Can Tebow make the transition to the NFL?

Has he completely fixed his throwing motion?

Can he read the defenses?

Tebow has already brought of ton of excitement to the Mile High City. With excitement always comes criticism. Criticism is something Tebow has become accustom to. Proving nay-sayers wrong, another thing Tebow has become accustom to.

McDaniels in his first year faced tons of criticism as well. We could go on and on about everything bad said about McDaniels. McDaniels has a chance to prove everyone wrong and make himself look like his mentor. Simply put if Tebow works out McDaniels will look like a genius.

Will it work?

Yes.

Do I know this for sure?

Of course not.

I know this Tim Tebow wanted to be a Denver Bronco and McDaniels wanted him to be one.

McDaniels is a quarterback guy and helped groom Brady and Cassel. Now he gets a chance to groom Tebow. According to draft gurus Kiper and McShay he will never cut it in the NFL. It will take four years or longer for Tebow to be ready if you ask them. McDaniels doesn’t have four years to wait for Tebow to see the field. He knows this. The pair of Tebow and McD will work together and work together well.

Everyone remembers the famous John Elway helicopter dive for a first down in the Super Bowl. Ladies and Gentleman Tim Tebow is that type of player. He will put his body on the line for the Denver Broncos every time he steps on to the field.

I look at Tebow and I have to look at the positives. This guy is a winner and that says a lot more than a bad throwing motion. He has everything that you can’t coach. The drive to be the best. When Tebow offered to pay out of pocket to stay in Denver to get to work immediately, one name came to mind. Jay Cutler, I bet the thought of something like this never crossed his mind. Tebow while working on his throwing motion was going out and taking 900 snaps a day to make it muscle memory. This is the work ethic he will bring to the Broncos.

Vince Young isn’t the most outstanding or fundamentally sound quarterback, but he wins. I don’t see any reason why Tebow can’t be a great quarterback in the NFL. No one was raving about Young’s ability to read coverages when he came out.

McDaniels runs a shotgun style system Tebow should adapt to quickly. Sixty-eight percent of our passing plays were from shotgun. We have a dominant left and right tackle to help protect Tebow. We just added two big targets throughout the draft and depth to our interior line. Tebow wasn’t drafted to be groomed for three years. I don’t see him playing his first year, though he will be given an opportunity to win the job. Kyle Orton’s contract runs out this year and Tebow will have a year of study and game film to learn from.

Jamarcus Russel, Jay Cutler, Josh Freeman, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Brady Quinn, Mark Sanchez, Chad Henne, Matt Cassel, Matt Hasselback, Marc Bulger, Matt Stafford, and Jake Delhomme all have QB ratings under 80 for the 2009 season. I remember Kiper bashing Cutler and bashing the Dolphins for passing on Quinn.

It doesn’t matter what Kiper and McShay have to say. It all comes down to how hard the player wants to work once he joins an NFL organization. We just drafted the hardest working young man to come out in years. Hard work will beat talent when talent doesn’t work hard.(Tebow has talent though) Jamarcus Russel and Jay Cutler have all the talent in the world, but they just don’t apply it.

I’m looking forward to when the new No. 15 steps onto the field.

I will leave you this. Tim Tebow will not let himself fail.

I recently had the privelege of sitting down and having a phone conversation with one of the best players in Denver Broncos history, linebacker Karl Mecklenburg.

Mecklenburg was drafted by the Broncos in the 12th round of the 1983 NFL Draft out of Minnesota as a nose guard.  Throughout his NFL career, he proved to be more versatile than a swiss army knife, playing every position on the defensive front seven all the way to a Ring of Fame career with the Denver Broncos that included six Pro Bowl appearances and four All-Pro selections.

As a player, Mecklenburg helped the Broncos to a stellar three AFC titles and a regular season record of 114-65.  Still, Mecklenburg didn’t keep the experience and lessons learned of the NFL to himself, as he has just finished writing his first book entitled Heart of a Student Athlete:  All Pro Advice for Competitors and Their Families. 

