Legitimacy Arrives: Broncos Stun Cowboys 17-10 In Waning Minutes

The Broncos came in 3-0, Dallas 2-1, and there were many people, including myself, that weren't buying what the folks at Dove valley were putting out for public consumption.  All of that is much closer to changing now than it was just one week ago.

The Broncos went into the game yesterday being thought of as the "Worst 3-0 team in the league" as so clearly pointed out by John Clayton.  And, they went in clearly on a mission to not only silence the doubters, but also to beat the team that many had picked to be the NFC Champions.  Yesterday was a barometer win, a win that moves them up on the measuring stick, and adds legitimacy to that club.

While I never said they were the worst 3-0 team in the league, I wasn't necessarily sold on what I had seen leading up to the Dallas game, and thought that the Broncos would in fact lose to the Cowboys.  I was wrong, and the Broncos proved to me that they in fact are a team to be reckoned with, at least defensively.

Yesterday's game answered a lot of my questions, and still, left some unanswered.  I'll get to those in a minute, bear with me.  I had some serious questions about this team, coming in and they were as follows:

·           QUESTION:  How would the Broncos respond against an upper level team?

·           ANSWER:  Quite simply, much better than I think anyone could have guessed they would.  They showed no fear in facing Dallas' monstrous line and lethal running game and they harassed Tony Romo worse than Jessica Simpson after the breakup. The Broncos came in ready to play, and were clearly the more focused, well coached and determined team in that game.  Dallas looked a little flat, but in all honesty, Denver did a little too, offensively anyway.

·           QUESTION:  How would the Broncos defend against the best rushing team in the league?

·           ANSWER:  The Cowboys curiously decided to go away from the rushing game, after gashing the Broncos D early and often, which is somewhat perplexing.  However, when Dallas finally did decide to get back to it, the Broncos had the riddle solved and were ready for it.  The Broncos put an emphatic stamp on the legitimacy of this defense yesterday by holding the mighty Cowboys rushing attack, which averages a gaudy 197.3 yards per game, to only 74 yards on 25 attempts.  That's a lowly 2.96 yards per carry.  I believe that Felix Jones not being available to play had something to do with that.  That said, Denver would have made his day long as well, and even with him, I don't think Dallas rushing game would have been dramatically better than it was. 

·           QUESTION:  How would Denver defend against Tony Romo and the Dallas passing attack?

·           ANSWER:  For some silly reason, they decided to go after Champ Bailey in this game, and Champ responded by showing the entire NFL that he's still be best CB in the league, bar none.  Denver held Romo's WR's & TE's to 0 scores and not one pass catcher had more than 62 yards.  Romo was held to only 255 yards passing and was picked once by Champ Bailey, and was sacked 5 times, twice by Dumervil, who now has 8 over the last 3 weeks. The Broncos never allowed Romo to get comfortable and it showed, as many passes were overthrown and he was moving all day.  As a former semi-professional QB, I can tell you that if you can't set up in the pocket and go through your progressions, it makes for a long day.  Denver had him and his offense line flustered, especially late in the game, and Romo could do nothing about it.

·           QUESTION:  How would Josh McDaniels handle his first "Big Game" situation?

·           ANSWER:  Like a consummate professional.  He mixed the offense up, and finally, really involved one of the best WR's in the league in Brandon Marshall.  He kept the playcalling mix fresh and never strayed from the intention of bringing the DB's up via the run, so they could go over the top.  McDaniels, for all intensive purposes, outcoached his counterpart in Wade Phillips.  And, in my mind proved my point that aside from Norv Turner, no coach does less with more than Wade Phillips.

·           QUESTION:  Would Brandon Marshall show up?

·           ANSWER: Definitively, yes.  Brandon Marshall HAD to be big in this game, and he HAD to respond to the challenge at his feet.  He needed to work against Newman -- who's beatable, and Jenkins -- who's still green, effectively and make plays.  He did just that.  Marshall's 91 yards receiving and 1 TD, in the biggest game of the year to this point, was pivotal to this win, and Bronco fans got to see "vintage" Brandon Marshall in the last 2 minutes on the scoring pass.  It was a sound performance by a WR who's easily a Top 5 guy when he's focused.

