Broncos abuse Steelers, earn first preseason win

The Broncos earned their first preseason victory of 2010 on Sunday night after beating the Pittsburgh Steelers 34-17. With a trio of interceptions, and 3.0 sacks the defense was a key part of the victory, scoring two touchdowns of their own. Rookie cornerback Perrish Cox started the interception mania by picking off a pass and tip-toeing to stay in bounds. Not to be outdone by a rookie, Andre' Goodman returned an inception of Dennis Dixon 70 plus yards for a score, then rookie Syd'Quan Thompson followed suit intercepting a pass and returning it 48 yards for a score. Joining in on the big defensive plays was Robert Ayers who recorded 2.0 sacks on the night.

The offense performed just as well, starting quarterback Kyle Orton was 9-of-14 for 80 yards and one interception while Lance Ball rushed for 75 yards of 10 carries. Tim Tebow played well, while his statistics were mediocre, going 5-of-10 for 72 yards an interception and one touchdown pass. As a whole the offense played well, putting up some good numbers against a top notch defense.

Tonight's game was by far the Broncos best game of the preseason this year. The special teams units performed great, the defense was better against the run, and the offense continued to impress - especially in the passing game, while the rushing attack looked much improved. Bronco fans have plenty of reasons to be excited for the season, while it was "just" a preseason game, the team did look great.

Photo(s) courtesy of the Associated Press were used in this post.

Five things to watch for in tonight's game

The Broncos will get a tough test tonight, as the Steelers will be ready to play. Here are five things to watch for in the game:

• The game. Tonight's game will be Nationally televised on Fox, at 6p.m. (MT). It will also be re-aired on NFL Network Wednesday, September 1st at 11 a.m. (MT).

• The starters performance. The third preseason game is traditionally the one that best resembles a team's future performance in the regular season. That is because the starters play most of the game. Expect Kyle Orton and many of the other starters to play into the third quarter, giving fans and coaches a good look at what the starters are capable of.

• The offensive line. Josh McDaniels will be juggling the offensive line in tonight's game, looking for the group that messes together the best. "You'll definitely see a combination with Daniels at left guard and Beadles at left tackle," McDaniels said. "There's a lot of guys who are still competing for that job. We have not given the job to anybody." Keep an eye on the line's play, tonight could determine he starts, sits and gets cut.
  
  
• The pass rush. Last week the Broncos had two sacks, one coming from Jarvis Moss and another from Robert Ayers. Against the Steelers getting to the QB will be key, expect a heavy rotation of linebackers with Jason Hunter, Moss, and others getting a crack at creating some pressure.
  
  
• The run defense. The Broncos run defense has been (next to the rushing attack on offense) the most troubling. This week, Robert Ayers and Jarvis Moss will be the outside linebackers, and will be called upon to help against the run."I think when they're all in there and they're all healthy and they're all trying to play together, I think we can be a good run defense," McDaniels said. "I think that, I really do."

Broncos start final cuts early, good news on injury front

Though the deadline for the first roster cuts is not until August 31st, the Broncos started trimming their roster a week early on Monday when the team announced they waived running back Toney Baker, offensive lineman Kirk Barton and wide receiver Patrick Carter.

Baker joined the team as a college free agent after the draft in April, and saw his chances for carries disappear after the team signed free agent running backs Justin Fargas and LenDale White in August. Barton joined the team on July 7th after being waived by the Detroit Lions, and Patrick Carter joined the team on August 5th, but with a long list of wide receivers ahead of him on the depth chart, never really had a chance to earn a roster spot.