You can find more information on purchasing the book at www.studentathlete.us, where there is a sample chapter and a guest page.  I strongly encourage all of you to check out this book even if you are not a parent or a student athlete.  The lessons it teaches are absolutely outstanding, and reading the experiences of a professional athlete to me are always interesting.

In addition to his book, Mecklenburg operates the REACH (Rewarding Experiences for All Children) Foundation and does motivational speaking all across the nation.  Check out www.karlmecklenburg.org for more information about this program, and see a later segment in the interview for more details.

I am honored to have spoken with him personally, and I would like to share our conversation with you readers after we reminisced about the great city of Sioux Falls.

Me:  What was it like writing this book?  What was your experience and what did you learn from it personally?

Karl Mecklenburg:  The book was a challenge for me.  I have dyslexia, so the writing part was really a challenge.  It took more than five years to put together.  I had another book from 1987 with a ghost writer and I was not happy about the experience.  I really wanted to finish a book myself and I am pretty happy with the result but it was a long haul.

Me:  Early on in the book, you state multiple times that success is overcoming obstacles on the way to your dreams.  Why do you feel this interpretation of success is so important?

KM:  I think a lot of people on the outside looking in, just getting started, they will realize that everybody who is successful has overcome.  If you have an extravagent dream, the obstacles can be daunting.  Both of my grandfathers worked in the stockyards of south St. Paul (MN), my dad went through grad school in three years then into the Army for med school, and my mom had a daunting road to her eventual work in the government. 

You decide your own future.  God has given us all different talents and abilities, and He also gives us free will.  It’s up to you to go out and try new things.

Me:  Do you feel, having been drafted in the 12th round that this particular derivative of success was prevalent in your playing career very early on?

KM:  It really was, you know, I went through challenge after challenge after challenge in football.  Every one of them reinforced in my mind that I had to decide whether it was important enough for me to go through this.  Doing things to get to the next day of practice, it really was a big part of it.

Me:  You were part of some of the best teams in Broncos history, winning multiple AFC titles and going to six pro bowls; what is your greatest memory from your experiences with the Broncos?

KM:  So many, but the obvious one is “The Drive” game when we went into Cleveland and won that game.  It was such a hostile environment with the fans throwing dog biscuits at us, honking their horns outside of the hotel trying to keep us awake–Going into the situation and getting that win on the road; it was just a great feeling and I’ll never forget it.

Me:  You have been honored by the Broncos by being named a member of the “Ring of Fame”.  Do you feel you should be in the Hall of Fame or is it all just a bunch of politics?

KM:  Well, it obviously is a political situation.  I mean, if I could vote for me, I would, but you do what you do on the field and it’s out of your hands after that.  I have a lot of respect for the players I played with and I feel there are a lot of guys from those Bronco teams that deserve to be in as well.  You know, Pat (Bowlen, Broncos owner) has got to be disappointed that only John (Elway) and Zim (Gary Zimmerman)–you know, only two guys in the Hall of Fame.  I know he is doing a lot with the committee to get some of these guys in.

Me:  You said in your book that you grew up a Minnesota Vikings fan.  Does playing for a team for over a decade change your loyalties?

KM:  I’m a Bronco guy, there’s no doubt about it.  The Vikings passed on me for 12 rounds, and I’m glad they did because with my knees, I probably wouldn’t have been able to play as long as I did on that artificial turf.  I love it here in Denver; the people, the fans, being gracious for what this team has done.  They have accepted me.

Me:  The book talks about how the media favors the negative aspect of off-field life of NFL players in particular, but you go on to make a very compelling argument about how only one player from your team in 1983 has had legal issues.  Do you feel that trend is still true in today’s NFL world where it seems like a player is arrested every day?

KM:  I think it applies, I really do.  The characteristics that allow you to succeed in the NFL are the same characteristics that allow you to succeed in life.  The vast majority of NFL players are great guys, wonderful guys.  In fact, there is a player from the Minnesota Vikings out of Maryland; young guy (Safety Madieu Williams) who has started a foundation for his home town of Sierra Leone where children often die before they turn five years old.  I think it’s really admirable what he is doing and, you know, it’s a shame that that sort of thing doesn’t make the news.  If he were to hit his wife, it would be the front page headline.  I can speak at a church every week, and that barely gets any news but you can guarantee if I were to hit my wife, my name would be all over the place.

