Denver Broncos: Winners and Losers at the Season's Quarter Mark

In the aftermath of Denver's 49-23 blowout loss that saw them get dominated worse than the score indicates, Denver sits at 1-3 through the quarter mark of the season.

When judging the Broncos' 2011 season to this point, you have to grade it based up on the talent level of this team. You also have to judge the season based upon the improvements that the team has made since the debacle that was 2010.

In 2010, Denver sat at 2-2 through four games. Of course, however, the bottom fell out quickly and Denver finished with a 4-12 record.

It remains to be seen how Denver will finish this season. With upcoming games vs. San Diego, Detroit and at Oakland, the Broncos' resiliency will be tested. Resiliency was a major identity dud for this team in 2010, especially during losses such as the 59-14 loss to Oakland before the Mile High faithful.

There's no question this team plays harder under John Fox than they did under Josh McDaniels, but will it matter at the end of the year? Will Denver finish with a record better than 4-12? Who are the guys that have stepped up that can help lead them to progress?

This article will list the Winners and Losers of the Broncos' 2011 season through four games.

Von Miller

Winner: Von Miller

A lot of Broncos fans wanted Denver to draft a defensive tackle when they were on the board with the No. 2 overall selection in this year's draft. Some wanted Marcell Dareus. Some wanted Nick Fairley.

The Broncos instead drafted OLB Von Miller.

I think it's safe to say now the fans love the choice.

An early candidate for defensive rookie of the year, Von Miller has made an impact in each game he has played.

Miller already has four sacks on the season, including two forced fumbles. He got to reigning Super Bowl MVP Aaron Rodgers two times on Sunday.

Although the Broncos don't have many resources on defense, Miller has continued to be a playmaker, putting Denver in positions to win the game with his ability to rush the quarterback.

Eric Decker

Winner: Eric Decker

Eric Decker has stepped up in more ways than one.

The Broncos have had injury problems at the wide reciever position thus far through four games. Eddie Royal has been out, nobody knows when Demaryius Thomas will be fully healthy again, and Brandon Lloyd was out for a game.

Meanwhile, Eric Decker has been Denver's best reciever through the quarter mark. Decker has had two different games of catching two-plus touchdowns. He had two touchdowns against Cincy that gave Denver the win. He also had two touchdowns in a losing effort at Green Bay.

Decker has proven to be a solid possession reciever, while also possessing the characteristics of a big-play reciever with his 52-yard TD grab vs. the Bengals.

Even with Royal returning soon, Decker should remain as the Broncos' number two reciever, with Royal working out of the slot.

He has 20 receptions for 270 yards and four touchdowns at this point of the season.

Wesley Woodyard

Winner: Wesley Woodyard

Fans of the NFL may not know who Wesley Woodyard is, but Broncos fans have known who he is ever since training camp of 2008.

During the summer of months of 2008 is when Wesley Woodyard made a name for himself on the Broncos roster. An undrafted free agent out of Kentucky, Woodyard was not expected to make it on the roster.

However, although he was undersized at 6-0 and 229 pounds, Woodyard repeatedly made tackles at OLB. He had a nose for the ball.

I guess things never change.

Woodyard currently leads the Broncos in total tackles with 36, and has been the perfect complement to Von Miller, making tackles on the ballcarrier with Miller attracting the defense's attention. He currently ranks 7th in the NFL on total tackles.

The comparisons may be too early, but the Woodyard/Miller duo may be a force to be reckoned with at the linebacker position for years to come, as the John Mobley/Al Wilson duo was for Denver.

Willis McGahee

Winner: Willis McGahee

Fans may be split on this selection, as McGahee has his ups and downs as a Bronco, but he has brought stability to a position that hasn't had stablity in at least three years.

McGahee has had two 100-yard rushing games in three starts with the Broncos. He averaged 6.9 yards a carry in the loss to Green Bay, and opened up the play-action fake to enable Kyle Orton to repeatedly burn the Green Bay secondary on deep passes in the first half.

McGahee also had 101 yards rushing vs. Cincy to lead Denver to its only victory of the season.

However, with the ups comes the downs as McGahee had a subpar game at Tennessee the previous week in which he ran the ball 22 times for 52 yards and got stopped three consecutive times at the goal line with Denver on the Broncos' way to a 21-10 lead in the fourth quarter.

Despite the failed goal-line conversion, McGahee has been a step up from the mediocrity that is Knowshon Moreno. McGahee has opened up the play-action fake for the Broncos, which resulted in a couple of passing TD's for Denver at Green Bay.