On Tuesday, Josina Anderson of Fox31 reported the Broncos had released veteran linebacker Akin Ayodele, who signed with the team as a free agent in March. Ayodele was drafted by the Jaguars in 2002 and also played for the Dallas Cowboys and most recently the Miami Dolphins. Ayodele started both preseason games at inside linebacker against the Bengals and Lions, racking up 8 tackles. The release of Ayodele was followed by the news of the release of offensive lineman and former Colorado Buff Tyler Polumbus, who replaced Ryan Harris last year as the starting right tackle, but clearly struggled. Polumbus was signed in 2008 by Mike Shanahan, and was a better fit for the zone blocking scheme. Polumbus will likely draw some interest from Shanahan's Redskins, but other zone blocking teams such as Houston and Seattle could be a good fit too.

Though some might wonder why the team would release players now while the deadline to bring the roster back to 75 players is not until next week, coach McDaniels has said before that if the team has already made a decision about the player's future, they want to give him a chance to catch on with another team.

The best news on Tuesday came from Josh McDaniels' press conference, where he announced several injured players were scheduled to return to practice this week. Champ Bailey, D.J. Williams, Demaryius Thomas, Chris Kuper and Correll Buckhalter returned to practice on Tuesday, while Ryan Clady and LenDale White will join their team mates on the field again on Wednesday. Though some of those players might not get playing time in the two preseason games that remain, it is a good sign that they are back on the field for practice instead of rehabbing from their injury.

The team also announced they were awarded Colorado native Kory Sperry, a second year tight end who was waived by the Miami Dolphins and came into the league as an undrafted free agent with the Chargers in 2009. Sperry will be able to help out Marquez Branson at tight end while starter Daniel Graham and backup Richard Quinn remain sidelined with an injury.

Broncos rushing offense, defense must improve

Last Saturday the Broncos played their second preseason game of 2010, their INVESCO Field @ Mile High home opener, against the Detroit Lions. Denver fell behind by 13 points early, but Kyle Orton rallied the offense to take the lead back. In the fourth quarterback however, Brady Quinn was sacked and fumbled, Detroit recovered and won 25-20. The two main areas the Broncos struggled with in the loss were stopping the run, and creating a good rushing game on offense.

The absence of starting left tackle Ryan Clady and running backs Knowshon Moreno and Correll Buckhalter has been dubbed the sole reason for the lack of rushing production. "Obviously, those guys are great players and we'd love to have them back," Said offensive lineman Russ Hochstein. "When they do get back, things will be great. But in the meantime, we still need to make it go, and we're not doing that yet."

The starters on Saturday rushed for a mere 20 yards on 8 carries, and if not for a 23-yard scamper by Bruce Hall in the forth quarter, the Broncos would have rushed for just 32 yards in the game. Through two pre-season games, the Broncos have an average of 55.5 yards rushing, ranking 2nd to last in that category. This week the Broncos will face the Steelers, whose run-stopping defense only allowed 129 rushing yards from the run-happy Giants last weekend. Clearly, Denver will have to improve in the running game.

Thankfully, there hasn't been much of a need for a rushing attack from the first string offense, as Kyle Orton has been next to flawless. Orton, the only quarterback in the NFL to throw multiple touchdown passes in each of his preseason appearances, has gone 24-of-35 for 261 yards, 4 scores with one interception (that the receiver tipped into the air). With a pass-happy offensive attack, and a slew of injuries, the running game being placed on the back burner is understandable, but soon won't be acceptable. "We've still got a long ways to go, but we're working on it," wide receiver Jabar Gaffney said of the rushing game. "We'll have it all together, hopefully, by the time we go to Jacksonville."

The Broncos were out rushed by the Lions 151 yards to 75 yards, drawing concern not only about the offense, but the run defense as well. The Broncos are ranked at the bottom-of-the-barrel in rush yards allowed this preseason, allowing 171.0 per game. Notably, D.J. Williams, Brian Dawkins, Champ Bailey, and Elvis Dumervil have all missed one or more games already. The Broncos linebackers will have to step up without Dumervil and Williams against the Steelers, or the game could get ugly. Similarly to the offense, the defense's aiming point for correcting the run defense is the season opener. "You're always going to think you can do better," defensive end Justin Bannan said. "But it's all about being ready for that opener, and we're working toward that."