Me:  Going along with that, what was your reaction to everything that happened in Denver this offseason:  The Shanahan firing, the Cutler trade, Brandon Marshall demanding a trade and acting like a fool in practice?

KM:  A wait and see attitude.  I know Mike had gotten to a point where he’d lost the ear of the team.  It became apparent that players were becoming much more concerned with themselves than the team.  You know, you saw last year with the Denver Nuggets trading Allen Iverson.  Iverson is a great player, but he’s a selfish player.  Chauncey Billups is a team player and a leader, but if you were to put him up against Iverson, Iverson would win nine out of ten times.  Billups is just a great leader and he is willing to do whatever it takes to win.

Me:  It’s interesting that you make that comparison, because some have compared Iverson and Billups to Jay Cutler and Kyle Orton.  What do you make of that comparison?

KM:  Well, I have gotten to know Jay through the Broncos and golf tournaments, and he is a child still.  He is more concerned with himself than the team, and when Josh McDaniels came in, he came in with a system that wasn’t going to throw as much, and Jay saw that and put McDaniels in a tough place where he had really no choice but to get rid of him.  He wasn’t happy with his contract or the prospect of not throwing the ball as much as he did in the past.

Me:  With the Cutler situation and all of the negativity in the media surrounding for the Broncos–they tried to sugar coat it by saying they didn’t pay any attention to what the media was saying, but it’s got to feel good to stick it to everyone who doubted them.

KM:  Certainly, every ball player can get that blackboard material.  We’re competitors, that’s what makes us athletes.  You want to succeed.  I think they have done an amazing job defensively, the way they play fundamentally.  You know, I have been paying attention to the Broncos’ defense since I was drafted in 1983, and I am really impressed with the changes they have made on that side of the ball.

Me:  Mike Nolan was a coach while you were there, correct?

KM:  Yeah, Mike coached me he was a young guy.  He got his first coaching job as a linebackers coach with the Broncos and I think he learned as much from us as we learned from him.  He coached fundamental football; a lot of tackling drills, shedding blocks–He has taken things to a whole other level.  He’s a good guy and he really cares about his players. 

Me:  Talk about the REACH Foundation and what people can do to get involved.

KM:  Yeah, we just started a program called “Reach for a Book” where kids in Denver elementary schools are encouraged to read 100 minutes a week.  If they complete that goal, they get a free pizza.  There is also a scoreboard on the classroom doors, so there is a little competitions between the kids.  The top two readers are invited to Invesco Field to be honored for their efforts.  The website is www.karlmecklenburg.org, and we would love to hear from people.  As far as getting involved, donations help, but we do a golf tournament.  This past year we held a poker tournament, and there are other volunteer opportunities. 

My interview with Mecklenburg, along with reading his book, have shed a whole new light on professional athletes and the NFL in specific.  It has also been a key tool for me in focusing my goals and what I want to do in life.

I hope you all enjoyed this experience as much as I did, and again, I strongly encourage purchasing this book.  It is great for aspiring youth, parents, coaches, pastors, or simply someone who is a fan of the NFL and likes a good story.  Mecklenburg did an excellent job in his first novel, and it is a great gift idea for the coming holiday season.