The Bronco's were impressive in that win, there's no doubt about that.  They emphatically stamped this defense with legitimacy, and certainly made the league take notice.  I'm sure neither Tom Brady or Bill Belichick are none to excited to come into Denver and face what's now, statistically anyway, the best defense in the NFL.

That said, in my mind, there are still some questions/issues surrounding this team.  None of which rest on the Defensive side of the ball, as they proved that they can play and match up with and play against ANY team in this league. 

My questions now reside on the offensive side of the ball, and how they'll do in coming weeks.  They are as follows:

·           QUESTION:  When will Eddie Royal become involved again? 

·           EXPLANATION:  This is a guy who last year caught 91 balls, and contributed 980 yards and 5 scores.  Those are HUGE numbers, and in order for the Broncos to keep winning, they need to get him involved.  Stokley is nice, and Gaffney is ok, but neither of them are as talented as Eddie Royal is.  He's a playmaker, and for my money, is one of the best 2nd WR's in the league and certainly one of the more exciting players right now.  The Broncos must involve him.

·           QUESTION:  How will Kyle Orton respond over the next couple or weeks?

·           EXPLANATION:  There's no doubt that the next 4 games are going to prove to be the toughest stretch of this season.  And, how Orton responds and plays against the incoming competition, will have a huge bearing on how they play.  He was 20/29 for 243 yards and 2 TD's, against the Cowboys, and frankly, I think those number look a lot better than what they were.  There were a lot of poorly thrown balls yesterday, and several could, and probably should have been picked.  He'll need to improve that against some of the incoming teams.  He's been good, and sometimes lucky thus far at protecting the ball, and that must continue for the Broncos to keep winning.

·           QUESTION:  Can Denver's O-Line keep Orton upright?

·           EXPLANATION:  Orton went down 3 times yesterday, and it could have been a couple more than that.  I know that Ben Hamilton was missing, but since he's not what you'd call a mobile QB, it's important for Denver's line to give him time and keep him upright.  Against, NE, B-More, Pittsburgh and the G-men, that line will be tested greatly and often.  Let's hope they can respond with a resounding yes.

·           QUESTION:  Can Denver's passing attack stay the course against very solid corners coming up?

·           EXPLANATION:  This will be very interesting in coming weeks, as the need to have an efficient passing game to open up the running game, which is currently ranked 4th.  The passing game will be of the utmost importance in coming weeks.  Denver only averages 18.8 points per game, and with the explosiveness of some of the incoming teams, that will not cut it, so they must improve should there be a "shootout" at some point.

Really, there's not a whole lot that I can point to as major sources for concern moving forward.  Just things they must continue to improve upon.  This team has addressed a lot of questions and will continue to do so in coming weeks I presume.

As I watched that game yesterday, I couldn't help but think of  Scott Goll, Randy Garcia, Rick Oliver, Ryan Liddell, Kyle Eggemeyer, Matt Chico, Jason Oldani and of Course, my “sparring partner” if you will, Sayre Bedinger and what all of you must have been thinking.

What, with all the banter here on this site, and through the comments made and the back and forth.  I'm sure this win glows a little more brightly to you specific few than to some, and with good reason, you were all right. I succeed that point.

I'll take my lashings and take them like a man, but, the only point I was trying to make was that until the Broncos beat someone that carried a little legitimacy with them, the Broncos couldn't be considered legitimate....Well, they've done that, and can now certainly be considered as much better than "middle of the road" as I exclaimed they were last week.  Dare I say they're now legit??

They are.

This week, the competition stays at a fever pitch, and keeps getting a little tougher in following weeks, but, with what I saw in the Cowboys game, the fire, the determination, the hard work, there's no reason to believe that they can't win some of these upcoming games. 

I've referenced the point of "legitimacy" in this article often, and while they certainly achieved that with yesterday's win -- I think more importantly, they gained an identity.  Their identity is that of a dominant defensive team, with an offense that while good if unspectacular, is never going to quit and will fight you to the end. 

And, at the end of the day, I think that identity may be the biggest reason this team is for real.