Let us think a little unconventionally, though. I read Jim Saccomano’s blog on DenverBroncos.com from last Thursday, February 17^th entitled “Late Selections as Vital as Early Ones” and he sheds some light on a few great examples of all-time great Broncos either selected in the late rounds or were free-agent rookie signings.  Mentioned in the blog are the great late round picks such as:

Karl Mecklenberg (13 RD in 1983) – A multiple time pro-bowler, Mecklenberg played all positions in the front-seven. He led the Broncos defense to three Super Bowls and is a distinguished member of the Denver Broncos Ring of Fame. IMHO, Mecklenberg should be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-1) come into to town to play the Broncos (3-1) on Sunday. The two teams have not met since 2004, but that doesn’t mean that they’re not familiar with each other. Former Broncos QB Brian Griese is starting for the Bucs, and Michael Pittman, Nate Webster, and Jamie Winborn all played for the Bucs at one point. Even QB coach Jeremy Bates coached for the Bucs from 2004-2004. Tampa finally gets to play their very first game in Denver since Invesco Field was constructed, and they carry a 3-game winning streak into the Mile High City. The Broncos have an all time 4-2 edge against the Bucs, but the last four games in which the two teams met where decided by seven points or less. Expect a close game in which the Broncos’ offense will get back on track against a tough Buccaneers’ defense. My Prediction: Broncos 28 Buccaneers 24.  

Offense

Broncos - The Broncos are second in the league in total offense and passing yards, and Brandon Marshall and Eddie Royal continue to be the most productive receiving duo in the league. However, in order to beat the Bucs, the Broncos need to have a balanced offensive game. The Bucs are known for stopping the run, so if the Broncos can get their passing game going early on like they did against the Raiders, Chargers, and Saints, then the Bucs will be forced to move their defenders outside of the box. This will create room for the running game, which ranks 14th in the league right now, to take off. Inserting Michael Pittman into the formula more often would benefit the Broncos greatly. He’s a powerful runner, and you know he’s excited to play against his former team. He will be fired up to show Tampa why they should’ve not released him. Utilizing Tony Scheffler and Daniel Graham by throwing short drop off passes should work well against this Tampa Bay defense, but that’s if the Broncos’ receivers get involved early on. Holding onto the ball will be the most important factor in getting the Broncos to 4-1. I’m sure Mike Shanahan has drilled that into their heads this week because of the 4 turnover fiasco that took place in Kansas City.   

Buccaneers- Jay Cutler looks like a gold statue compared to Brian Griese right now. Griese went from Denver to Chicago, and finally landed in Tampa to be the backup QB for Jeff Garcia. Garcia was benched after a poor performance in week 1, so Griese stepped up to the plate and has completed 71-128 passes for 716 yards, 4 TDs, and 6 INTs in three games. He’s a head case and the Broncos can make him throw the ball away fairly easily if they get pressure on him. He threw 3 INTs against the Packers in week 3, and his passer rating is 30th in the NFL. Griese will be seeing a very different Broncos team than he remembers. Because Rod Smith (retired) and Tom Nalen (IR) are not playing, there is nobody left on the roster from when he was a Bronco. The Bucs rank 13th in total offense and passing, and 9th in rushing. Antonio Bryant leads the team in receiving yards, but has yet to score a TD this season. Along side of him is the always dangerous Ike Hillard and he has 2 TDs so far. Earnest Graham leads the team in rushing with 57 carries for 334 yards and 2 TDs while Warrick Dunn has 42 carries, 197 yards, and 1 TD. The Bucs have the potential to be a very dangerous offense if they are clicking on all cylinders.  

Defense

Broncos - If the defense has not learned anything from last week’s performance, then we might as well put this season in the Broncos’ archives right now. Each week, the Broncos manage to find a new way to allow their opponents to score points. Lots of them. They currently stand 29th in the league for total defense, 31st in passing defense, and 24th against the rush. You would think that with Champ Bailey and D.J. Williams being the best two players in the league at their respective positions, this defensive unit would come together and be ranked at the top of the league in defensive performance. While fans say that the problem lies in the defensive scheme, or the coaching, I would disagree. The problem lies within the players, and even they agree. They have given up big yards on third and long and they’ve missed tackles left and right. Elvis Dumervil is still sackless, but the return of Dewayne Robertson should help put a stop to the Bucs’ rushing attack. The Broncos absolutely need to pressure Brian Griese. Force them to run the ball. After a while they will tire in the high altitude, and that’s when turnovers happen.

Buccaneers - It will be no walk in the park for Jay Cutler and the offense. This defense ranks 9th in the league, and is without a doubt the toughest defense that the Broncos have faced thus far. It will be a good test for them because they face Jacksonville and New England in the next two weeks. Barrett Ruud is one of the top all around defensive players in the league with 25 solo tackles and 2 INTs in four games. Another concern is Greg White as he has 3.5 sacks so far. Old guys like Ronde Barber and Derrick Brooks are always threats when they’re on the field. Against Green Bay and Chicago, the Bucs needed big fourth quarter comebacks, and it was their defense that did it for them by creating 9 turnovers. Hopefully, the Broncos are over their turnover woes because if they aren’t, this defense could make them continue their turnover streak.  

Special Teams  

Broncos - Matt Prater missed his first field-goal last week in KC, but he stepped up by making a big 56-yard field-goal. He’s 3-3 on field-goals that are 50+ yards. This game against the Bucs could come down to the wire, and it may be the first time that we witness Prater’s leg under pressure. Punter Brett Kern was woeful last week booting the ball twice and averaging 38 yards per punt. Special teams coverage allowed 51 yard and 35 yard kick returns, and the Chiefs started in Denver territory on six possessions. They will need to pay special attention to Dexter Jackson as he is averaging 25 yards on kick returns with a long of 45 yards. Special teams can easily win or lose this game for the Broncos. 

Buccaneers - Kicker Matt Bryant is coming off of a very emotional week. His infant son passed away just four days before the game against Green Bay where he made all three of his field goal attempts. He has not missed yet this season making 8-8 kicks. Jackson could surprise this Broncos team with a big return at any time during the game.   

Coaching

Broncos - Let’s see what kind of work Shanahan put into the defense this week during practice. He blamed the offense for the loss, but let’s hope some changes were made on the other side of the ball. Shanahan has coached against Jon Gruden numerous times, and it’s definitely a meeting of two great masterminds, but I give the coaching edge to Shanahan.  

Buccaneers - Gruden has proven that he knows how to win late in the game. It wouldn’t be a Gruden coached game if you didn’t see his scowl on the sideline. I guarantee that he is chuckling on the inside about the situation in Oakland. Hopefully, he finds that amusing enough to forget about how good the Broncos are.

GO BRONCOS!!!

The Broncos take on the Kansas City Chiefs this Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium. After two close calls at home, Jay Cutler and the Broncos are excited to get on the road. Cutler says,

“Kind of glad we’re on the road this week, get a way from Mile High a little bit. You get on the road, and it’s kind of just us guys out there, battling against them” (Denver Post).

I’m excited to see the Broncos play away from Invesco. As an athlete, there’s nothing like having the crowd against you to motivate you to win…especially if it’s an angry Chiefs’ crowd! It will be good to see how they perform even if it is against an 0-3 Chiefs team. Denver actually has an overall losing record (45-52) against the Chiefs, but the Broncos swept them last season. They are going for their first 3 game win streak against the team since the 91′-92′ season, and Mike Shanahan is going for his 150th career win. Maybe second to the Raiders, he would love to achieve that milestone against the Chiefs. Don’t expect to see the team lose this week. I got an email from Bodog as to what unbeaten team will be the last team to lose a game in the 2008 season, and Denver ranked second behind Dallas with 3/2 odds. My prediction for week 4: Broncos – 34 Chiefs – 14. 

Offense

Broncos - They are still the #1 offense in the league, and through three games, the Broncos have never put up as many points (114). I think the most impressive stat thus far is the one sack that Jay Cutler has taken all season. Unbelievable from an offensive line with rookie Ryan Clady, and second year player, Ryan Harris at the tackle spots. Not only that, but the second string center and former Chief, Casey Wiegmann, has had to fill in for Tom Nalen. A big thanks to KC for releasing him! The running back by committee thing is still working well for the Broncos with Selvin Young and Andre Hall swapping spots on the sideline every five plays. It doesn’t matter if they carry the ball. Five plays is five plays and they’re out. Then, they throw Michael Pittman in for the tough running. He’s got 4 TDs in three games. As far as the wide receivers go, Darrell Jackson is still out due to injury, but to be honest, I kind of forgot about him. With Brandon Marshall, Eddie Royal, and tight end Tony Scheffler, the boys know how to get points on the board. The Falcons put up 38 points against the Chiefs’ defense, so I don’t anticipate the offense having an off week this week.    

