towards our d, but that is the free agent moves he focused on.

The boys from Miami have been KILLIN it.

Dawkins has been nothin short of a MONSTA in every facet of football.


McD, mulligan for bein 32 when he came in and a new coach in dealing with Cutler, has been perfect in dealing with his coaching staff.

I find it rather overlooked in the fact that we have a 33 year old coach, who has been given charge over other coaches who have been doing this alot longer than he has, and some of em almost as long as he is old, and the transition of authority, respect and experience has been nothing short of amazing.
Whatever Josh is selling...........theyre buying.

He spent the time during the offseason with the coaching staff, explaining his methods, schemes, and desires to them.

More importantly, he has done this while letting them coach.


The working environment, and the attitude of the lockeroom is a testimony to what hes selling.

Shanahan would never have been able to pull this off, because Bowlen would never have let him spend $100 mil on free agents to blow up the D, and does anyone think Nolan would have come in to work under Shanny considering the past history of DCs in Denver?

[claymore]

We beat 2 teams we were supposed to beat. One was by luck.

[Poet]

We beat 2 teams we were supposed to beat. One was by luck.

For the record you weren't supposed to beat Cincinnati. In fact most of the NFL pundits have been blasting Cincinnati for losing to a team that they were supposed to beat.

And no, that isn't me being a homer, I can prove it if you want.

[claymore]

For the record you weren't supposed to beat Cincinnati. In fact most of the NFL pundits have been blasting Cincinnati for losing to a team that they were supposed to beat.

And no, that isn't me being a homer, I can prove it if you want.

I will take your word for it. I know you are bubbling with excitement right now. Lets talk of your big win yesterday. I was rooting for you.

[OrangeHoof]

Beating the Browns is a tradition with the Broncos. I think the Packers had a let down after beating their bitter rivals the week before.

I'm happy that the Broncos are 2-0 and happier if they get to 3-0, but it doesn't answer my questions about whether the Broncos are a better team until they play quality opponents. I am glad to see the defense has held down the opposition so well.

[Poet]

I will take your word for it. I know you are bubbling with excitement right now. Lets talk of your big win yesterday. I was rooting for you.

I am just like you; moderately optimistic. I missed the first half of the game covering a non-existent soccer game for my paper.

The first play I got to watch at Buffalo Wild Wings was Rey Maualuga DESTROYING Ryan Grant and forcing his second fumble today. The best part was that the guy sitting next to me was a shitty Packers fan who laughed at me when he saw my Bengals hat. He didn't say anything to me after Maualuga crushed his overrated running back.

I almost always root for Denver, but I definitely always root for whoever plays Cleveland because I hate them. I was a big Denver fan yesterday, I was happy.

[claymore]

I am just like you; moderately optimistic. I missed the first half of the game covering a non-existent soccer game for my paper.

The first play I got to watch at Buffalo Wild Wings was Rey Maualuga DESTROYING Ryan Grant and forcing his second fumble today. The best part was that the guy sitting next to me was a shitty Packers fan who laughed at me when he saw my Bengals hat. He didn't say anything to me after Maualuga crushed his overrated running back.

I almost always root for Denver, but I definitely always root for whoever plays Cleveland because I hate them. I was a big Denver fan yesterday, I was happy.

I hate the packers. Mostly cause I hated favre. I love seeing them fail. Good win. Ocho did the lambo leap right?

[Poet]

I hate the packers. Mostly cause I hated favre. I love seeing them fail. Good win. Ocho did the lambo leap right?

Chad did the Lambo leap and even stood in there when an angry Packers fan was beating on his back. There was a cool Packers fan who sorta held him up and was laughing and smiling while he flicked off the camera. Most of the fans took it in stride even though they booed him.

The guy can still play at an elite level. He's going to be a top five WR again this year.

[claymore]

Chad did the Lambo leap and even stood in there when an angry Packers fan was beating on his back. There was a cool Packers fan who sorta held him up and was laughing and smiling while he flicked off the camera. Most of the fans took it in stride even though they booed him.

The guy can still play at an elite level. He's going to be a top five WR again this year.

I couldnt believe it when I saw the scoreboard. Lewis deserves a solid year. I hope you guys win 10 games.

[Poet]

I couldnt believe it when I saw the scoreboard. Lewis deserves a solid year. I hope you guys win 10 games.

Thank you much, I hope our two teams play again. ;)

[claymore]

Thank you much, I hope our two teams play again. ;)

Id weigh 400 lbs from all the crow I ate!

[Poet]

Id weigh 400 lbs from all the crow I ate!

If you put enough BBQ on that crow I would eat it for you. There's no need for two of us to die from obesity.

[HORSEPOWER 56]

Im hoping the Bengals were allot better than I/we/NFL pundits have given them credit for.

The score yesterday is what a good to decent team should have done to the Browns.

I think they are. They piled up 31 points on a Green Bay team that mauled the Bears the week before and got 2 INTs and like 5 sacks on defense. I'm starting to think that our defense is really as good as advertised. Well, I'm hoping they are. :defense: