The Rocky Situation: What Denver needs to stay on thin altitude

        The Denver Broncos are 4-1, atop in the AFC West, essentially 3 games ahead of the San Diego Chargers (because of their controversial win against the Chargers). Their offense has become notorious because of Jay Cutler and co, and their defense are equally famous, for the wrong reasons. This week, they will face the Jacksonville Jaguars, whose record also does not tell the whole story. In order for the Broncos to stay atop the AFC West and travel far into the playoffs, I feel the following tasks have to be accomplished in order to make that that a reality. Feel free to discuss and comment.

1) Jump Start the Running Game: Second year RB Selvin Young has only 266 yards on 47 carries this year with a sole touchdown. The Denver running game, which has been in the top 10 in the NFL each year for as long as I can remember, are currently stuck at 14 with 118.4 yards per game. This week, Young will be out because of a groin injury, and that may be a blessing in disguise because RB Michael Pittman will have most of the carries. Pittman has shown he can carry some of the load last week against Tampa Bay, where he successfully gathered a few first downs towards the end of the game in order to run out the clock. Aside from Young and Pittman, Andre Hall offers little relief since he can only be counted on for 5 touches a game maximum. The good news is that Rookie Ryan Torain expects to be back in a few weeks, and for those of you who have never heard of him, the Broncos are touting him to be their starter before he even takes a snap. Obviously I am not coach, but making a late rounder rookie the starting RB might be very confident to say the least. Let's hope they can jump start their running attack against the Jags so confidence won't turn into desperation.

2) Spread It Around: Look, we all know Brandon Marshallis a beast and one of the best WR in the NFL, but Jay Cutler made a rookie mistake when he went to Marshall in double, sometimes even triple coverage back in week 4 against the Chiefs. Watching that game, I had no idea what Cutler must be thinking when he fired a pass to Marshall's direction guarded by 4 Chiefs when TE Tony Schefflerwas right open (yes, he was right open, and running in full stride). Apparently, he learnt from his mistake when he took what was given by the Tampa Defense last week. Tampa was constantly employing a Skye Formation, which ensured that there would be at least 2 players guarding Marshall discreetly (almost like shadowing him) all the time. Throwing to Marshall downfield will get you an incompletion, at best. Cutler used Stockley on options routes, which was pretty good, and Tony Scheffler also got into the act to take the pressure off Marshall. This is all to say if the Broncos want to be successful, Jay Cutler needs to know which receivers he should pass. Marshall will almost never be in single coverage again, he will be spyed almost all the time, so Cutler needs to recognize his underneath receivers.

3) Pressure Defense: I know it's easy for me to sit here in my swivel chair and ask the Broncos to play defense when Im not even on the field, but someone the Broncos have the tendency to go really soft in the passing game. This year (and last year) I do not see the pressure from the Broncos defense that I'm used to seeing in the past. Bob Slowik would maybe want to employ a few blitz packages (blitz Boss Bailey, for example, because he is fast) to keep the QBs honest. From what I've seen, they've been using a 3-4 front way too much without generating much pressure and much coverage. It's become a case of sit-still-and-pick-your-target type. Obvious last year's draft picks (Moss, Crowder, Thomas) have not shown their values at all, and to be honest, none of the Broncos ends can apply much pressure, aside from Dumervil, who goes to the outside most of the time. Matched with a slow tackle with poor footwork might get Elvis a few sacks, but against a agile tackle, he has trouble outmaneuvering him. If the Defense can get some sort of pressure on the QB, it takes a lot off the CBs. Pressure can also create turnovers, which we have yet to see from the Denver defense. Out of the three, this is the most important for the Broncos to succeed. There's no way they can go far in the playoffs when their defense looks like paper tigers.

If you couldn't already tell, the Broncos is my favorite team. A current 4-1 record is beyond my expectation at the beginning of the year, but I feel the Broncos still have a couple of holes in plug up in order to become an elite team in the NFL. Now everyone is fearing the passing offensive game, but if the defense can step it up, the Broncos have what it takes to challenge powerhouses such as NE, Indy, and Titans for the AFC Crown.