2008 Broncos Look to Remove Bad Taste Of Losing Season

The Denver Broncos, while not expected to beat out San Diego for the division crown, should challenge for a wild-card spot. They look to be better on offense, defense, and special teams. Jay Cutler, entering his third year, often the make or break year for young quarterbacks, has been razor sharp. During the preseason he went 30-43, 3 TDs and 0 Ints, with a QB rating of 117.6. He has moved well in the pocket, has gone through his progressions rapidly, and has been decisive and on-target. He has been aided by a rebuilt offensive line, which has pass-protected well and opened holes for the running game. With first, second, and third-year players at LT, RT, and RG, and up and coming youngsters waiting in the wings behind LG and C, this line is going to be among the league's best next year if not sooner. Running behind this line are Selvin Young, who averaged 5.2 ypc last year, and Andre Hall, who averaged 4.9 and runs hard between the tackles on short yardage downs. Ryan Torain, who was making a strong push for a starting job before a freak elbow injury, hopes to return by midseason.

The receiving corps is solid. Brandon Marshall looks to follow up on his breakout 2007 campaign, Brandon Stokley will again be in the slot, and rookie Eddie Royal, expected to contribute only as a returner this year, rocketed up the depth chart to the number two spot by making big play after big play in training camp and preseason. At TE the Broncos have an elite blocker in Daniel Graham and two excellent receivers in Tony Scheffler and Nate Jackson. Thanks to improved line blocking, quicker and better decision making by Cutler, and several quality receivers, the Broncos fared well in the red zone during preseason.

The defense doesn't figure to be nearly as good as the offense, but doesn't need to be. An upgrade from awful to merely average will do. Last year the run defense was poor in the preseason and never got much better. This year's preseason showing has been vastly better, with the starting defense giving up considerably less than three yards a carry. Three factors account for this turnaround. One is the maturation of young players. DE Elvis Dumervil is entering his third year, DT Marcus Thomas his second. The second is the addition of key players. DeWayne Robertson, despite his balky knee, is a considerable upgrade at DT, as is Boss Bailey at strongside linebacker. The addition of Niko Koutouvides and the improvement of Nate Webster allows D.J. Williams to move back to his natural weakside LB spot, where he should excel. Finally, the disastrous experiment with the Bates two-gap run contain system, which required the kind of personnel the Broncos didn't have, and which caused players to overthink rather than react, is over. The defense is thriving under Bob Slowik's one-gap show-blitz system, which is simpler to learn and fits the personnel on hand better. The only disquieting note so far has been the lack of a pass rush from the front four. Blitz packages will have to make up the difference, which will make the Broncos vulnerable to big plays.

Except for the Chicago meltdown, for which ex-punter Todd Sauerbrun deserves much of the blame, Denver's coverage of punt and kickoff returns improved dramatically from the beginning to the end of the year under well regarded special teams coach Scott O'Brien. With another year under O'Brien and an infusion of special teams talent, that trend should continue. The kicking game, which looked shaky with Elam gone and Ernster shanking punts, is looking better with Matt Prater hitting all but two field goals and booming kickoffs during the preseason. The frequent touchbacks which have  resulted will greatly improve Denver's past poor showing in the field position battle. And rookie punter Brett Kern has so far shown both a powerful leg and consistency.

The outlook: If the red zone improvement translates into the regular season, and if the defense improves even moderately, Denver will surprise. Anything less than 9-7 will be a disappointment, 10-6 is a reasonable expectation, 11-5 or even 12-4 are attainable if the Broncos are as lucky with injuries as they were unlucky during 2007. This team was not as good as everyone expected last year, and is not as mediocre as everyone expects this year. Denver finds itself with the unaccustomed advantage of running under the radar.