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Broncos v. Chargers Preview

Kim Constantinesco — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 15:02:11 +0000

The Broncos finally make their appearance on MNF. They’ve captivated a national audience for weeks now, with their success against a few tough teams. I’m a little worried about them playing on a day other than Sunday. Their routine is thrown off a little bit and the only game on T.V. at that time always draws a lot of eyes. This is a huge game for a team that threw last year’s playoff spot out the window. The Chargers won their last few games and the Broncos lost theirs and were forced to hand over the AFC West division crown. Not that we would have gone far in the playoffs, but it’s a punch in the face when the Chargers beat us the way they did. The Chargers head into Monday’s game well rested and 2-2. They probably changed some things during their bye week to get them back on track. The Broncos are coming off of a couple of emotional wins and looking forward to their bye following the Monday night game. This is going to be a heated battle as the Chargers look to gain some ground and the Broncos look to go 6-0 before their bye week. My Prediction: Broncos 31 Chargers 27.

Offense

Broncos - The Broncos offense is solid in both the pass (ranked 15th) and the rush (ranked 5th). The Broncos are still fairly healthy at this point in the season (knock on wood). Correll Buckhalter is expected back and we all know that he compliments Knowshon Moreno in the backfield tremendously. Brandon Marshall has shown moments of greatness and Eddie Royal came onto the radar screen again after last week’s 10 catch, 90 yard performance. Kyle Orton has been the best bus driver anyone could ask for, managing a talented group of offensive players all while limiting his own mistakes. All of these components will be essential on Monday to be able to keep up with the Chargers’ potent offense. The Chargers are horrible against the rush, so as long as our offensive line continues to do its job and gives Buckhalter and Moreno some gaps, we should be able to expose their weakness up front and control the clock, keeping the ball out of Philip Rivers’ hands.

Chargers- This offense can attack from all angles even though they are the worst in the league in the rushing department. In their defense, they have faced some great rushing defenses in Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and Miami plus LaDanian Tomlinson has only played in 2 games. The Chargers have only attempted 80 carries in four games, but Darren Sproles is an athletic guy who can break for large gains from the backfield or catch the short pass and then run with it. LT will play on Monday as well, but he’s not the back he once was. Despite the terrible run statistics, their passing game is 2nd in the league. Pick your poison in Vincent Jackson, Antonio Gates, or Sproles. All three do damage downfield and will definitely keep Brian Dawkins, Champ Bailey, and Andre Goodman working. Philip Rivers is the kind of QB that can be knocked out of his game quickly with some hard hits and INTs. When you stop him, this entire offense goes down the tubes.

Defense

Broncos - The Broncos will attempt to put a lot of pressure on Rivers. I wouldn’t be surprised if Elvis Dumervil got another couple of sacks to add to his season total of 8. The Chargers offensive line was battered before their bye week, and Mike Nolan will make sure his defense attacks them. The Broncos are 6th against the pass and 5th against the rush. They are only allowing 8.6 points per game and 171 passing yards per game. I think that average will go up after facing Philip Rivers, but they’ve got the talent to contain the pass game. The Broncos defense has been the homemade bread and butter so far this season, keeping the team in games until the offense gets their act together. This could be a short night for the Broncos defense if they force Rivers into 3 and outs, and then find success in the Broncos running game.

Chargers- They are 27th in the league against the rush and 12th against the pass. They don’t have a pass rush as evident by just 6 total sacks through 4 games. Jamal Williams is out for the season with a tricep injury which has hurt their defensive line a lot. Stephen Cooper leads the team in tackles, and there isn’t one person with more than one sack. Antoine Cason leads the team in INTs with 2. They cut their starting safety, Clinton Hart, just a few days ago because he was having tackling issues. Shawne Merriman hasn’t done anything for the team this year, and trading him away may be in their best interest since Larry English is improving each week. The Broncos can definitely take advantage of this struggling defense.

Special Teams

Broncos - The return game for the Broncos hasn’t been spectacular. However, as long as they could onto the ball, I can’t complain too much. Matt Prater continues to save the day with his great long distance range. There isn’t a better guy that could’ve replaced Jason Elam.

Chargers- Nate Kaeding is 8 for 9 on field goals with a long of 47. Darren Sproles handles the kick returns and he’s already returned one 66 yards this year. Our special teams has got to contain him because we don’t need to give Rivers great field position to work with.

Coaching

Broncos - Even though he’s young, give the advantage to Josh McDaniels in this department. Coaching under Belichick for 8 years is the best experience a young guy can get. After a few coaching mistakes early in the season, McD is fitting in nicely and does a great job with play calling. He’s a smart coach and as a former QB coach, he knows how to get to the opposing QB.

