El Minion
08-11-2006, 01:07 PM
Link (http://www.footballoutsiders.com/2006/08/11/ramblings/scramble/4091/)
Denver Broncos (o/u 10)
Bill: We’re getting up to the serious win totals here now. The most important thing for me when it comes to the 2006 Denver Broncos is that they’ll be facing, according to DVOA, the hardest schedule in pro football. Last year, a very good Chargers team couldn’t overcome that task on their way to a disappointing season. That being said, I think there’s some reason to think the Broncos will, in fact, be able to overcome that. First, I think the Chiefs are about to collapse, and the Raiders aren’t anything to write home about, either. If that’s the case, the Broncos’ schedule difficulty decreases some. Unlike the Chiefs, this isn’t a particularly old team, which makes me think there is some room for improvement upon last year. I’m not going to lie — I’m a little worried that Mike Shanahan’s geniusosity has gone haywire and he is trying to prove his infallibility to fantasy football fans by naming an undrafted rookie free agent as his starting running back, but he gets the benefit of the doubt at this point. A somewhat iffy Over.
Ian: Here’s the number of regular season wins for the Broncos over the last four seasons, beginning with 2002: nine, ten, ten, thirteen. Clearly the Broncos have been getting it done, thanks in part to the best home field advantage in all of football. But do they have what it takes to win eleven games this season? I’m not so sure.
Yes, Shanahan’s pulling another one of his motivational tricks to get Tatum Bell fired up, and it seems to be working. Rumor also has it that newly-acquired Javon Walker has been tearing it up in camp. And, thankfully, Denver realized that they shouldn’t be handing the ball off to Ron Dayne more than a couple of times a game. Eleven wins is not gonna happen though.
Gary Kubiak is gone. Off to become coach of the Texans, he leaves behind an offense that he steered to prominence. His balanced approach to moving the football helped numerous no-name running backs become first-round fantasy picks, and even helped Jake Plummer do a good job of leading the offense. Not that the offense will fall apart with him gone; he certainly leaves behind a legacy of success that won’t fall apart overnight. But watch out for Jake Plummer this season — I’m predicting that he returns to the Jake of Arizona past, and forces too many passes where they shouldn’t be thrown. Mike Shanahan won’t hesitate to mess with things and throw Jay Cutler in there, and then Denver can kiss an 11-win season goodbye. I’m taking the Under.
Denver Broncos (o/u 10)
Bill: We’re getting up to the serious win totals here now. The most important thing for me when it comes to the 2006 Denver Broncos is that they’ll be facing, according to DVOA, the hardest schedule in pro football. Last year, a very good Chargers team couldn’t overcome that task on their way to a disappointing season. That being said, I think there’s some reason to think the Broncos will, in fact, be able to overcome that. First, I think the Chiefs are about to collapse, and the Raiders aren’t anything to write home about, either. If that’s the case, the Broncos’ schedule difficulty decreases some. Unlike the Chiefs, this isn’t a particularly old team, which makes me think there is some room for improvement upon last year. I’m not going to lie — I’m a little worried that Mike Shanahan’s geniusosity has gone haywire and he is trying to prove his infallibility to fantasy football fans by naming an undrafted rookie free agent as his starting running back, but he gets the benefit of the doubt at this point. A somewhat iffy Over.
Ian: Here’s the number of regular season wins for the Broncos over the last four seasons, beginning with 2002: nine, ten, ten, thirteen. Clearly the Broncos have been getting it done, thanks in part to the best home field advantage in all of football. But do they have what it takes to win eleven games this season? I’m not so sure.
Yes, Shanahan’s pulling another one of his motivational tricks to get Tatum Bell fired up, and it seems to be working. Rumor also has it that newly-acquired Javon Walker has been tearing it up in camp. And, thankfully, Denver realized that they shouldn’t be handing the ball off to Ron Dayne more than a couple of times a game. Eleven wins is not gonna happen though.
Gary Kubiak is gone. Off to become coach of the Texans, he leaves behind an offense that he steered to prominence. His balanced approach to moving the football helped numerous no-name running backs become first-round fantasy picks, and even helped Jake Plummer do a good job of leading the offense. Not that the offense will fall apart with him gone; he certainly leaves behind a legacy of success that won’t fall apart overnight. But watch out for Jake Plummer this season — I’m predicting that he returns to the Jake of Arizona past, and forces too many passes where they shouldn’t be thrown. Mike Shanahan won’t hesitate to mess with things and throw Jay Cutler in there, and then Denver can kiss an 11-win season goodbye. I’m taking the Under.