Nov 4, 2012; Seattle, WA, USA; Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Percy Harvin (12) carries the ball during the 1st half against the Seattle Seahawks at CenturyLink Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports

Here we are, one month and counting until the free agency period begins. With some of the Denver Broncos’ players also becoming free agents, one has to wonder where Denver’s eye is going to be. To re-sign or not to re-sign; that is the question.

There are a lot of high profile players out there that are going to be up for grabs. Some of these high profile players include, but are not limited to wide receivers such as Greg Jennings (GB) and Wes Welker (NE). Each of these players would be valuable assets to the Broncos offense, but they come with a hefty price tag.

Jennings is nearing the end of his four-year contract with the Green Bay Packers and would be a valuable asset for a strategic offense that runs the route, where Jennings is most successful. With Peyton Manning behind the helm, I think that Jennings’ talents could help the Broncos. Jennings had to fight for the spotlight with fellow player Randall Cobb who put up 954 yards and 8 touchdowns, and Jennings only ended up with 366 yards, but 4 touchdowns. Bottom line, there is a lot of potential for Jennings especially with a team that has a well-organized offense as Denver is making out to be.

Acquiring Wes Welker would definitely raise eyebrows. Welker put up 1,354 receiving yards with 6 touchdowns in 2012. Welker ended up playing under his $9.35 million franchise tag with the New England Patriots without any long term extension last year. As free agency comes up again and Welker approaches 32, he will not have as much leverage to force the Patriots to extend a contract offer to him. The only downside I see to acquiring Welker would be the cost of his contract, and the Broncos would be limited on cap room. Though I would love to see him in orange and blue for more than one reason, I do expect to see Welker to play for a different team this year.

Another talk of the town outside free agency and more likely of an acquisition for Denver would be a trade for Minnesota Vikings’ wide receiver, Percy Harvin. Harvin racked up 677 yards and 3 touchdown passes in 2012, but like Greg Jennings, the spotlight was mainly pointed toward another player. Of course you all know that I mean this year’s MVP, Adrian Peterson. Even so, Harvin would be a valuable asset, but he also comes with a tad bit of baggage in the attitude department. Sound familiar, Bronco fans? It does to me too. It reminds me of the Brandon Marshall and Josh McDaniels days. Attitudes aside, both Harvin and Marshall were and still are stellar players. Honestly, personality clashes happen, but that doesn’t mean that a player is a bad player, you just need to find the right fit and that has certainly been proven in Marshall’s case.

Giving credit where credit is due, Marshall has flourished with the Chicago Bears under former teammate and quarterback Jay Cutler. I think that Harvin working with respected and seasoned veterans like Peyton Manning could tame Harvin, especially with the potential of a Super Bowl run in 2014. Unlike the price tag on Welker and Jennings, the 24-year-old Harvin is still due to make $2.9 million under his current contract in 2013, and that is something the Broncos could afford to invest in to beef up their wide receiver slot, but who knows?

Brandon Stokley was Manning’s go-to man putting up 544 yards and 5 touchdowns, in addition to helping the Broncos third-down conversion where it needed it. Stokley certainly proved that he still has it at 36, but the Broncos only signed him to a one-year deal last year after the acquisition of Manning. Stokley, like Harvin, is a free agent, and I personally feel that the Broncos will not make a move in the wide receiver end without consulting Manning first. With that in mind, remember what John Fox and John Elway’s goals are. It’s ultimately about winning a Super Bowl, and they are going to make sure that they put the right weapons in front of Manning in order to do so.

Stay tuned, Broncos Country. It is only the beginning!

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Can the Broncos winning luck prevail in Minnesota? (Jim Mone/AP)

This will be the Broncos fifth away game in seven weeks. Aside from racking up the air miles, the Broncos will be looking to rack up the wins during this - the most difficult part of their schedule.

The Vikings went 6-10 in 2010, which was a huge disappointment after their 12-4 season and a run to the NFC Conference Championship in 2009.

The Favre era is over (or is it?), but this Vikings team has a lot of great young talent. If the team can get a strong arm under center, he will have a lot of targets out on the field. Right now, Joe Webb is listed as the team’s starting QB, but they drafted Christian Ponder out of Florida State with the 12th pick overall. He will be able to compete with Webb and Patrick Ramsey for a starting job. Whoever the starting QB is, it helps him that Adrian Peterson is in the backfield and Percy Harvin, Visanthe Shiancoe, and Sidney Rice are running routes.
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The Cleveland Browns (0-1) visit the Mile High City this year as they look to put last year’s dramatic loss to the Broncos behind them. The two teams meet once again this year, but under new head coaches, coordinators, and a switch in their offensive and defensive schemes. With two Belichick-bred head coaches, anything is possible, and we’ll probably see plenty of similarities between the two teams’ play calling strategy. Eric Mangini lost to the Broncos last year as the Jets head coach, and so he’s got plenty of tape to look at. Like Josh McDaniels who brought plenty of former Patriots into Denver, Mangini brought former Jets to his new team, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. He also got rid of Kellen Winslow, and unsuccessfully attempted to trade Sir Drops-A-Lot Braylon Edwards. Last season, the Browns went 4-12, giving their passionate fans yet another rebuilding season to look forward to. Because Denver is coming off of an emotional win and playing at home, I think they should be able to handle the Browns with ease. My Prediction: Broncos 24 Browns 13.         