1.  Denver Broncos (6-0)

2.  New Orleans Saints (6-0)

3.  Indianapolis Colts  (6-0)

4.  Minnesota Vikings  (6-1)

5.  Cincinnatti Bengals  (5-2)

6.  New England Patriots  (5-2)

7.  Pittsburgh Steelers  (5-2)

8.  New York Giants  (5-2)

9.  Dallas Cowboys  (4-2)

10.  Arizona Cardinals  (4-2)

11.  Atlanta Falcons  (4-2)

12.  Green Bay Packers  (4-2)

13.  Philadelphia Eagles  (4-2)

14.  New York Jets  (4-3)

15.  Houston Texans  (4-3)

16.  Chicago Bears  (3-3)

17.  San Francisco 49ers (3-3)

18.  Baltimore Ravens  (3-3)

19.  San Diego Chargers  (3-3)

20.  Jacksonville Jaguars  (3-3)

21.  Buffalo Bills  (3-4)

22.  Miami Dolphins  (2-4)

23.  Seattle Seahawks  (2-4)

24.  Carolina Panthers  (2-4)

25.  Oakland Raiders  (2-5)

26.  Washington Redskins  (2-5)

27.  Detroit Lions  (1-5)

28.  Cleveland Browns  (1-6)

29.  Kansas City Chiefs  (1-6)

30.  Tennessee Titans  (0-6)

31.  St. Louis Rams  (0-7)

32.  Tampa Bay Buccaneers  (0-7)

For Denver Broncos fans and Baltimore Ravens fans alike, the bye week is finally over, and it is time to get back to work.

This week’s matchup pits the Broncos (6-0, 1st place AFC West) against the Ravens (3-3, 3rd place AFC North) in what figures to be a pivotal matchup for both teams.

Denver has a flawless record following their bye week, and only one injury to report which has some fearing the off time came a bit too early for Denver this season, though it was nothing they could control.

The Ravens are a very intriguing matchup for the Broncos, especially since it will be a road game.

After starting the season 3-0, the Ravens appeared to be one of the NFL’s top teams following an impressive 2008 campaign which saw them win 11 games.  It appeared as though they were on track to increase last year’s total following victories over Kansas City, San Diego, and Cleveland.

Then it went downhill.

The Ravens lost three straight games by a combined 11 points, including a two-point loss against Minnesota in week six on a missed field goal by kicker Steven Hauschka as time expired.

Three losses by eleven points would lead one to believe that the Ravens are much better than their record would indicate, and I think they are.

For the first time this decade, Baltimore boasts a better offense than they do defense, led by their passing game and quarterback Joe Flacco.

Flacco has had an outstanding season so far, but the MVP of Baltimore’s offense has got to be undersized running back Ray Rice, who leads the team in both rushing and receiving. 

Rice has rushed for 441 yards and three touchdowns on a six yard per carry average, and has 33 receptions for 325 yards and a touchdown. 

The Ravens are in the top ten of every major offensive category, and boast the league’s ninth ranked run defense.  This is a team that can get out to a large early lead, and hold on to it.

How will the Broncos counter?

The biggest thing for Denver will be running the ball.  The Broncos have the league’s seventh best rush offense, but they did not look great running the ball against San Diego for some odd reason. 

If the Broncos are unable to run the ball, Baltimore will be in the game until the very end, if they haven’t already run away with it.  Inversely, if the Broncos can run the ball effectively, they will most certainly control this game from the outset.

Denver’s defense has been absolutely suffocating this season, ranking in the top ten of every major defensive category.

The biggest thing with Denver’s defense is that they are aggressive, and the Ravens like to run a lot of screen plays.  If the Broncos blitz early and often, the Ravens will take advantage by dumping the ball to Ray Rice or Willis McGahee on a screen play.

Mike Nolan will have his unit well prepared, and the Broncos always seem to make proper adjustments during the game anyway.

If Denver can limit the big play on screen passes, it will be hard for the Ravens to really get anything going on offense.  It doesn’t appear as though they will match up well with Denver’s outstanding defensive backs either.

On the other side of the ball, the Broncos have some very favorable matchups.  Brandon Marshall, Eddie Royal, Brandon Stokley, Jabar Gaffney, and Tony Scheffler could have a field day against a Ravens defense that ranks only 24th against the pass.

Kyle Orton has played exceptional football so far this season, and virtually mistake free.  If he can keep the ball away from Ed Reed’s grasp, the Broncos will have to do a lot to beat themselves offensively.

The Ravens have home field advantage in this game, but the Broncos are hungry for their seventh consecutive victory.  If Baltimore is going to keep pace in the AFC North, they need to win this game and move to 4-3.

It should be an exciting contest in Baltimore on Sunday.

