Denver Broncos Look Better Than 1-2 Record, There is Hope Behind Kyle Orton

After an anemic start against the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Denver Broncos are showing some serious signs of life.

Their current 1-2 record doesn't tell the whole story.

This past week against Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts, the Broncos really had only three weak spots. In what has become a trend with Josh McDaniels, the Broncos offense stalled in the red zone constantly throughout the game. That is certainly the biggest concern for Denver right now, but they team was missing featured back Knowshon Moreno.

The second big problem was penalties/self-defeating stupidity. The Broncos had far too many penalties on both sides of the ball, and that is all about discipline.

Thirdly, the team couldn't stop Austin Collie, but that had to do with the fact that Perrish Cox had to step in to be the second cornerback this week. I can't really fault the kid for not being a superstar as a rookie, particularly after being a fifth-round pick.

Some of the things that have come as a complete surprise for Broncos fans, have to include the shockingly powerful passing game. This is not the same Kyle Orton fans saw last year. He is playing like a top-10 NFL quarterback, and fans couldn't be happier with him.

His highly-accurate 50-yard pass to Brandon Lloyd for a touchdown certainly proved a point as he went for an incredible 476 yards passing. And the best news is that Demaryius Thomas, Brandon Lloyd, Eddie Royal, and Jabar Gaffney are all proving they are viable targets. The Broncos passing game is potent.

That does help in making up for a somewhat weak running game, but if Knowshon Moreno can start living up to his billing, this offense will be extremely powerful.

While many people haven't been focused on this, the offensive line for the Denver Broncos has become excellent. Zane Beadles, as a rookie, was making some absolutely incredible plays against Robert Mathis. Dwight Freeney was absolutely shut down by the best left tackle in football, Ryan Clady. Now that this offensive line is packing size, it is packing punch.

The defense, on the whole, had a spirit and fire that not a lot of people were expecting. That is going to be very important, as the Broncos are going to have to play games against Tennessee, Baltimore, and the New York Jets coming up.

This team, despite their record, is very much alive and probably is the second-best team in the AFC West right now (I say probably because it is hard to tell what is happening with San Diego week-to-week).

But with Kansas City in the lead at 3-0, and San Diego and Oakland in questionable form, this writer couldn't be happier with his preseason prediction for the direction of the AFC West.

My prediction that the future was outside of California is looking to be true.

The question is can the Broncos take these surprisingly strong team components and start picking up wins?

Its a question of passion and discipline, not ability. And that is something Broncos fans haven't been able to say for a long time.