Knowshon Moreno

Loser: Knowshon Moreno

I know this guy has been struggling with hamstring issues all season, but Moreno has been a total dud in 2011. Barring some sort of miraculous return to the starting lineup, Moreno will not be a Denver Bronco in 2012.

He was healthy for the Titans game, but Fox did not play him a single snap.

Moreno played against Green Bay in limited action, but immediately tweaked his hamstring the first time he got the ball. Hell, on the flea-flicker to set up the Broncos' first touchdown Sunday, Moreno almost slipped as he tossed the ball back to Kyle Orton.

The Broncos' third-year running back has carried the ball in extensive action just one time. He had eight carries for 22 rushing yards and a lost fumble. Not impressive numbers.

Furthermore, Moreno will never be a good running back for the Broncos. He needs to completely revamp his running style because it seems like he's afraid to take hits while hitting the hole. He needs to learn to run the ball more agressively.

The Pass Defense

Losers: The Pass Defense

You know how I talked about resiliency in my first slide? Well, just about every area of the Broncos has shown resiliency in 2011. Except for the pass defense.

This defense was shredded to pieces by Aaron Rodgers, and you thought you were watching Peyton Manning make Roc Alexander a household name again.

Rodgers became the first QB in NFL history to throw for 400 yards, throw for four TDs and run for a couple more TDs.

This was a complete annihilation and the score does not do the game justice. This felt worse than a 49-23 game because I cannot recall the Packers punting. Seriously. They may have punted once, but I can't remember them getting stopped a single time. The only time Rodgers could be stopped was when his recievers were deflecting passes right into Broncos defensive backs' hands.

This pass defense is terrible and needs to be revamped. Yes, I know Champ Bailey is injured. It's still no excuse to get dissected by Rodgers the way that they did on Sunday. It's no excuse to be giving up over 300 yards to Matt Hasselbeck. It's no excuse to be giving up over 300 yards to a rookie QB in Andy Dalton.

Andre Goodman needs to go. Brian Dawkins needs to retire. Quinton Carter and Chris Harris are terrible nickel/dime defensive backs.

This has been a problem of Denver's for years. The NFL is an offensive league now. This won't change any time soon. Although the Broncos have problems all over, this is their most pressing need. The Broncos don't have the speed to be keeping up with recievers such as Jordy Nelson, Greg Jennings and Jermichael Finley.

The Saints play the same spread offense that the Packers do, where they utilize three/four reciever sets. The Patriots do it too. Hell, the Packers ran three/four reciever sets on 50 percent of their plays entering Sunday.

The point is, the Broncos will never be a team that competes with elite teams as long as they have the problems that they have on defense. The pass rush is good, the linebackers seem pretty set, and the run defense still has a ways to go but has it's bright spots. The pass defense has no bright spots.

This defense needs more speed. If the 33-year-old Goodman isn't released and the 38-year-old Dawkins doesn't retire after this season, the Broncos will continue to get killed by teams like the Packers.

The Tight Ends

Losers: Broncos Tight Ends

The Broncos tight ends have been a non-factor. This is not a recipe for success for Broncos football.

McDaniels never used the tight ends throughout his two years at Dove Valley, and the Broncos suffered for it.

Daniel Fells and Julius Thomas were expected to provide the Broncos with recieving options, but they haven't contributed a dime. Thomas has been slowed down due to injury, whie Fells is now known for his fumble at the goal-line for a would-be touchdown against the Packers.

Fells has eight catches for 112 yards and a TD so far as the Broncos' number one tight end.

The Broncos need to utilize the tight end more prominently in the game plan in order to have more success moving the football. If Fells and Thomas cannot do that, it's time for the Broncos to fix the problem by drafting a recieving tight end in the early rounds of next year's draft.

Kyle Orton

Loser: Kyle Orton

Orton has had some ups, but he's mostly had his downs through a quarter of the 2011 season.

Orton has thrown for eight touchdowns, but he's also thrown for six interceptions. He committed a costly fumble against Oakland with a chance to take the lead in the fourth quarter of the season opener. In the game at Tennessee with Denver almost in field goal range, he threw an interception with under two minutes remaining to seal the loss for the Broncos.

He's had his ups like the game against Cincy where he threw for two long touchdowns to Eric Decker; not tossing a single interception in that game and accumulated a 111.2 QB rating.

He currently ranks 17th in QB rating, 20th in completion percentage and 21st in passing yards.

Orton has not stepped up, and although the Broncos clearly have bigger problems than their quarterback situation, Orton has not stepped up when needed in clutch situations. He has a 70.1 QB rating in the fourth quarter.