Should the Denver Broncos Be Ranked Higher in NFL Power Rankings?

According to ESPN, the Denver Broncos are the 27th best team in the NFL heading into 2011.

If that sounds unfair, consider the fact that they closed last season at 29. Without stepping onto the field, the Broncos have already improved their ranking!

Is this ranking accurate? The only teams behind the Broncos are Cleveland, Washington, Carolina, Buffalo and Cincinnati which sounds about right. Denver would have a legitimate shot at winning against each of those teams.

Looking above the Broncos, there some question marks at 18, 19 and 20. In order, they are Detroit, Seattle and Tennessee, which are all teams that have serious question marks and depending on the answers to those questions, could also be teams that the Broncos could compete against.

Obviously, this is the NFL, and any team can compete at any time, but what is it that is keeping the Broncos down so low in the rankings?

Coach John Fox, along with the additions to the defense, should help to keep the Denver offense on the field more often and in a rhythm.

The defense was the main reason that the Broncos floundered so much last season, so even a slight improvement there should have a bigger impact than just two spots from 2010 to 2011 right?

The truth is that the perceived quarterback controversy (which only exists in the minds of the fans) is scaring experts away from giving the Broncos any chance of improving this season.

Kyle Orton can boast about knowing where his game is at and relish in the fact that he is outplaying a technically inferior sophomore, but the truth is that he is one multi-interception game away from possibly being benched.

The groundswell of support for Tim Tebow is infinitely greater than the support that was given to Jay Cutler when he was backing up Jake Plummer, and Plummer was winning more games than he was losing.

Not that there is a comparison to be made between Cutler and Tebow's skill sets, but the insistent pressure of the Broncos faithful could cause a premature exit for Orton, just like it did for Plummer.

That kind of uncertainty cannot be taken away by a "vote of confidence" from anyone in the Broncos organization and that is killing the Broncos in the eyes of the prognosticators.

Still, the Broncos only need to be better than three other teams to make the playoffs, so it is worth a look to see how far behind they are of the rest of the AFC West.

The Broncos closest AFC West opponent is the Oakland Raiders at 23. Another team that has consistently underperformed and is likely ranked at 23 as a punishment for sweeping the division last year and still missing the playoffs.

Next are the Chiefs at 14 who are also probably living off of last year's reputation. The experts were wise to put them in the top half but noticeably outside of the top eight AFC teams who would be projected to make the playoffs which is also smart.

Finally, as they have for many years, the San Diego Chargers are the prohibitive favorite in the AFC West and are ranked 10th overall in the NFL.

How many years must NFL fans be subjected to the atypical slow start from the Chargers that requires a monumental late season push to make the playoffs?

This could be the year that the Chargers are knocked down early and finally stay down. This could also be the year that the Raiders show some consistency and finally return to the playoffs.

Whatever happens, this is still one of the most wide open divisions in the NFL and this list will undoubtedly be unrecognizable as early as October.

Should the Broncos be ranked higher than 27th? Maybe, but they will have a crack at 23rd right out of the gate in 2011.

Baby steps....