It wasn’t the flashiest move, but the Broncos have finally fiddled with their roster, waiving second year punter Brett Kern and signing veteran Mitch Berger.

Kern has been on the hot seat for a while with the Broncos, and there were rumors he would not beat out Britton Colquitt for the punter job earlier this offseason.  Head coach Josh McDaniels and the Broncos have seen enough from Kern, and they decided to go with the veteran Berger who will wear number 17 with the Broncos.

Berger was most recently seen in a Pittsburgh Steelers uniform, where he filled in very nicely last season to help the team to a Super Bowl victory over the Arizona Cardinals.  He has also played with Arizona, New Orleans, St. Louis, Minnesota, Chicago, and Philadelphia.

Berger has connections to this state, graduating from Colorado (Boulder) in 1994.  He is a two-time Pro Bowl performer and will serve the Broncos as the punter and holder on field goals.

This will be the first installment of this particular segment, and I don’t think it could have come at a better time given the fact that our Denver Broncos are currently concluding their bye week.

There was still a lot of football being played on Sunday, and a lot that involved Denver indirectly.  Here is a roundup of Sunday’s activities and how the Broncos were impacted.

San Diego 37, Kansas City 7

The Chargers travelled to Kansas City on Sunday, and the Chiefs or “Texans” as they dressed up as might as well have not showed up. 

The Chargers came into Arrowhead and simply embarrassed their division rivals, and leading the way were Philip Rivers and Vincent Jackson.

This game is impactful for the Broncos in two respects:

1. San Diego decreased their deficit in the AFC West to 3 games with the win
2. Kansas Ciy is now 5.5 games back in the division

San Diego moves to 3-3 on the season, while the Chiefs go to a dismal 1-6.

New York Jets 38, Oakland 0

To be blunt, Oakland and Kansas City are the reason this division is labelled the AFC “Worst”.  The Raiders are absolutely horrendous, and are a train wreck sitting on a 2-5 record with losses against San Diego and Denver at home, who are both ahead of them in the standings.

Oakland was flat out embarrassed on Sunday by the visiting Jets, who were led by their outstanding running game.  It must have been the fact that I decided to wear my Iowa Shonn Greene jersey, because the dude went off.  The third round pick had 144 yards on 19 carries and two touchdown runs, but it doesn’t stop there.  Veteran Thomas Jones added over 100 yards and a touchdown of his own in the rout.

Oakland is now 4.5 games behind Denver in the AFC West.

Cincinnatti 45, Chicago 10

My brothers are Bears fans, so I felt bad watching this drubbing, but part of me enjoys watching Jay Cutler fail…And then I remember that he is on my fantasy football team.

Just days after signing a contract to give him a pay raise, Cutler threw his eighth, ninth, and tenth interceptions to the Cincinnati Bengals, who proved they are a legitimate contender for the playoffs when they are fully healthy.

The Bengals controlled this game from the outset, and quarterback Carson Palmer had his team out to a 31-3 lead at halftime on the strength of four touchdown passes.  He would go on to finish the game with five.

Probably the most intriguing part of this game was Cedric Benson, the Bengals’ RB, playing his first game against the Chicago Bears since he was released over a year ago.

Benson had 189 yards on the ground with a touchdown, and he became the NFL’s top rusher through seven games.

This game is significant to Denver fans because the Broncos own Chicago’s first round draft pick, which if the season ended right now would be in the top 15.

Attention Broncos fans–I have been given a very unique opportunity.

Next week I will conduct an interview with former Broncos linebacker Karl Mecklenburg, one of the most decorated players in team history.

Since his playing days in Denver with a unit that is known as “The Orange Crush”, Mecklenburg has become a very successful public speaker and recently wrote a book entitled Heart of a Student Athlete:  All Pro Advice for Competitors and Their Families.

I really look forward to the interview, and I very much look forward to sharing my experience with all of you.  Watch for that in next week’s posts.

Although a bye week after six games is not ideal, the Denver Broncos are sitting pretty at 6-0, and 3.5 games ahead of San Diego in the AFC West.

The Broncos have been quite a surprise story to many this year, and as fans head into two weeks with no Denver Bronco football, here is a recap of the incredible ride the first six games have been.

