Denver Broncos vs Pittsburgh Steelers: Broncos Win a Sign of Improvement

Everyone who follows professional football knows that the pre-season in the NFL is a proving ground that eventually renders itself meaningless.

The rudiments of the season however are laid, and foundations, fundamentals, and roster positions for the season are clearly defined.

This is what made the third preseason game for the Denver Broncos worth following.

The Broncos were going up against a traditional rival in the Pittsburgh Steelers, a team more recently celebrated with two championships within the last five years.

The Steelers right now are among the most physical teams in football. However they do have the turmoil of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s off-field problems working against them. He is meeting with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell later this week, following the last game of the preseason.

The Steelers are a team that is dealing with the controversy and turmoil that has tarnished the image of not only its star quarterback, but the storied franchise as well.

In the Steelers, the Broncos find a team that has always rivaled them for AFC dominance and a team that is as physical as Josh McDaniels wants his team to be.

It has always made sense for the Broncos to shift to a more physical team presence since terminating Mike Shanahan, though the journey from point A to point B has always been food for fodder and much controversy in the Mile High City.

So keeping all of that in mind, the Denver Broncos showed they are once again capable of putting the hurt on the best teams out there. They beat an undefeated, physical football team in the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday night.

Obviously, it’s preseason and the Steelers lacked quality quarterback play after Ben Roethlisberger exited the game, however the Broncos always had a response for the Steelers in last nights game.

The Offseason and Preseason (Fighting the Injury Bug)

Without a doubt, one of the biggest disappointments this offseason was how long it took the Denver Broncos and Elvis Dumervil to get a contract that worked for both sides.

It became tied for the biggest disappointment once Elvis got the deal and almost immediately tore his pectoral muscle in practice.

The hunt for his replacement has been underway, and both Jarvis Moss and Robert Ayers have shown moments of impact and the ability to step up to fill the void.

The other huge disappointment came early in the offseason when left tackle sensation and Pro Bowler Ryan Clady fell victim to a partially torn patellar tendon while he was playing in a basketball game.

It’s one of those sticky situations: You want your athletes to be well conditioned and yet when it happens outside of football it always looks bad on the player and it really shouldn’t.

The good news is Ryan Clady has started practicing again, though how soon he returns is still a question mark.

Knowshon Moreno and Correll Buckhalter got injured right at the start of training camp and left a void at running back for the first two weekends of the preseason.

Regardless of them being out, the Broncos have a talent drop in the depth chart after those two.

So, the Broncos are thin at running back until they are back and healthy.

Another disappointment of sorts has been Brady Quinn not stepping up to challenge Kyle Orton for the starting position or even staving off Tim Tebow.

Notre Dame faithful are proving themselves to be overblown and deceived when it comes to believing all their quarterbacks can become the next Joe Montana.

Two other injuries that are also disappointing for Broncos fans are the loss of last year’s spark plug along the defensive line in Darrell Reid.

At the receiver position, Kenny McKinley, who was on the practice squad and played in eight games last season, will have to wait one more season for his chance to become an impact player. McKinley has lightning type speed and capabilities, which makes his loss that much more disappointing, but it shows how deep the Broncos are at receiver with him still trying to find playing time and a roster spot.

The Quarterback Competition

The fact that Brady Quinn proved he is not ready to step up at the same time Kyle Orton showed his maturity in Josh McDaniels' system proved the Broncos must retain him for sometime, thus the contract extension granted to No. 8. Kyle Orton is contracted to stay with the Broncos through at least 2011 (if there is indeed football next season).

This preseason, Orton has taken the offense by the horns and driven the team to early scores. Most of that was done without the advantage of a running game as well.

The Broncos offense is rolling in the right direction with Kyle Orton at the helm, though one of last season’s Achilles' heels for Kyle Orton showed up again last night.

Kyle Orton threw an interception into a deceptive roll-coverage implemented by the Steelers defense.

