Ndamukong Suh will go after Tim Tebow in week 8. (Rick Stewart/Getty Images)

Hitting the ground was all too common for Tim Tebow last week in Miami. He was sacked 6 times (7 sacks were reported until one was changed to a rushing attempt that went for a loss).

That was against a team that had just 8 total sacks in its previous 5 games. This week, the Broncos face a different beast. The Detroit Lions are 12th in sacks and they have last year’s No. overall draft pick Ndamukong Suh leading the QB hunt.

Suh won all kinds of Rookie of the Year awards last year. He did it all with 66 tackles, 10 sacks, one interception, and one defensive touchdown. He even went on for an extra point attempt when the Lions’ kicker was injured.

Suh has dropped off his pace from last year. Through 7 games, he has 23 tackles and 3 sacks. It’s Kyle Vanden Bosch who is leading the team in sacks (4), but Suh is still the ultimate threat.
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The #2 overall pick is the highest pick the Broncos organization has ever had in the NFL Draft. The Broncos have selected a player within the first 5 overall picks of the NFL Draft only 3 times in their history. This includes TE Riley Odoms with the 5th pick in 1972, G Chris Hinton with the 4th pick in 1983, and LB Mike Croel with the 4th pick in 1991. It is generally agreed that Hinton was an excellent pick since he was traded away (with others) to bring in the savior of our franchise, John Elway. Odoms had a spectacular 12-year career for the Orange and Blue where he started 134 games, played in 4 Pro Bowls, and appeared in the Super Bowl after the 1977 season. Croel, on the other hand, played only 4 seasons for the Broncos before moving on and eventually finishing his career in the XFL. Croel was a big disappointment because he started his career so well and looked like he was going to be a star, but his star quickly faded. This tells us is that the Broncos, like every other team, have had both hits and misses with high picks over their history.
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Josh McDaniels

Before practice, Josh McDaniels said, “We started our preparation for the Lions this morning, and we’ll have a few periods in practice dedicated to Detroit. It’s quite a different scheme than we’re use to seeing from one another. They play a 4-3 style that try to get into the backfield and penetrate. Offensively, they’ve got a lot of talented young players. They’re probably as fast in a coverage unit on special teams that we’re going to see. We need to improve on our coverage units and our return game.”

Coach McDaniels held true to his word as a lot of time was dedicated to special teams coverage and returns this afternoon.

When asked about defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh (2nd overall 2010 draft pick from Nebraska), McDaniels said, ”He was a great college football player. I’m sure he’ll have a very bright career here in the NFL, and it will be a good challenge for J.D. [Walton]. Their whole entire defensive line is pretty darn good. They’ve all made plays already in their preseason. I think they haven’t been shy about talking about the fact that they want their strength in defense to be at the defensive line.

The Broncos face a slew of 4-3 defenses to open the 2010 season, so playing the Lions in preseason is very helpful.

“I think there’s always going to be a place for the 4-3. Our first four games are against 4-3 teams. This game will be great for us to be able to get use to blocking those types of players and schemes. I think the Lions are an example of why the 4-3 will probably stay in vogue because they’ve got smaller linebackers, but they can all run.”

Saturday’s test against the Lions will be unique in that they’ve got a lot of young talent just waiting to blossom.

“We’re excited about the challenges they pose,” McDaniels said.

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