Denver Broncos: Breaking Down the Broncos 2011 Schedule
The Denver Broncos are coming off of a difficult season that earned them their worst finish in franchise history.
Their poor season helped the Broncos gain a new head coach, a new front office position and the No. 2 overall draft position.
Then there are all the questions that are coming up about this season. Who will be the starting quarterback? Will there even be a season? Will the defense remember how to tackle anybody?
Well, we now know what the season for the Broncos is going to look like so let's take a stroll down the Bronco's next 16 opponents and take a guess about how things will go.
Week 1: vs. Oakland Raiders
1 of 17
The Broncos get to start out the regular season against their longest running and most hated rivals, the Oakland Raiders.
Last year the Raiders owned Denver in both games, and Denver only really ever showed life a couple of times in either of those two games.
This is going to be in Denver which is usually a good thing for the Broncos at the start of the year. They have quite a streak going of victories in their home openers.
Broncos have been famous, in the past few years, for fast starts and slow finishes while the Raiders haven't really been that famous for much of anything.
I think Fox gets the Broncos a win in their home opener.
1-0.
Week 2: vs. Cincinnati
2 of 17
Denver gets another fortunate draw in this matchup.
Another home game, and it just so happens to be the Cincinnati Bengals who have once again become the Cincinnati Bungles.
The Bengals had such a horrible season last year, and it will be interesting to see whether or not the Carson Palmer drama continues into Week 2.
Palmer seems absolutely decided that he will not play for the Bengals anymore, even if that means his retirement from football.
They are also without TO, their leading receiver from a year ago, and are just a team in complete shambles.
Denver gets off to another quick start in a regular season with a victory here.
2-0.
Week 3: at Tennessee
3 of 17
Interestingly enough, the Broncos end up in Tennessee during Week 3 for the second season in a row.
A lot of things will be different about the Titans this time around. No Vince Young, no Jeff Fisher, no middle fingers at the officials from the defensive coordinator.
It will be interesting to see what kind of team the Titans will be now that they are moving on from Jeff Fisher.
With another brand new quarterback and coach combination, the Titans may be stumbling out of the gate.
The Broncos managed to take Chris Johnson out of the game last year en route to a come from behind victory. This game looks like it will have a similar outcome.
Broncos win, 3-0.
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Week 4: at Green Bay
4 of 17
This will be the first real test of the new John Fox defense.
I don't think this game needs too much analysis, as Aaron Rodgers will have a field day with the Broncos.
Denver loses big, 3-1.
Week 5: vs. San Diego
5 of 17
The San Diego Chargers have really been the measuring bar in the AFC West for a while now, with the exception of last season.
They have also been the team that has dominated the Broncos over the past five years.
Some very embarrassing losses have been given to the Broncos at the hands of this Chargers team, largely because Phillip Rivers is allowed to have his way everywhere he goes.
The few times the Broncos have been able to really pressure Rivers, they have had better results.
I see Fox toughening up this team a bit, and having the Broncos put up a good fight, but they will come up short against the Chargers, yet again.
3-2.
Week 6, bye.
Week 7: at Miami
6 of 17
The Broncos will get to line up against another one of their former stars when they travel to Miami to meet up with Brandon Marshall.
Marshall never really developed a chemistry with Chad Henne, and basically ran Henne out of town because of it. He's such a personable fellow, this Brandon Marshall.
A lot of this game may come down to how well the new quarterback is clicking with Marshall. Those of us who follow the Broncos on a regular basis know how differently Marshall plays when he is not happy.
Nonetheless, until the defense proves it can stop people, I find it hard to pick in favor of the Broncos for a while.
Broncos lose a close one.
3-3.
Week 8: vs. Detroit
7 of 17
The Broncos have been very guilty of underestimating teams in the past. This dates back to days of Mike Shanahan but was definitely prevalent during the short reign of the "Boy King," Josh McDaniels.
The former Bronco reunion tour continues with Tony Scheffler coming back to Denver.
Detroit was far better than their record suggested last year, and they may come out and shock a lot of people this season.
Count on the Broncos being caught off guard at home, again.
3-4.
Week 9: at Oakland
8 of 17
The Broncos will find themselves in a familiar position when they go to Oakland. In the middle of a season that started out very well, but the wheels are beginning to fall off. They will be desperate for a win going to Oakland.
Oakland will once again be ready and waiting for the Broncos and give them much more than they bargain for.