Orton did lead an opening touchdown drive but did not throw for a touchdown in the first half when he played. Additionally, Orton tried to make an ill advised tackle that put him out of the game for a spell after a negated fumble return by Steelers outside linebacker James Harrison went for naught.

On the upside, Tim Tebow has shown moments of brilliance in rushing for his first touchdown on the last play against the Bengals in the first preseason game. It was a play he was injured on, and it kept him out of last week's preseason game.

Tebow bounced back last night and threw his first touchdown pass of the preseason. All told, in just two games, he has gone 13-23 for 177 yards with one touchdown and one interception. His rating hangs in the mid seventies.

The point here is that Tebow, with all of his physical talent and potential and flashes of brilliance, needs time to mature in the system without all the pressure.

The bright side for Tebow is that he has clearly earned more playing time, and he will be the second-string quarterback or at least number “2a” on the depth chart.

Brady Quinn has had a disappointing offseason and preseason with the Broncos, however, don’t write him off until the Broncos do.

Quinn still has a lot of upside and might have more of a full package or tool box than either Orton or Tebow. If Quinn stays in the system for at least another year and learns more about leadership and getting the team to rally behind him, the Broncos should have a true quarterback controversy on their hands.

For now, the ball is in Quinn’s court, but he needs to rise up to give the Broncos that sort-of-nice problem to have in the future.

On Other Offensive Fronts

The Broncos have a very young offensive line that has more or less gone the distance in each of their preseason games in order to get them more time to work together. Most of this is due to key injuries and new personnel along the line.

At the end of the day, they need to work in order to get the chemistry they are seeking, especially if they are to become a physical force along the line.

Against the Steelers, the one thing to look at as encouraging is that the Broncos did muster 128 yards on the ground against one of the most physical and stifling defenses. Just two seasons ago, the Steelers defense was a catalyst to them winning the Super Bowl and may have been one of the fastest defenses of all time.

On Sunday night, the Broncos started four new offensive linemen and two rookies. They started Zane Beadles at left tackle, Stanley Daniels at left guard, J.D. Walton at center, Russ Hochstein at right guard, and Ryan Harris at right tackle.

Harris is currently the only returning starter from last year’s line until Ryan Clady returns at the other tackle position.

The offense is doing very well considering it’s essentially a whole new cast of characters, perhaps the real bright spot during the preseason. Still, they will need to solidify pass protection and work a great deal more on having a consistent push up front when they run the ball.

The good thing is, personnel-wise, the Broncos seem to be in good hands there now, where they were not able to generate a push last season. So, for a relatively young offensive line, this group appears to have a bright future.

The running backs are thin on depth for the most part, however there are interesting pieces of the puzzle in place. The addition of LenDale White, in particular, proved its strength against the Steelers when he was counted on in short-yardage situations and was able to bang in for a short touchdown.

Red-zone and short-yardage run game are areas in which the Broncos have been anemic in the last two seasons.

Right now, the Broncos need the return of both Knowshon Moreno and Correll Buckhalter to bolster their offensive prospects this season. If the Broncos don’t have a run game during the regular season, it will compound issues for Kyle Orton and eventually put too much pressure on the defense.

At wide receiver the Broncos need to stay healthy. They appear to have a great deal of depth at the position, but they will need to stay injury-free. Both Brandon Lloyd and Eddie Royal appear ready to bounce back from a season where they became after-thoughts.

At tight end, the Broncos have a stockpile of guys, though which ones stay—outside of Daniel Graham—is anyone’s guess. The Broncos are trying to find well-balanced tight ends that are primarily good blockers but can catch and run with the ball.

On Sunday night, Riar Geer, the rookie out of Colorado, got the start at the position to give the coaches an extra look at his abilities with the first team. That could be bad news for Richard Quinn since Geer looked good during his time in the game.

On the whole the offense appears ready to move the ball and score points this season.  The reality is, they will have to do just that if they are to give their team a shot at being a contender and not a cellar dweller.

