By Jason Jones
Expectations area son of a gun. I am no different from the masses that proclaimed with complete certainty that the Denver Broncos would be just another NFL franchise desperate for wins. Everything pointed to that being the case. Teams just do not make the level of changes that the Broncos did, expect to see any semblance of success. Especially if that team was among the worst in the league in defense, then changes their defensive philosophy or scheme. Currently, that team is #2 in the league in defense. Without going into excessive detail on the all of the changes, suffice it to say that there is no reason (regardless of schedule) that a team like the Broncos should be anywhere near successful through the first quarter of the season.
The Browns and Raiders will definitely not be in any discussion of postseason at any point in 2009. The Bengals, whos only loss came at the hands of the Denver Broncos, have begun to make a stir. One play short of being 4-0 themselves. However, anyone who watched that game will tell you, “damn the score, the Broncos won that game.” The Broncos controlled almost every aspect of that game, it was just freakish that the ending was what it was. Most recently, the Cowboys ventured into Invesco Field in an attempt to bring Bronco Nation back to reality. They were unsuccessful. Prior to the start of the 2009 season, the Dallas Cowboys were one of those teams that the pundits looked at and concluded that the Broncos schedule was brutal. Now four weeks in, there are still some who claim that the Cowboys are not as advertised and because of that, neither are the Broncos. I think we can squash that immediately.
There is something to the idea that Tony Romo is not evolving into the QB Dallas wants him to be. It is my belief that releasing Terrell Owens was a catastrophic mistake. Roy Williams, Sam Herd, and Patrick Crayton are not going to strike fear in the hearts of any Defensive Coordinator. However, when healthy Marion Barber, Felix Jones, and Tashard Choice is arguably among the top 5 RB groups in the NFL. That defense will be formidable…against teams not named the Denver Broncos. Its a question of match ups. The point is, anyone who wants to discount the Broncos win against the Cowboys is just being obstinate. They are not the Colts, Patriots, Ravens, Steelers, etc but they are a quality win. When you accept the numbers, like the Bengal game, it is clear that this is a team with the ability to gut out wins. Or as coach and team say, succeed at situational football.
Speaking of situational football, McDaniel, Orton, and Marshall gave this football fan one of the most epic moments of the current era (excluding playoffs). A catch would have been good enough. Get the first down, maybe get out of bounds, and continue the drive. Apparently, Brandon Marshall thought the drive had lasted long enough. Marshall catches the ball over Terrence Newman (Dallas’ #1 CB) with mere inches to spare. Proceeds to instantly cut back into the meat of the field, then plow over and through three other defenders and cutting back outside en route to the endzone. There was a sense of raw unadulterated joy from everyone on the home team. It may have been Marshall’s coming out party. There now may be chemistry between Orton and Marshall. But more importantly, there was camaraderie…for everyone. Of course the most important factor following the catch was not the it resulted in a fourth win. If you want to argue that it was staged, fine. If you believe it was real, the result is the same result…Brandon Marshall and Josh McDaniel are in fact on the same page. I am speaking of what I have titled, “BFF’s”. There was an embrace, a hug, a singular moment that at least for now, breeds further optimism. For those with a rooting interest, this game was EPIC and for it to end inthe fashion it did, was quite frankly the reason we go through the roller coaster of emotion we do for our sports.
Denver gave up almost 100 yards in penalties. Most of which were in the first part of the first half. Note the difference in scoring on both sides if you accept that premise. By the end of the first quarter the score was DAL 10 DEN 0. That is all the scoring the Cowboys would get. Due to the lack of Bronco penalties, the team was able to play the game in a similar manner to how they had prior to the start of this game. Dallas won the following categories, first downs, 3rd down and 4th down efficiency, total plays, passing yards, turnovers, and time of possession. Denver out ran them and had better red zone efficiency. That’s it. What does that mean…”gutted out a win”. Kyle Orton doubled Tony Romo’s quarterback rating. Knowshon Moreno was 10 yards short of equalling Dallas’ total team rushing yards (and he’s not the unquestioned starter). Brandon Marshall had 30% more recieving yards than Dallas’ #1 and #2 option (J. Witten and R. Williams). Daniel Graham was the best TE on the field, not Jason Witten.
When it was all said and done, Champ Bailey showed once again why he is the best cover corner in the league and maybe of all time. DJ, Andra, Champ, Dawk, and Elvis all showed why this team only gives up less than a TD by average each game. Elvis, Elvis, Elvis…through three games, Dumervil had 6 sacks. Let’s be honest, that’s enough time for the film to out on him. Yet, that “HUGE OFFENSIVE LINE” that was supposed to be soooo difficult to get around could not stop Dumervil from maintaining his 2.0 sacks a game average. Dallas is not one of the best teams in the NFL, but they are clearly in the top half.
As afraid as most Bronco fans were of the schedule, now it becomes a tool for measure progression. Bengals turned out to be a decent team (in the conversation with teams like the Cowboys). The Browns and Raiders are as bad as they normally are. The Dallas Cowboys are decent, a fringe playoff team. The Patiots are next. The Patriots are not the Patriots of old, but are slightly better than Dallas and will be a test. Teacher never likes to lose to student. Following week 5, San Diego (the team expected to win the AFC West by at least 2 or 3 wins). San Diego has shown they are not right either. Yet again, in the discussion with teams like the Patriots. The bye week gives a serious breather before a terrible back to back, Baltimore and Pittsburgh. The point here is, there is a steady upward progression on this schedule through week 9. I do not expect them to do undefeated or even finish that stretch north of 6-2, but I do think after watch 4 games that they can feasibly go 5-3 or even 6-2. By the conclusion of the the tenth week, we will truly know where this team is. If they indeed go 5-3 or 6-2 and follow that up with a convincing win at Washington, then there is no reason to believe that this team could not contend for a playoff spot. Especially, considering that at this rate the Colts and Eagles will have next to nothing to play for in the last 4 weeks of the season, particularly the Eagles in week16.
As the national media has been reporting since halftime of the Broncos/Cowboys game, the Denver Broncos are for real. They could lose the next 4 in a row and they would still be for real. After going 4-0, getting to 7 to 9 wins is no longer outside the realm of possibility. To win it all would be unpresidented and I do not think that is possible. The greater morale of this story is, “this team has shown incredible measured progress and may not be 3 seasons away from being relavent…they are relevent now”.