Chiefs- Where to start? The Chiefs have the QB by committee thing going on right now, but not by choice. Brodie Croyle is out for at least two more weeks, so last week they let third stringer Tyler Thigpen play after 11-year veteran backup Damon Huard performed poorly. So, what can Herm Edwards do? The only thing he can at this point. Go back to the backup. Huard will get the start. Who finishes? I don’t know, maybe a running back. They should just keep the ball on the ground the entire game anyway. The Larry Johnson of old would’ve carried this team on his shoulders, but this season, he’s lucky if can carry the ball. Dudes got two fumbles already. Dwayne Bowe leads the team in receiving yards and TDs and Tony Gonzalez can always be a threat. Other than that, it’s a stale offense that’s 30th in the league in total offensive production. At least they’re not the worst offense in the state. Good Lord, Missouri! 

Defense

Broncos – Now is the time for the Broncos to tweak their defense. They’re going up against a struggling offense so lets find out what works. They tested the waters with the 3-4 alignment last week against the Saints, but that still didn’t help the pass rush. The Broncos only have 5 sacks in 3 games this year, and I know that Elvis Dumervil is itching to get his first take down beind the line of scrimmage. It’ll come against this Chiefs young offensive line. Using the 3-4 allowed linebacker Jamie Winborn some time on the field, but the Broncos will mainly stick to their 4-3 alignment. D.J. Williams leads the team and is second in the league in tackles with 28 (23 solo, 5 ast.), yet this defensive unit could not stop a baby stroller from rolling down the street right now. This Chiefs team should open themselves up for the Broncos to get into some kind of defensive rhythm because they’ll need it in week 5 against Tampa Bay. What? I’m not looking ahead already. 

Chiefs - This is one area in the standings where the Chiefs out perform the Broncos. Not by much, though. I’m pretty sure that Patrick Surtain is missing the pressure that the Chiefs could put on the QB at one time. They lost that when Jared Allen moved two states north. Their rush defense is nearly last in the league. Wasn’t Glenn Dorsey supposed to do something about that. They did have an awesome draft. Thus far, the team’s got 2 sacks, 0 interceptions, and their leading tackler, Tank Tyler has just 16 total tackles. The Broncos should have a field day on offense, and if they don’t get into the endzone at least four times, I’ll be surprised.

Special Teams  

Broncos - Matt Prater remains perfect on the season making 5 of 5 field goals. Last week against the Saints he did a great job of not letting Reggie Bush return kicks. He sent 6 of 8 kickoffs into the endzone with 4 of them being touchbacks. That needs to happen for the rest of the season. Brett Kern continues to do well punting the ball with an average of 49.4 yards per kick. The special teams coverage did a nice job on Reggie Bush last week. B.J. Sams isn’t Reggie Bush or Devin Hester, but because guys have broken lose in the first two weeks, the Broncos’ special teams cannot rest easy. 

Chiefs - Nick Novak is 1 for 2 on field goal attempts, but let’s face it…this game isn’t going to come down to field goals. Sams is averaging 20.0 yard per kickoff and 8.3 yards per punt. They’re allowing 23.6 yards on kick returns and 6.1 yards on punt returns. Not much to say about the Chiefs special teams except that I’m sure Novak wishes he could get onto the field more. 

Coaching

Broncos – Definitely give the coaching edge to Mike Shanahan. He’s doing things with a team that the league didn’t even acknowledge before the season started. Don’t expect a conservative game plan in Kansas City. He’s willing to call big plays in risky situations. If he goes to Las Vegas anytime soon, you know he’s coming back with a thicker wallet.  

Chiefs - Herm Edwards is a hated man in KC right now. His calls are too conservative probably because his team is so young that he is still trying to evaluate what they are capable of. I don’t know why I’m trying to justify this train wreck that is the Chiefs. One thing is certain: fans are getting upset!