Denver Broncos Predictions: 5 Keys to 2011 Season

The Denver Broncos have looked impressive this preseason under new head coach John Fox.

Through the first three preseason games, the Broncos have displayed an excellent balanced attack that hasn't been since at Mile High in about five years.

It is only the preseason, but through three games, Denver's offense ranks second in the league in yards per play and they lead the NFL in yards per pass play. Denver is also only one of two teams in the NFL who have three QB's that have a QB rating of at least 95.0.

Not bad for a team that had a Quarterback controversy at the end of July.

Denver's defense has also been impressive, ranking in the NFL's top 10 in 10 of 18 categories, including yards per pass play (sixth) and sacks per pass (ninth).

Again, it is only the preseason, but for a team that went 4-12 with the second worst record in the entire NFL last year, the Broncos will take any strides and improvements that they can get, even if they're strides made in the preseason.

The Denver Broncos are a team that is in "reloading" mode. It wouldn't be inconceivable to see this team win the AFC West title, but it also wouldn't be inconceivable to see this team have another bottom-dweller season in the AFC.

In order to prevent the latter from happening, here are five keys to success for the Denver Broncos in 2011.

The Offense Remains Efficient

Through three preseason games, the Denver Broncos offense has been beyond efficient.

In efforts against the Cowboys, Bills and Seahawks, Kyle Orton has looked every bit the starting QB that he is, completing over 66 percent of his passes while averaging 9.7 yards per pass attempt and accumulating a 104.1 QB rating in the process.

The running back by committee that John Fox had used to perfection with the duo of Jonathan Stewart and Deangelo Williams is being implemented in Denver with the likes of Knowshon Moreno and Willis McGahee. So far it's paying off.

Moreno has averaged 4.8 yards a carry this preseason, while McGahee has been the power and red-zone threat of the two, finishing off drives by scoring two rushing TD's to go along with one receiving TD.

Don't expect those inflated statistics in the regular season by Orton and Moreno against real competition during the course of an entire game.

However, it isn't far-fetched to say that Orton could complete 62 percent of his passes and Moreno could average over 4.3 yards a carry. Orton did it in Denver in 2009 and Moreno averaged 4.3 yards a carry last season.

In order for the Broncos to be a well-oiled machine, they have to be a balanced team. This starts with both the running game and the passing game.

Denver fell into a lot of early deficits in 2010, which forced them to become a pass-dominant team instead of relying on establishing the running game to set up the passing game.

That is a recipe for failure.

Denver ranked seventh in pass attempts in the league but couldn't finish off drives, ranking 15th in the passing TD's.

In all 13 of Orton's games last year, he never threw any less than 28 pass attempts in a single game. Denver ranked 27th in rush attempts.

With Moreno fully healthy this season and McGahee in the rotation to take pressure off of Moreno, the Broncos should have a much more balanced offensive attack leading to better play by the QB, leading to the ultimate goal: more wins.

The Pass Rush Will Become One of the Best in the League

Recently, I wrote an article about how much the Broncos' pass rush dominated the Buffalo Bills' first team offense to the point where they completely changed the Bills' game plan and forced them to utilize many quick step drops on quick passes to negate Denver's constant pressure up front.

The Broncos continued that effort vs. the Seahawks this past Saturday, led by Von Miller's two sacks. That effort by the Broncos' pass-rush and Von Miller led to Peter King calling Miller's performance this past weekend "the best defensive performance of the weekend."

Even with Denver's D-Line beset by injuries to key rotation lineman Marcus Thomas and Ty Warren, Denver's pass rush should be one of the best in the NFL with the acquisition of the solid DT Brodrick Bunkley and the return of the NFL's sack leader in 2009, Elvis Dumervil.

With Von Miller leading blitzes, Dumervil creating constant pressure on the edge, and Bunkley clogging up the interior, don't expect the Broncos to finish last in the sacks department as they did in 2010.

The Defensive Backfield Becomes Solid

The Broncos were bad all-around last season. With the exception of Brandon Lloyd's Pro Bowl season, the Broncos had holes in every area of their team last season. They truly were a 4-12 team that was clearly outmatched by the best teams in the NFL.

The defensive backfield was one of those problems for the Broncos. The pass rush was the worst in the league, which gave the opposing team's QB extra time to throw the ball, which made an already average defensive backfield worse because of the lack of pass-rush on the defense.

With the pass-rush due to become very good, if not great, in 2011, the defensive backfield will prove to be solid.

With Bailey remaining one of the top five corners in the NFL, Goodman remaining a solid number two CB and the inclusion of rookie FS Rahim Moore in the backfield, expect the Denver backfield to be solid.

Don't expect the Broncos to force a lot of turnovers through INT's, as QB's still avoid throwing to Bailey. The Broncos haven't ranked in the Top 10 in INT's forced since 2005.

Although the pass-rush will be good and the defensive backfield will be solid, the Broncos defense won't lead the league in turnovers forced anytime soon.

Brandon Lloyd Has Another Huge Year

It's not a surprise to anyone here to say that Brandon Lloyd had the best season of any Denver Bronco in 2010.

He was the lone selection of the Broncos to the Pro Bowl. He had the second highest receiving yardage total in a single season by a Denver Broncos with 1,448 yards. He proved to be one of the best deep threats in the league, if not the best deep threat of any number one receiver in the league, amassing 18.8 yards a reception.

In a season where just about every Denver Bronco was inconsistent, Brandon Lloyd proved to be the one shining light of consistency in a season of inconsistency.

Brandon Lloyd will have to do it all over again in 2011.

There are a lot of people out there who doubt Brandon Lloyd can replicate his 2010 season. Yes,  he was voted the 58th best player by NFL players in the recent NFL Network Top 100 list, but there isn't much buzz about Lloyd heading into this season.

Whenever people talk about the best receivers in the league, you always hear the same old receivers. Andre Johnson, Larry Fitzgerald, Roddy White, Reggie Wayne. You still don't hear people giving credit to Brandon Lloyd, despite the fact that he led the entire NFL in receiving yards in 2010.

Denver has a lot of young receivers with a lot of potential, but most of them are unproven at the pro level: Demaryius Thomas, Eric Decker, Matthew Willis etc.

Eddie Royal has had one good season (2008), but ever since his rookie season, he's been a non-threat at the receiver position.

There's a good chance that one of Denver's young receivers emerges as a number two option during the course of the season, but Lloyd will still have to carry the brunt of the work as the one true playmaker in this offense.

Here's to predicting that he does.

The Offensive Line Becomes Consistent

Although I still believe Denver will remain an average at best pass-blocking offensive line with a season under the belts of the majority of Denver's starting offensive line, the O-Line should be a lot more cohesive than the season before.

Denver had one starting lineman (Chris Kuper) who started the entire season and had previous starting experience in the NFL.

Denver had two rookies (JD Walton and Zane Beadles) starting their first seasons in the NFL, along with starting tackles Ryan Harris and Ryan Clady missing about half of the 2010 season. This resulted in a lot of anarchy in the trenches for the Broncos, resulting in a lot of miscommunication, which equals many missed assignments.

Denver ranked in the bottom half in sacks allowed, and people already know the story about the horrendous running game.

With Beadles and Walton becoming veterans and Clady entering the season at full health alongside five-year starter at RG Chris Kuper, Denver only needs to go through growing pains with Orlando Franklin at right tackle.

The Broncos will rank in the top 10 in rushing this season, and expect Knowshon Moreno to have a breakout season in rushing yards due to the new cohesiveness of this offensive line.