Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Denver Broncos Week 1 Preview (2013-2014 Season)

Denver Broncos vs. Baltimore Ravens

It has been an... interesting(?) offseason for the Denver Broncos to say the least. After winning the AFC West in back-to-back seasons (a moment of silence for Tim Tebow's NFL career), Denver's ambitions of winning the Super Bowl were quickly dismantled by the pesky Ravens and that dastardly Joe Flacco. 

It was a play seen over and over again for Denver fans: Safety Rahim Moore overplaying a Flacco hail mary pass that inevitably landed into wide receiver Jacoby Jones' hands as time expired.
Look away Denver fans. 
But the NFL is a relentless league that continuously cycles through season after season, and so the Broncos had to move on and hope for a better 2013/2014 campaign. The offseason/preseason was filled with unnecessary team drama, arrests, drug test failings and even suspensions... wait, what do you mean that was only Von Miller?
*sigh*...just... *sigh*
Preview:

The Denver Broncos go into Thursday night's affair against the reigning NFL Champions without their two best pass rushers from last season in Von Miller and Elvis Dumervil. The former is serving a six-game suspension after failing a drug test and the latter is playing on the opposing team after an odd fax machine issue. Denver also has to endure a preseason injury to HOF cornerback Champ Bailey who will also not be suiting up Week 1. To say the least, the defensive side of the ball for Denver seems a little shaky. 

But there is still room for optimism in Denver. By all accounts, star quarterback Peyton Manning has looked sharper, stronger and more poised for success in his second season as a Bronco. It'll be interesting to see how PFM  (Peyton F'ing Manning) will improve on his 4,659 yard 37 touchdown season. Being arguably the greatest regular season quarterback of all time, hope seams to be mounting. 

No Ray or Ed for Baltimore this season.
The Baltimore Ravens have also seen plenty of change on the defensive side of the ball. Defensive end Paul Kruger, outside linebacker Dennell Ellerbe, and two leaders for many years in safety Ed Reed and middle linebacker Ray Lewis have all moved on from the Championship defense. Many fans and analysts have speculated that this once stout "D" will never be the same, but that is foolish. The Ravens filled those spots with players like Chris Canty, Elvis Dumervil and the very underrated safety from Oakland, Michael Huff. Although none of those players bring the same leadership as Reed or Lewis, they are extremely capable and strong enough to hold down the fort. 

The position that Baltimore fans should be worried about is the quarterback aka Joe Flacco. The voodoo magic of Ray Lewis is now gone. His "NO WEAPON FORMED AGAINST ME" post game speeches are nonexistent. And familiarity is lacking. Will Flacco prove his worth as an "elite" quarterback. Can he show the world that the playoffs were not a fluke, that he is a top 5 QB and that he is now the leader in Baltimore? Will Flacco not only be able to shoulder the on-field pressure of statistics and touchdowns while also shouldering the void in the locker room left by Ed Reed and Ray Lewis? Only time will tell, but this first game will be a big indicator of things to come for the Ravens.

Three Keys to the Game:

#1: The Denver Defense's response without its stars. Raven's wide receiver Torrey Smith absolutely torched Champ Bailey last season in the Divisional Playoff Round. So it might not be the worst thing in the world that the future HOF corner will have to sit this game. The loss of pass rush may hurt more. The Broncos are losing 29.5 sacks and 12 forced fumbles between Dumervil and Miller, those are some serious numbers. Can Derek Wolfe, Robert Ayers and Shaun Phillips put enough pressure on Flacco throughout the duration of the game? And will the defensive backs contain the Baltimore wide receivers? (queue Rahim Moore)
Will Montee Ball emerge as a RB1?

#2: The Denver running game. There is no clear RB1 for the Broncos. Although the fumble-happy Ronnie Hillman will take the official start, backups Montee Ball and Knowshon Moreno expect to receive plenty of touches. Regardless of who is getting the handoffs, the running game will have to be strong in order to open up play action passing and pass protection.

With that said... #3: Pass Protection. Every player loves versing a former team. But how about versing a former team, after a weird contract snafu in which you were taking a decent pay-cut, in the VERY FIRST GAME of the season? In short, there is no doubt that Elvis Dumervil will arrive in Denver with his engines revving to go. Protecting Manning is of the utmost importance in all games. Will the injury/experience-battled Denver O-Line provide enough protection? Terrell Suggs, Chris Canty and Dumervil sure hope not. 

Prediction:

Like mentioned earlier, it has been a weird offseason for Denver fans. But more importantly, it has been a long offseason. Fans should be rejoicing at the sign of real regular season football. In the end, this game will be much closer than most people think. Joe Flacco is the real deal, and the absence of Von Miller and Champ Bailey will be apparent from the first snap of the game. But the no-huddle offense led by Peyton Manning will also be very difficult for the Raven's defense to handle. Points will be put up on the board like a basketball game; especially early.
A fresh start for Peyton Manning.

Final Score: Broncos 35 - Ravens 31