Week One–@ Cincinnati  12-7 W

What many expected to be an offensive struggle turned out to be a defensive battle between the Broncos and Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium to kick off the season.

Denver led 6-0 most of the game, and they had a really good chance to put the game on ice late in the fourth quarter with a Matt Prater field goal, but Kyle Orton took a sack, foolishly, putting the Broncos out of field goal range.

The sack cost the Broncos in a big way, as the Bengals drove down the field with their two minute offense, and took a 7-6 lead with 38 second remaining.

Then the magic happened.

After Orton missed wide receiver Brandon Marshall on a first down pass, he threw to him again on second down and Cincinnati cornerback Leon Hall leaped in the air to swat the ball away—or so he thought.

Hall’s tipped pass was caught by Brandon Stokley who sprinted to the end zone on a play that has been dubbed “The Immaculate Deflection” to win the game for the Broncos.

The win against the Bengals is the most questioned for the Broncos, but Denver didn’t cheat or win in an unfair way, they just won.  Plain and simple, even if it was ugly.

1-0

Week Two–vs. Cleveland  W  27-6

This game was really over before it started.  Denver’s defense was led by a ferocious pass rush, one that saw outside linebacker Elvis Dumervil record four sacks on quarterback Brady Quinn.

Correll Buckhalter, Peyton Hillis, and Tony Scheffler each had a touchdown in Denver’s dominant effort, and the Broncos completed the two game sweep of the state of Ohio.

2-0

Week Three–@ Oakland  W  23-3

At this point, people still thought the Broncos were just a beneficiary of poor competition, and the smack talk was in full form for the first Raider week of the season.

Correll Buckhalter, Knowshon Moreno, and the Broncos’ running game absolutely thrashed the Raiders, running for a combined 198 yards.  Denver controlled the line of scrimmage all game long, and the Broncos’ defense held Oakland to only nine first downs.

The Bronco defense was starting to show its true dominant form, and wide receiver Brandon Marshall caught his first touchdown pass of the season.

Still, the haters were in full form, and the win was not so much credited to the Broncos as it was to the deficiencies of the Oakland Raiders, who did not really stand a chance in this game.

3-0

Week Four–vs. Dallas  W  17-10

Many figured that Dallas was Denver’s first real test of the season and that the Broncos would be overmatched against a big, athletic Cowboys front line.

After one quarter of play, they appeared to be right.

Dallas led 10-0, and the Broncos were back on their heels as Tony Romo and the Cowboys had the ball back once again and were looking to increase their lead to 17.

On two plays, safety Renaldo Hill sacked and forced a fumble of Romo which was recovered by Denver, and Knowshon Moreno caught one of the more improbable touchdown passes you will see to put the Broncos back in the game with a score of 10-7.

Denver tied the game later on at 10 points apiece, but the drama was not even getting started.

After the two-minute warning, Kyle Orton threw a deep ball to Brandon Marshall who simply went over Terrance Newman to catch the ball, and the whirling dervish himself dashed to the end zone 51 yards to put the Broncos ahead by a touchdown.

On the ensuing Dallas drive, Tony Romo escaped pressure and dumped a pass to Sam Hurd, who took the ball deep into Denver territory.

The Cowboys ended up getting the ball on the Denver two yard line, and Tony Romo tried throwing the ball into one-on-one coverage between Hurd and Denver cornerback Champ Bailey.  Needless to say, the Cowboys’ attempts at the end zone failed, and Denver won a nail-biter at home.

4-0

Week Five–vs. New England  W  20-17 (OT)

Ah, the battle of the “hoodies.”

Josh McDaniels and the Broncos played host to his mentor and friend Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots in Denver’s first throwback game of the season.

For the second consecutive week, the Broncos found themselves in a 10-0 rut, and at halftime, the Patriots appeared to be in control with a 17-7 lead.

Brandon Marshall and the Broncos’ defense would not be denied, however, and Denver stormed back to tie the game at 17-all behind a pair of Marshall touchdown catches and a Matt Prater field goal.