Chargers- Norv Turner is on the bubble. His team was predicted to easily dominate the AFC West, but right now, they’re just a game better than the Raiders. He’s a good offensive coordinator, but a terrible head coach, and many say he stands in the way of the Chargers winning a Super Bowl.

GO BRONCOS!!!

Broncos V. Chargers Preview

Kim Constantinesco — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 14:29:08 +0000

The last time the Broncos played the Chargers in Denver, they lost 41-3. I was at that massacre and I basically witnessed a funeral procession as fans left the stadium at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Remembering that game and the game in December where Philip Rivers talked a little trash to Jay Cutler has got to have the Broncos focused on Sunday’s game. Because of last year’s history between the two teams, I’m sure we’ll see an explosive Broncos offense and a three and out defense this Sunday. My prediction: Broncos - 31 Chargers – 20.

Offense

Broncos – The Broncos will face a much tougher defense this week. The big story is Brandon Marshall’s return. I suspect that the Raiders were playing the run last week, and that’s one of the reasons why Eddie Royal had such a big game. So, things should open up for the Broncos’ running attack because of Brandon Marshall’s return and the Chargers concern over Royal. Selvin Young and Andre Hall need to find their holes and continue to run up field just like they did against Oakland. The tight ends need to have sure hands because they Raiders defense will undoubtedly be focused on Marshall and Royal. Thus, they make great big targets for Cutler. Converting in the red zone is always a concern with this team, so if they avoid those red zone penalties and constantly put seven on the scoreboard, then the team should get a comfortable lead early on in the game.

Chargers - They’ve got an offensive powerhouse. I hate to say this, but Philip Rivers is a talented QB. He’s got plenty of targets in Vincent Jackson, Chris Chambers, and Antonio Gates. Add in Ladanian Tomlinson and now you see why they are a top Super Bowl contender. Vincent, Chambers, and Gates each had a TD last week, and Tomlinson carried the ball 21 times for 97 yards. Now, that’s a well-rounded offense. The Broncos defense has got their work cut out for them, and the Broncos offense has got to constantly put points on the board because even with a large lead, this Chargers team is capable of scoring a lot of points very quickly.

Defense

Broncos – Champ Bailey, Dre Bly, and the rest of the defense may have had a lot of nightmares this week as they prepared for this offense. There’s not much to say here except every single defensive player has got to be on top of his game. The Panthers won last weekend because of a big second half defensive play that they made. The ball was stripped from Antonio Gates and run straight into the endzone. If the Broncos’ defense can score once off of a Chargers mistake, then the game could really open up.

Chargers - Just as they have an all-star cast on offense, their defense isn’t too shabby either. They will miss Shawne Merriman for the rest of the season due to two torn knee ligaments. The Broncos, however, cannot relax in the least bit because they still have Quentin Jammer, Antoine Cason, and Shaun Phillips. This defense did show some gaps last weekend as the Panthers receivers had 23 catches for a combined 247 yards. No one can ignore the Panthers game winning drive into the endzone either. Again, the key to the Broncos’ offense is balance. If they can keep the Chargers guessing, then the defense will have some lapses.

Special Teams

Broncos - Kickoff coverage was of concern last week because of Johnnie Lee Higgins’ 58-yard return on the first kick off. Darren Sproles had a big return (41 yards) last week, so the Broncos need to be aware of that. As long as there are no turnovers on special teams, I’ll be happy. The Broncos have to at least give Cutler and the rest of the offense a chance to score. Kicker Matt Prater performed well last week, but he didn’t have to kick in any high pressure situations. I’ll be fine if I don’t have to witness that.

Chargers - The Chargers kicking game got a lot of practice last week. Mike Scifres was forced to punt five times and he landed the ball inside the 20 twice. Nate Kaeding made all of his extra points and the one field goal that he attempted. They looked solid on their kickoff coverage.

Coaching

Broncos – Mike Shanahan used his playbook to perfection last week. He kept the Raiders guessing, and he had them playing on their heels. He opened the game handing the ball off to receivers, and he even let the rookie receiver have his turn at QB. I’m sure the coaching staff has some more tricks up their sleeves for this Chargers team.

Chargers - Norv Turner’s play calling has been controversial in the past. He’s got a lot of pressure on him with this team because all of the pieces are in place for them to make the Super Bowl. He’s got the talent, and an injured AFC QB in Tom Brady. All signs point towards Tampa Bay, and if they don’t get there, then Turner will be to blame.