Offense

Broncos - The good news is the Broncos didn’t turn the ball over last week. The bad news is they couldn’t find the endzone until there was 11 seconds left in the game. I don’t think Eddie Royal or Peyton Hillis were utilized enough, and as we all know, they were big contributors last year. Brandon Marshall had just 4 catches for 27 yards – he needs to work on getting more yards after the catch. Knowshon Moreno could potentially have a great game. While he’s no Adrian Peterson, the Browns did give up 225 rushing yards last week against the Vikings. The offensive line allowed three sacks last week (a quarter of the sacks that they allowed all last season), so they need to do a better job of protecting Kyle Orton. Orton also needs to do a better job of using the pump fake instead of staring his targets down. There were tipped balls and near interceptions last week because his eyes were locked on his receivers too much. This is a great game to try some new things and get the offense into some kind of rhythm.

Browns- Brady Quinn is in the limelight as the Browns starting QB and he knows the job could be taken from him at any moment. Quinn is able to take what the defense gives him, however, he’s a young gun that makes mistakes that costs his team the game. Just last week, he lost the ball at a critical point in the game, when it was still in reach. He’s known for throwing the short ball well, and utilizing Jamal Lewis’s running game more than he’s known for the deep ball. Braylon Edwards had just one catch last week. The Broncos defense needs to be more concerned with Robert Royal who had 4 catches for 60 yards and a TD last week. This offense isn’t as threatening as Cincinnati’s offense, but they can put up some points if the Broncos defense decides to take a week off. The play calling should be fairly balanced and concentrate on finding the weak areas in the Broncos defense.     

Defense

Broncos - I haven’t been this excited about a Denver defense in a long time. I know they still have a long way to go, but there is potential on this squad. Holding the Bengals to 7 points with all of the offensive talent they have was very impressive. On paper, the Browns aren’t as threatening as the Bengals, and Brady Quinn is a headcase that can have his game thrown off in an instant. Pressuring him in the pocket is necessary so he doesn’t have time to make those short drop off passes to Jamal Lewis or anyone else. Mario Haggan, Elvis Dumervil, and Andra Davis are capable of getting some sacks on this team. Davis came to Denver after playing for Cleveland for 7 years, so he’s going to be fired up for this game. Containing the Browns on 3rd and long is probably a good team goal considering they gave up some big first downs to the Bengals in that situation last week. None of their receivers concern me with Champ and Andre Goodman downfield.    

Browns-  Eric Mangini brought in 6 former Jets to this team with David Bowens and Eric Barton taking the lead on the defensive squad. I think they all just wanted to live a little closer to Brett Favre in Minnesota. The Browns employ a 3-4 with Rob Ryan (formerly of the Raiders) as defensive coordinator. Last week, they sacked Favre 4 times, but didn’t create much of a stir in any other area. Abram Elam led the team in solo tackles. At the half, Cleveland held Minnesota to just 10 points, but then let Peterson go off on them by scoring two TDs in the second half while Brett Favre threw another TD to Percy Harvin. I think this defense got tired, so look for the altitude to effect them in Denver. The Broncos offense definitely has the edge here.

Special Teams  

Broncos - Matt Prater is the man right now. Big field goals last week dialed up from long distance shows why Josh McDaniels didn’t bring in another kicker during training camp. Brett Kern shanked a punt last week, but overall, his boots have been solid.  has been handling the returns and he can break one for a big game against the Browns. The special teams’ defense has got their work cut out for them as they’ve got two incredible athletes who could get the Browns into great field position.   

Browns- Josh Cribbs ran one back for a TD last week, and Percy Harvin took a punt 41 yards before he was brought to the ground. Cribbs also led the team in solo tackles on special teams last year. Kicking duties fall into the hands of Phil Dawson who was perfect last week and Dave Zastudil who got the ball inside the 20 on two occasions against the Vikings. 

Coaching

Broncos - During the week, McD focused on the mistakes that the Broncos (and the Bengals) made during week 1. He’s emphasized that he’s not going to send 10-12 passes to a particular player every game just because of who that player is. I like that thought – not pressuring your QB into certain throws which could turn into turnovers, but I think McD isn’t utilizing certain individual talents. It’s those talents that put points up on the board.

Browns- Romero Crennel was given the pink slip just as Mangini was given his in New York. Mangini got too stuck on his QB last year, so I think if things don’t go well for Quinn, he won’t hesitate to insert Derek Anderson into the lineup after a few games. With both head coaches learning the ropes under Belichick, this could be a true chess game – a game of the minds. Enjoy!

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