Denver Broncos Football: Preseason Finale Exposes Broncos' Lack of Depth

The Denver Broncos better hope their starting lineup stays healthy this season. If the preseason finale for the Broncos against the Arizona Cardinals is any indication of the quality of the Broncos backups, any big injury could spell doom for the Broncos season.

Across the board, the second-, third- and beyond-stringers looked awful.

The Cardinals passing game had a field day with Denver's secondary, as the Broncos' struggles made Kevin Kolb's backup, Richard Bartel, look like Tom Brady. Bartel had his way against the Broncos torching the secondary for 216 yards and a touchdown. 

Chansi Stuckey, a wide receiver trying to carve out a roster spot for the Cardinals looked like Larry Fitzgerald.

The Broncos defense was just plain bad in the last tune-up before the regular season starts against the Oakland Raiders on Monday Night Football.

Denver surrendered 20 points in the first half against a team comprised mostly of the second-string players. One positive for the defense in the first half was intercepting Bartel to end a drive headed for points for the Cardinals.

The Broncos' issues weren't isolated to the defense however. The offense failed to generate any sort of push, running game, or even string together first downs and sustained drives the entire first half.

The Broncos had a measly three first downs in the first half—one of those gifted from an Arizona penalty. Not only did the Broncos not generate any points in the entire first half, but they also turned the ball over twice.

The offense during the second half had a couple more bright spots than the horrid first half. After a few rough series, Tim Tebow finally started to get the offense rolling. He put together a 94-yard drive that starting on the Broncos' 6-yard line and culminated in a 43-yard deep ball to Eron Riley that landed square in his hands.

In the first three preseason games, the Broncos looked like they were full of energy; they had an advantage on both sides of the ball and they controlled the game tempo. In Week 4 of the preseason, the Broncos looked lost and confused. They were out of place and overmatched.

Depth for the Broncos is a huge concern with the regular season upon us.

In the personnel department, the Broncos have one last glimmer of hope in creating depth this season. On Saturday, September 3, more than 850 players must be released from teams by midday as teams trim the roster from 80 to 53 in preparation for the regular season.

All over the field, help is needed. The preseason finale clearly illuminated the issue.

Another power running back to join the Willis McGahee and Knowshon Moreno tandem and fits John Fox's mold for a smash-mouth running back would give the Broncos an immediate impact player to rotate in. 

Syd'quan Thompson's season-ending torn Achilles tendon suffered Thursday night has further thinned out a position already hurting with depth issues. A couple of reliable replacement cornerbacks is a must for the Broncos on the waiver wire.

The backup defensive linemen looked like a group the Broncos wouldn't miss if they weren't on the roster. Defensive tackles and ends should be a key focus for the Broncos when aggressive, run-stoppers come available.

Wide receiver might be another place to look, as some Denver receivers have yet to pan out after a couple of lackluster seasons; the Broncos should not hesitate to pick up guys with real potential.

The Broncos have the second position on the waiver wire, and with the huge influx of NFL players who are about to be out of work, it could be like another draft for the Broncos. They have had scouts all over the league scouring preseason and regular season film looking for key contributors to add quality to a team lacking it in quantity.

The Denver Post, reports that the organization's scouting team and personnel management has up to 200 players in their sights that might come available who would instantly improve the team.

John Elway outlined the personnel strategy for the Broncos after the cuts are made.

"What we've done in the personnel department is kind of identify 200 guys that we think we may have some interest in that may get cut," Elway told the press. "We don't know out of those 200 how many really are going to be available."

The hopes of bringing in new faces to improve the depth does involve some risk. The reality is that these new players will need major work in adjusting and getting up to speed with the Broncos' system and ways of operating. And one cannot forget that these guys were also cast-offs for one reason or another.

Only time will tell what real "quality" is gained by bringing in a slew of waiver wire acquisitions, and what kind of impact they can really make in 2011.