On Defense

The real key for the Denver Broncos is how much the defense can hold up without breaking this coming season.

More than likely, the Broncos offense will breakdown at times. Early last season, the Broncos defense was the strength of the team. By season's end, it reached a breaking point due to the amount of pressure the anemic offense put on it. The defense imploded and became equally as weak as the offense, which sealed the Broncos' fate.

The Broncos are missing Elvis Dumervil but are working a steady rotation of talent to help compensate and generate a pass rush. The Broncos are holding out hope that he can return somewhere around mid-season, however Elvis tore his pectoral muscle and did not strain it.

The thing with muscle tears is that they remain tears, but need time to heal with scar tissue essentially functioning as the mortar or glue when the body heals itself. The long and short of it is, the Broncos should put Elvis on the DL if his tear is as bad as it sounds. It will take a year to heal properly anyway.

Does anyone remember Alfred Williams tearing his pectoral muscle, and then re-aggravating it when he came back too soon?

The Broncos are still tooling to find a solid pass rush, but they do have personnel for a decent defensive team overall. What the Broncos have now that they have been lacking is an increased depth of solid talent.

The defense appears to be a little behind the standard they set for themselves last year but show signs of improving by causing three Steelers turnovers via interceptions in last night's game. This defense is a very capable group and should be a top ten unit with hopes of being a top five unit.

They can play against anyone. They will, however, need the offense to produce this season.

On Special Teams

Last night, the Broncos may have finally found the punt returner they have been looking for when Syd’Quan Thompson returned three punts for 84 yards, with a long return of 62 yards.

Matt Prater has shown he is continuing down the road of being a solid and reliable place kicker. Britton Colquitt averaged 51 yards on four punts.

If the Broncos are able to keep those sorts of numbers and shore up any coverage deficiencies, they will be where they want to be on special teams.

The Coaching and the Scheme

Last evening's game is the Denver Broncos' exact template for winning this upcoming season.

The Broncos will go toe-to-toe against any team this season, physically matching up well against most of their competition.

Last year, Coach McDaniels offensive scheme failed the team by not being dynamic enough and having numerous third-down deficiencies. The Broncos were anemic in the screen game and in short yardage.

Against the Steelers and in the preseason, the Broncos have shown some signs of correcting those specific deficiencies. In Cincinnati, for example, the Broncos displayed their willingness to open up the playbook and pass game to take more shots deep down the field.

Josh McDaniels has said that they were going to work on scheme in the offseason to tweak things to get a more efficient offense. This might be the beginning of those vital changes being made.

Still, the Broncos must take all that talk about scheme and turn it into action this season.

There are downsides to Josh McDaniels, as fans discovered last season.

Josh is not someone the fan base is eager to embrace or trust since he has had such a short fuse with fan favorites.

It’s an issue about who he has let go as much as it is the manner in which they were let go (Cutler, Marshall, Scheffler, etc.).

What to Expect This Season

If the Broncos are to return to dominance, the days of the free pass in Denver are officially over.

Yes, Tim Tebow will need to develop, but Kyle Orton is the guy in Denver right now. He is the guy that gives the Denver Broncos the best opportunity to win football games this season.

Just as Kyle has matured in the system, Josh McDaniels is showing signs of being a more mature coach in Denver.

The Broncos are a talented team, something much of the NFL at large may overlook. Their weaknesses last year are gone as they relate to personnel up front.

Still, there are question marks. On offense, the team must do better on third-down conversions and short yardage. And as the offense works on becoming more dynamic, the defense must hold the line every game to give them a shot at winning. On special teams, the coverage must be tighter.

In the end, though, this team is moving forward.

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said it best at the beginning of last night's game: The standard is winning.

And since the standard is winning, anything less than 9-7 is a disappointment. And 11-5 is still a possibility, even with one of the more challenging schedules out there.

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