For whatever reason, the Broncos have the hardest time sweeping the season series with the Raiders, no matter how much better or worse they are.
3-5.
Week 10: at Kansas City
9 of 17
The Chiefs really emerged last season, and will be working very hard to prove that their division championship was not a fluke.
The Chiefs have always been able to run the ball very well against the Broncos. Look for that to continue this week, and look for the Chief's defense to continue their very stout play against the Broncos.
Whether it's Orton or Tebow at quarterback, this week will be a hard fought trench battle.
Right now, the Chiefs are the tougher team. That may change by the time we actually see this game, but for now, the edge is with the Chiefs.
3-6.
Week 11: vs. New York Jets
10 of 17
The Broncos played a great game against the Jets last season, and lost in heart breaking fashion as a result of a bad penalty in the waning seconds.
If Denver plays with as much determination as they did last season, then the Broncos stand a good chance of winning the game.
If not, the Jets will embarrass them.
The Jets are a very good team, and will be looking for another run deep into the playoffs. If they want to do that, then they'll have to be able to seal the deal against teams they should beat, and this is one of those games.
Jets win.
3-7.
Week 12: at San Diego Chargers
11 of 17
This is a really hard stretch for the Broncos, and it won't get any easier when the go to San Diego to meet the Chargers for the second time.
After all the losses leading up to this, they'll be desperate for a win. Perhaps a bit too desperate.
The Chargers should win this one with ease.
3-8.
Week 13: at Minnesota
12 of 17
The Broncos haven't played against the Vikings in a long time, so count on a good one.
With the retirement of Brett Favre, most likely for good THIS time, the Vikings now have a lot of questions at quarterback.
The good news for the Vikes is that they still have Adrian Peterson, and they still have one of the better defenses in the NFC.
Depending on what happens with the labor dispute, and who the Vikings have starting, this game could favor the Broncos because of how one dimensional their game may have to be.
I'll give the Broncos a break on this one, and say they manage to squeak out a win in this one.
4-8.
Week 14: vs. Chicago
13 of 17
The ex-Bronco reunion tour continues with bad guy No. 1 returning to the Mile High City for the first meaningful game since he cried his way out of the Denver.
Count on plenty of boo-birds to show up for Jay Cutler's return, but also count on it not making much of a difference.
Cutler found a real groove with the Mike Martz's system, and he will only improve this year. That is if he has an offensive line that can keep him healthy to this point of the season.
Plus, Cutler's toughness and ability as a leader has been called into question ever since he left the NFC championship game with a knee injury but stayed out on the sideline in full uniform.
I imagine the team will be well over that by this point of the season, however.
Cutler leads the Bears to another win over the Broncos.
4-9.
Week 15: vs. New England
14 of 17
About the only chance the Broncos will have in this game will be if the Patriots have already locked up their division and are just looking to cruise to the end of the season.
If not, the Pats will have a field day with the Broncos.
4-10.
Week 16: at Buffalo Bills
15 of 17
Ryan Fitzpatrick proved to be one of the few bright spots for the Buffalo Bills last season, and he will continue to improve for them this year.
All the same, the Bills are in the middle of a similar rebuilding campaign, and their efforts in futility have been going on for much longer than in Denver.
Broncos manage to creep out a win in this one to save a bit of face.
5-10.
Week 17: vs. Kansas City Chiefs
16 of 17
Allow me to say that I really like how the NFL has made every game in the final week of the season a division matchup. It gives every single team a reason to show up during this last game regardless of how good or bad the season has gone.
The Chiefs may be on their way back to the playoffs by this point, and could be resting many of their starters. As a result, I think the Broncos will win this last one and make a moderate improvement from their previous season.
6-10.
Overall Grade
17 of 17
The Broncos have been given another very tough schedule by the league, and will really put their rebuilding efforts to the test.
I would grade their strength of schedule at about an A minus because they play several very strong opponents.
Not to mention the fact that they have a stretch of games where they play: At Oakland, at Kansas City, vs. the Jets, at San Diego, at Minnesota, vs. Chicago and vs. New England. That is a brutal stretch against very solid teams and division rivals.
We'll see how John Fox is able to control the emotions of the players and how he motivates them to prepare for what will most likely be another tough season.
All of this still depends on the league and the player's union getting a collective bargaining agreement done before August, which might not happen.
After the dust has settled, the Broncos will find themselves out of the playoffs once again, but will at least be a team that is finding an identity. Fox won't get the Broncos there in one year, but he will put them on the right path.
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