Three Battles The Broncos Will Need To Win To Be Successful

What was one of the most stable franchises has changed massively in the NFL offseason.  The organization that was subject to this change is none other then the infamous Denver Broncos.  With the trade of Jay Cutler, the signing of Brian Dawkins, and the hiring of a different coaching staff, the Denver Broncos have changed for the better or the worse.

As with any change the shift between the Shannahan and McDaniels regime has caused a lot of uproar. With the trade of Cutler and the insubordination of Marshall, the regime has been questioned even more.  It has also been subject to a massive media critique, many "experts" ranking them with the worst of the NFL.

Even most Broncos fans have begun looking at the season negatively.  Though I am full of doubts about the season, I remain optimistic that the Denver Broncos can come through and have a good year.  But how the Broncos will do will rest on how their special teams perform, how well they can control the clock, and if they can maintain a positive turnover ratio.  Although these three parts of the game may seem unrelated, they are all crucial to winning, and if McDaniels hopes to succeed has to execute these parts of the game with efficiency.

The first part of the game is the opening game, or in this case the Special Teams.  Often one of the most understated parts of the game, it sets the tone for the offensive and defensive game. 

Field position on the offensive side means that your team has a shorter way to go, allowing you to be more careful in your offensive approach, reducing the need to use more risky plays.  It also gives you a possible game changing ability, for example Devin Hester's magical year when Chicago went to the Super Bowl, or even Dante Hall carrying the Chiefs to challenging the other AFC teams. 

On the defensive side of the ball, the Special Teams can lengthen the distance the opponent needs to go to score.  By doing so it also gives the defense some leeway but it puts the pressure on the offense to move the ball further, especially with time constraints this can cause problems for the defense.  Also, very good field position can lead the defense to score on things like safeties or turnover the ball close to the opponents goaline. 

What McDaniels has done to make this a stronger area for the Broncos includes some of his draft and signing choices.  Notably the pick of David Bruton, a rookie who was prized for his special teams opportunity, or the use of Alphonso Smith as more then a nickel-back but also as a returner.  If McDaniel's people do their job at Special Teams the Broncos will be one step closer to victory.

While Special Teams is the opening game, controlling the clock is the mid-game.  If a team is able to control the clock they can allow the opposing team's offense to have less time to score, and also gives the defense more rest so they can be more effective. 

This is the one area that Denver has covered very well in their off season moves.  In a reaction to the large amount of running backs that went down last year, McDaniels has already gone out and signed a handful of quality running backs, who will become his stable for this year.  With all these veterans coming into run the ball, the Denver Broncos also snagged Knowshown Moreno the top running prospect in the draft, who looks like he will be a great weapon for this offense.  It also helps that McDaniel's offensive system focuses on moving the chain, which in effect burns the clock even on passing plays when executed correctly.

If the Broncos are able to win the Special Teams battle and control the clock, they will be able to win in the ultimate stat, the end game, the turnover battle.  It is well recorded that teams that have good turnover rates have consistently won games and competed for the Super Bowl, such as the Steelers, Patriots, and Giants in recent years.

It has also been well noted that the Denver Broncos have done a remarkably poor job in having an effective turnover ratio.  Last year not only did they turn the ball over so many time, but their defense was unable to make plays that caused turnovers.  As a result the Denver Broncos struggled.

Naturally however when the offense has less time to score, are in worse field position, and are facing a well-rested defense, turnovers become more commonly caused.  Also when the offense stresses short passes and a running game, instead of relying on a gun slinging quarterback, turnovers on offense are limited.  These two things together create a very good turnover ratio which will ultimately be the test for this new Denver Broncos teams.

With the Broncos looking for turnovers they hired one of the coaches who has improved the turnover ratio for nearly every single team he has coached for, Mike Nolan.  Mike Nolan has always had the impact of making a team force more turnovers, him plus the addition of several play makers might be able to save the Broncos yet.  One of these play makers is the controversially drafted rookie corner back, Alphonso Smith who came into the draft with the name of being a ball hawk.  In addition the Broncos added veteran ball hawk Andre Goodman to play opposite from one of the most dominant corners in the game. 

While all three parts of the game may seem insignificant to how the quarterback plays, they are essential to having a winning team.  The better the Broncos execute these three parts of the game, the more games they will win in the regular season.  Who knows, maybe if they do these things right we will an orange and blue championship again.  I can't give any promises, but I will be watching today for these three major parts of the game, and I am cautiously optimistic.