The Patriots had the ball with just over two minutes left, and it appeared as though Tom Brady would orchestrate one of his ever so famous fourth quarter comeback drives to win the game, and the Patriots actually made it to about midfield before Brady was sacked for the first time that game by Vonnie Holliday who forced a fumble—which Denver recovered.

The game ended up in overtime, and Kyle Orton did what everyone figured Brady would do, and drove the Broncos down the field on a drive that resulted in a game-winning field goal by Matt Prater.

5-0

Week Six–@ San Diego  W  34-23

Even though they were 5-0, the Broncos were still not getting much respect from the big boys in the media, so they still had a lot to prove against the Chargers who were absolutely desperate for a victory.

Eddie Royal lit up Qualcomm Stadium with two first-half return touchdowns, one on a kickoff and one on a punt which paced a high-scoring first half of football, which saw the Chargers lead 20-17 going into the break.

Denver’s defense continued its second half dominance, allowing San Diego’s potent offense only three points.

As for the Broncos’ offense, they were led by the arm of Kyle Orton who threw two touchdown passes, one to tight end Tony Scheffler and one to wide receiver Brandon Stokley.

The Denver defense was absolutely suffocating for Philip Rivers, and Elvis Dumervil once again paved the way for a Broncos pass rush that ranks first in the NFL with 21 sacks on the season.

6-0

The first six games of the Broncos’ season have been absolutely magical, and this Denver team is the best fans have had since the John Elway days.

Fans are brimming with confidence and players are picking up all kinds of accolades and achievements, and this team is finally getting the respect it deserves after an offseason when so many gave up hope.

There simply are not enough game balls to go around.

The Denver Broncos are off to a 6-0 start after going on the road and defeating the San Diego Chargers 34-23 in a prime time matchup on Monday Night Football.

The Broncos made a huge statement with this win, putting on their most complete performance of the season so far in front of a national audience as they increased their lead in the AFC West to an outstanding 3.5 games.

Enough is enough of this “surprising” tag that has been attached to the Broncos, they are absolutely for real and are playing their best ball this decade.

Monday night’s game went as a lot of Bronco fans expected, as the Chargers were forced into a one-dimensional offense and their inability to run the ball really cost them in the end.

Game Recap

First Quarter

After a 92 yard San Diego drive resulted in a short Nate Kaeding field goal, Eddie Royal ignited some fireworks at Qualcomm Stadium.  Royal took the ensuing kickoff 93 yards for a touchdown to give the Broncos a 7-3 lead.

That lead would be short lived as Philip Rivers and the Chargers drove the ball right back down the field again, finishing a 74 yard drive with a three yard touchdown pass from Rivers to wide receiver Vincent Jackson, putting the score at 10-7 in favor of the home team.

Second Quarter

After a long 13 play drive ended in a Matt Prater field goal to start the scoring in the third quarter, the Broncos tied the game at 10 points apiece.

Following the field goal, the Broncos forced the Chargers into a three-and-out, and the Mike Scifres punt was taken 71 yards to the house by Eddie Royal, becoming the first player since Devin Hester in 2007 to return both a kickoff and a punt for a touchdown in the same game.

The Broncos, now nourishing a 17-10 lead, were able to stop the Chargers short of a touchdown on their next drive, and San Diego settled for another Nate Kaeding field goal, this one from 44 yards out.

Denver’s following drive was pitiful, and they were forced into a three-and-out.  Bronco punter Brett Kern made the decision to punt the ball to Darren Sproles, which is never a great idea.  Sproles took the punt all the way to the end zone, giving the Chargers huge momentum heading into halftime with a 20-17 lead.

Third Quarter

Another Nate Kaeding field goal gave the Chargers a six point lead, but the Broncos answered right back.

Following the field goal, Kyle Orton hooked up with Tony Scheffler on a beautiful 19 yard touchdown pass that capped off a nine play, 77 yard drive to give the Broncos the lead for good.

Fourth Quarter

Following an Elvis Dumervil forced fumble that was recovered by Vonnie Holliday, the Broncos had probably the shortest ten play drive in the league so far this year, going 36 yards in ten plays.  That drive was capped off by a Matt Prater field goal to give the Broncos a 27-23 lead.

