Enemy Insider: Denver Broncos

Man it is good to have football back again this week for our San Diego Chargers. The Chargers are coming off of the BYE week and we return in the spotlight on Monday Night Football playing against the rival Denver Broncos. I was able to speak with the Lead Blog at Predominantly Orange|A Denver Bronco BLOG, Kim Constantinesco, and got a little insight on our upcoming opponent:

1. What are your expectations for the Broncos from this point forward? You still hoping for playoffs?

There’s still some hope left for the playoffs considering four of our seven remaining games are against division opponents. Winning one of those is essentially like winning two games. The AFC West is a roll of the dice right now with all teams, including the Broncos, still in the hunt for first place. With the Broncos starting 2-6 before their bye week, I would just like to see them finish with a winning record for the second half of their season. Josh McDaniels also needs to show us that he can guide this team into consistent play. One week, they look like a team that can beat the Jets and the next week, they lose to the Raiders by 45-points. If McDaniels wants to stay in Denver for a long time, it all begins with the second half of this season where the Broncos will need to play their best football in November and December.

2. What had gotten into Kyle Orton? How has the offense evolved into this high flying attack?

There hasn’t been one thing that has set Kyle Orton off. He’s always been a very good QB that is capable of winning games by not making mistakes. He did work hard in the off season to get stronger, and having one year in McDaniels’ complex offense has helped him become a true leader of the team. We have a solid set of receivers in Brandon Lloyd, Jabar Gaffney, and Eddie Royal that compliment his arm. With the running game not getting off to a very good start, the Broncos have been forced to pass more. Even when defenses play the pass, Orton is still able to complete a lot of balls. Until recently, it has been red zone issues and third and long situations that has tripped the offense up. When Orton has a long field to work with, that’s where his success has been.

3. How have other teams beaten the Broncos this season?

Most teams have beat the Broncos this season by stopping the run all while being able to run the ball themselves. The Broncos have also beaten themselves in a lot of ways with late-game penalties and turnovers. It’s evident that even if Kyle Orton has a 350-yard performance, that doesn’t guarantee a Denver victory. The Broncos are averaging just 76.8 rushing yards per game and they’re giving up 143.1 rushing yards per game (14 rushing TDs). That puts the clock control in the other team’s corner.

4. What is the biggest thing missing from the Broncos? (offensively or defensively)

The Broncos are missing energy at the start of games. Until last week, the Broncos scored just one touchdown in eight first quarters of play. The offense has gotten off to very slow starts, forcing the team to play catch up almost as soon as the opening kickoff is in the air.

Defensively, the Broncos are missing their pass rushers in Elvis Dumervil and Robert Ayers. The team is having trouble getting to opposing quarterbacks, and thus, they’re giving up a lot of big pass plays especially on third down.

5. Predictions on the game for Monday Night Football

The Broncos carry their momentum from last week over to San Diego and put up a very good fight. In a close game, the Broncos prevail. Broncos 28 Chargers 24.

—————————————————————————————————————————–I would like to thank Kim Constantinesco for all her help and I would like to wish her team the worst of luck on Monday Night!!! GO BOLTS!

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