Denver Broncos cornerback Tracy Porter and his teammates on defense will look to make improvements on last week’s win (Chris Humphreys-US PRESSWIRE).

The Denver Broncos will play their second prime-time game in as many weeks in Atlanta against the Falcons.  Peyton Manning and the Broncos’ no-huddle offense is all the rage, but the performance of their defense might just be what swings the outcome of these two outstanding offenses.  Here are three defensive keys for the Broncos start 2012 2-0.

Take away the run game and force Matt Ryan to throw:  Seems crazy, right?  Make an elite quarterback throw more?  Not exactly crazy.  Over the course of Ryan’s career, he is 3-13 when he throws 40 or more times.  When the Falcons are unbalanced, the team does not ride well on his right arm.  This is in line with what the Broncos did to Ben Roethlisberger and the Pittsburgh Steelers last week.  The Broncos held the Steelers to 75 yards on the ground, made Big Ben throw 41 times and iced the game with a Tracy Porter pick-six.  Do the same this week, expect similar results.

Get off the field: Last week the Broncos forced the Steelers into an absurd 19 third down situations.  The only issue was that the Steelers converted an equally absurd 11 of those 19.  First and second down performance was excellent for the Broncos’ defense; third down was not.  The Broncos have to force the Falcons’ offense off the field with more consistency.  The Falcons were 5-10 on third down conversions last week and were able to shred the Kansas City Chiefs‘ defense for 40 points.  The Broncos will need to be just as stout on first and second down and keep the Falcons to under a 50% conversion rate on third down.

Force turnovers: One of many issues for the Broncos’ defense over the past few years has been the inability to force turnovers, but last Porter’s interception was as timely as it gets.  Pardon the mixed-sport analogy, but it was the football equivalent of a go-ahead grand slam in the bottom of the eighth inning.  It effectively shut the door on the Steelers’ comeback.  The Broncos will need to draw inspiration from Porter and go after the ball.  Obviously, turnover ratio has a huge influence on the outcome of a football game.  This week’s matchup is no different.  Dating back to last season, the Falcons are 11-7.  8 of those wins have come when they win the turnover battle and five of their losses have come when they have lost that battle.  The Broncos will put themselves in a great position to win by forcing mistakes.

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Matt Ryan spikes the ball after running in for a touchdown in the second half of the game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium. (Denny Medley-US PRESSWIRE)

The no-huddle offense. It’s all the rage right now. In fact, if you’re not into it, you might as well throw on a jean jacket and walk around with a Zach Morris cell phone.

The Denver Broncos and the Atlanta Falcons are about as good as it gets these days when it comes to the hurry-up, no-huddle. The Broncos scored on four of five possessions once they started running it, and they put up 31 points against a very good Pittsburgh Steelers defense in week one. The Falcons, meanwhile, assassinated the Kansas City Chiefs with 40 points in week one while incorporating a lot of no-huddle.

“Whether you huddle or you don’t huddle, it still comes down to if you have good players,” Peyton Manning said downplaying the tactic and putting the focus on the personnel.

Falcons’ quarterback Matt Ryan has looked to Manning’s no-huddle as a prime model ever since he started running it as a rookie.

“I think he kind of sets the benchmark for quarterbacks playing in that no-huddle system really in the modern era,” Ryan said. “If you’re not looking to see how he does it, and to see some of the things that he does in it, you’re putting yourself at a disadvantage.”

Manning believes that the Falcons have a great group to execute the no-huddle.

“Matt has shown the ability to make plays early in his career, taking his team to the playoffs,” Manning said. “He’s really got some great weapons that he takes advantage of with (Tony) Gonzalez and their two receivers (Julio Jones and Roddy White). We know that our defense is in for a tough test.”

Luckily the Broncos’ defense practices against the best in the game at the no-huddle a lot. Look for a fast-paced, high scoring contest in this one. It’s perfect for a Monday Night game.

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Cam Newton throws a pass against the New Orleans Saints. (Chuck Cook-US PRESSWIRE)

The Denver Broncos drew the NFC South on their 2012 schedule. That’s a tough gauntlet for any team to face, especially one with a lot of new faces in the secondary.

Tracy Porter who came to Denver by way of New Orleans can offer some insight into the division. He played cornerback in it for four years.

“It’s definitely going to be competitive,” Porter said. “It’s one of the more competitive divisions in the league. There’s a history there where every team that finished in last place, the next year they finished in first.”

Two teams from the division made the playoffs last year (Falcons, Saints), and of course the Saints won the Super Bowl in 2009. The Panthers are on the upswing (again) and the Buccaneers have some great young talent. Not many divisions can say that all four teams have played in a Super Bowl in the last 15 years.

The division is scary for opponents because of the caliber of quarterbacks that it holds. Drew Brees, Matt Ryan, Cam Newton, and Josh Freeman can downright throw, and the division runs more of a spread offense.

“It’s definitely becoming a more pass-happy division,” Porter offered. “Expect to get a lot of balls thrown across the field. That will give us a greater opportunity to force more turnovers.”

Oh, the upside. Oh, the potential downside. Either way, the Broncos have their work cut out for them this season.

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