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Where have the good old days of football gone? In today’s sports world everyone is concerned about injury. Any advance in safety equipment is immediately brought into use by the NFL and NCAA to protect players as much as possible.&nbs…
Much has been written recently about the injury bug that has invaded Dove Valley this off season and continuing on into training camp. When your injury report maintains a steady count well into double digits, it changes the way a team can practice, evaluate players, prepare for exhibition games, and build timing and cohesiveness. Maybe the MVP of this season so far is Steve “the Greek” Antonopulos, the head trainer.
With the Saturday game looming large for both teams, let’s take a look at what is at stake for both teams.
DENVER BRONCOS
Missing in Action: Knowshon Moreno, Correll Buckhalter, LenDale White, Ryan Clady, Elvis Dumervil are definitely out. Champ Bailey, Daniel Graham, Brandon Stokley, and Chris Kuper are not practicing Thursday which makes them doubtful for Saturday’s game. In addition rookies DeMarius Thomas and Eric Decker are dinged as is Tim Tebow.
What does this mean?
Denver needs to start building their foundation for what the 2010 version of this team will be. So far, they have not had a starting running back available and this week Justin Fargas will see some action but he has been on the roster for only a little over a week. Nor have they had a true complete starting offensive line with only one starter from last year, Ryan Harris, who is also coming off an injury. Both of those are areas of concern as it changes the way an opposing team prepares a game plan against them.
It reduces the ability to run Josh McDaniels’ complex offensive strategy that balances the run with the pass. It allows the other team to tee off and run more blitzes, run different coverages and place the QB in a position of getting hurt. And with Tebow questionable it puts the pressure on Orton and Quinn to play the entire game. Which puts them in harm’s way to also get hurt in a meaningless game, at least as far as the regular season goes.
DETROIT LIONS
As for the Detroit Lions, they have few major injuries and will have three healthy QBs ready for the game. They are a team trying to claw out of the hole they have been in for a long time and regain respectability in the NFC North, a brutal division.
The Lions have nothing to lose in this game and a lot to gain. They can come out and put a full-on rush on Orton and Quinn with two hard-charging defensive linemen in Kyle Vanden Bosch, who has regained his prowess this pre season and arguably the best player in this year’s draft, Ndamukong Suh. Both of these players will be testing the Bronco makeshift offensive line with two rookies and the absence of Danial Graham at TE.
If this doesn’t make a Bronco fan (and head coach) pause and think, I am not sure what will. Denver needs to come out of this game with no more injuries, especially in the offensive line and at QB. Anything less will be a disaster, no matter what the final score.
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Are you ready for some football?
Sunday is just around the corner and the Broncos are ready to take the field against unfamiliar faces. Full speed, Full tilt.
As the Bengals look to rebound from a lackluster showing against the Cowboys, the Broncos will be answering a few questions. This game features two teams that met opening day last season where the two teams came to an exciting finish.
On a tipped pass, from Kyle Orton to Brandon Marshall, Brandon Stokley scored with little time left on the clock to take the lead and seal the victory. It was a tough physical game and I am sure the Bengals are looking for some redemption.
Tim Tebow will make his NFL debut and most football fans will be there to see the result.
While a lot of people will be tuning in to see what happens, true bronco fans have lot’s to keep them tuned in. Coach Josh McDaniels has stressed competition all over the field and has brought in a lot of players to do just that. There will be competition at almost every position as this week promises to be one of the most anticipated preseason games in recent Broncos history.
Sustaining Drives:
The single most important task for this years offense will be to convert third downs and help keep the Broncos defense off the field and fresh. Last year the Denver Broncos were a dismal 36.3% converting on third down. Converting only 78 out of 215 attempts.
Most would argue that this statistic was mostly responsible for the wearing down of the broncos defense which was 1st against the run through the first 6 games.
If the Broncos look to have success in 2010 this is an area where they must improve. The additions of Lendale White, Justin Fargas, Tim Tebow and a beefed up O-Line will hopefully yield the results the Broncos are looking for.
Rushing the passer:
With the loss of Elvis Dumervil, the Broncos will be looking for production from second year Linebacker Robert Ayers. Ayers has reportedly improved drastically from what most (including Ayers) would say was a disappointing rookie campaign. The Broncos have been very aggressive in free agency trying to get better at the linebacker positions and add depth.
If players such as Ayers, Jammie Kirlew, Jarvis Moss, and Darrel Reid can have a good showing from the OLB position it will enable Mario Haggan to stay inside, where he was looking to have a break-out yr.
Haggan played all of last years season from the outside and is more than capable to step in if these younger players cannot.
The pressure from the Linebacker Core is definitely something to keep an eye out for.
Offensive Line:
Kuper, Clady, and Harris are all entrenched as starters at their spots as long as they’re all healthy in time. Valuable swing tackle Tyler Polumbus, who replaced Harris in the second half of the 2009 season, could step in if either bookend isn’t 100 percent healthy. That leaves the positions for starting center and left guard open to competition.
The club used consecutive picks on Zane Beadles from Utah and J.D. Walton from Baylor in the second and third rounds to compete for starting jobs. Both worked in with the first team in mini-camp. Walton played his natural center position and Beadles, who could also fill in at the tackle spot he played in college, at left guard.
Starting two rookies on the O-Line makes this one of the broncos hot spots. D’Anthony Baptiste will most likely start for Clady at the LT spot until his return.
The way this shakes out could possibly make or break the Broncos season.
Running the ball:
Last, but not least, keep an eye on the Broncos’ ball carriers. This is a hot competition and we should see some great effort from the Bronco reserves as Correll Buckhalter and Knowshon Moreno rehab from the offseason injuries.
The Broncos looked to add depth and competion to the RB spot when it signed Lendale White. That competition has stepped up with the eventual signing of Justin Fargas. Look for the Broncos to run the ball often and early.
A lot of this year’s success will depend on the rushing attack.
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The newest member to pass through the Denver Broncos’ turnstile of tailbacks is longtime Oakland Raiders bruiser Justin Fargas. With their top three running backs sidelined, the Broncos brought in the versatile 30-year-old veteran on Wednesday to bolster their banged-up backfield. The Broncos are missing Knowshon Moreno (hamstring), Correll Buckhalter (back) and LenDale White (leg).
Here is the official depth chart that is required to be released before the first pre-season game. This was compiled from an article in the Denver Post by Lindsey Jones and also from the Yahoo Sports and CBS Sports websites.
As you can see, it doesn’t have a lot of meaning for the upcoming pre-season game in Cincinnati.
For one thing, Ryan Clady will in no way be starting that game at LT. What will likely happen is D’Anthony Batiste will start, with Tyler Polumbus backing him up. Clady is still weeks away from even returning to practice.
The running back positions mean absolutely nothing for this Sunday, as none of the first three listed players are expected to suit up. This leaves Toney Baker, Lance Ball and Bruce Hall fighting for playing time. The signing yesterday of Justin Fargas also adds more fuzziness to an already cloudy RB picture.
It shows that Doom is not listed on the chart, but there is a good chance he will return before the end of the regular season.
Notice also that we have two rookies listed as starters in Beadles and Walton. This speaks a lot to how high they both were rated by the coaching staff. There will be the requisite rookie mistakes but I do believe that this O-line will come along as the pre-season and the regular season progresses.
Considering all the injuries and uncertainties, it doesn’t have much in common with reality but here goes:
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