Late in the fourth, Orton and the Broncos were on their most important drive of the night and set up for their most important third down conversion of the night, a third-and-goal from five yards out.  Kyle Orton dropped back to pass and hit Brandon Stokley right at the goal line for a touchdown that put the game out of reach for the San Diego Chargers.

Random Game Thoughts

In the intro, I said there were not enough game balls to go around, but having given it some thought, the game ball has to go to Eddie Royal.  The Broncos may not have won without Royal’s two return touchdowns, and neither would my little brother in fantasy.

Royal’s special teams performance was absolutely phenomenal, and he set a Denver Broncos record for return yardage in a game with 230.

Now to those who also deserved a game ball.

Tony Scheffler had his best game as a professional in my opinion.  I’m sure the stat line (Six catches, 101 yards, TD) are not the most staggering for his career, but he played extremely well and was the Broncos’ biggest difference maker offensively.

The offensive line was outstanding for the Broncos.  The Chargers had one sack on the night, and it came as Larry English was being pancaked by Ryan Clady.  The only suspect area for this unit was in the running game, where the Broncos were slow to get it going at times.

Denver’s third down defense was at its best on Monday night, holding the Chargers to only two conversions on 11 attempts on the night.  The Broncos gave up a few screen passes in the first half, but in the end, their defense did exactly what I thought they would, and they put the heat on Philip Rivers.

Elvis Dumervil led the Denver defense tonight, recording two sacks and a forced fumble of Philip Rivers.  As a unit, the Broncos had five sacks and were seemingly in Philip Rivers’ face the entire second half.

Switching back to the offensive side of the ball, how good has Kyle Orton been for the Broncos so far this season?  After his performance tonight, he has thrown for 1,465 yards, nine touchdowns, one fluke pick, and he has a rating of 100.1.

Orton is truly playing MVP caliber football through six games this season, and is running Josh McDaniels’ offense better than anybody expected.  His efficiency in the red zone and accuracy have been crucial to the Broncos’ success this season.  Orton improved to 27-12 as a starting quarterback in this league, and many, including myself, feel he has played at a Pro Bowl level so far this season.

Clearly, this Denver Broncos coaching staff has this team in a good place.  They didn’t listen to the nay-sayers prior to this season (so they claim), but they sure are shutting them up so far.

Mike Nolan has devised excellent defensive game-plans, and this Broncos team has allowed a league-best ten points in the second half of football games so far this year.  Through six games, that is absolutely outstanding and the main reason the Broncos have been able to start this season unblemished.

Josh McDaniels has done a superb job of preparing his offensive game plan and planning to his player’s biggest strengths.

The Broncos are a very efficient team, and if they can continue to play ball like this, they are going to be tough to beat.

The main deficiency for the Broncos tonight was the running game, which actually was not as bad as I thought.  They were still able to gain over 100 yards on the ground, but it seemed at times that they could go nowhere.

Correll Buckhalter was back for the first time in two weeks, and it appeared as though Knowshon Moreno was primed for a big game going up against a run defense that ranked 27th in the NFL heading into this matchup.

San Diego was able to bottle Moreno up for most of the game and hold him to just over 40 yards rushing.

Final Thoughts

The Broncos could not have scripted a better way to head into their bye week.

They are 6-0 for the first time since Elway lined up under center, and they have been quite a story thus far, and the most impressive part?  They are doing it with defense, something nobody anticipated.

Now, the offense is starting to really click, and the Broncos are looking like a more complete team with every game they play.

Still, this team knows it has a lot to improve upon, and they have a lot of time to prepare for their road matchup with the Baltimore Ravens in week eight.

The Ravens, like the Chargers, have an explosive passing offense but an even more dangerous running game with Willis McGahee, Ray Rice, and LeRon McClain.

Denver is sure to have its hands full, but for now, 6-0 feels great, and this team deserves every bit of it.  Enjoy Broncos fans, your team has joined the NFL’s elite this season, even when nobody thought they could do it.