Broncos At the Bye

Denver entered its bye week in Week 9 at the halfway point of the 2013 season. Denver was 7-1 at the bye, and they are currently in second place in the AFC West behind the 9-0 Kansas City Chiefs. Before the Broncos begin the second half of the season, let's go back and review the first half of the season with a little question and answer session to break it all down. Without further ado....

Where does this team's start (7-1) rank in recent memory?
This is the best start to a season at the halfway mark that Denver has had since the 1998 season when they started 8-0 on their way to a 14-2 season. Denver won the Super Bowl that year and actually started 13-0 before their first loss. In 2005, Denver started 6-2 and finished 13-3 and won the AFC West and advanced to the AFC Championship. In 1997, the Broncos started 7-1 and finished 12-4 on their way to their first Super Bowl title. In other Super Bowl years, the Broncos started 7-1 in 1986, 4-3-1 in 1987, and 6-2 in 1989. I'll leave out the 1977 season because they only played 14 games at that time in the NFL. In other notable seasons, the Broncos were 6-2 at the halfway point in 1991. That year they finished 12-4 and advanced all the way to the AFC Championship. In 1996, the Broncos started 7-1 on their way to a 13-3 finish, but they were upset by the Jaguars in the AFC Divisional Playoff. In 2003, Denver started 5-3 on a way to a 10-6 finish and a wild card berth. In 2004, they started 5-3 as well on their way to another 10-6 record and a playoff appearance. Last year, they started 5-3 and finished with 11 straight wins and a 13-3 record. In 2011, they started 3-5 and got caught up in Tebowmania and finished 8-8 and won the AFC West. You can't forget the 6-2 start in 2009 only to see them fall flat and finish 8-8 and out of the playoffs in Josh McDaniels first year in Denver. Overall, this is one the five best starts in recent memory. The other ones ended with a Super Bowl victory in 1997 and 1998. 1996 ended in their first playoff game, and in 1986 they lost in the Super Bowl. All of those starts suggest that history is at least on Denver's side with their 7-1 start.

What was the most memorable game of the first half for Denver?
This is a pretty easy one to pick: Denver-51 Dallas-48. Denver entered the game at 4-0 and the game was seen by virtually the entire nation in the late window on CBS in Week 5. Denver trailed 14-0 early, and rallied to take command of the game at halftime. It was a classic shootout between Manning and Tony Romo, and Danny Trevathan's interception of Romo setup Denver's game-winning field goal as time expired. It was one of the highest rated games of the year, and it was also one of the signature NFL games of the year as well.

What do think about this team's offense as we head into the second half of the year?
The Broncos offense is off to a record-breaking start. They have scored 343 points in eight games. They are averaging 42 points a game at this point. The least amount of points they have scored in a game is 33 points in the loss to Indy. Take away the 28 points that were scored on returns and defensive scores and the Broncos are still averaging 39 points a game. The passing game is ridiculous with Peyton Manning leading the league in passer rating (119.4) and has 29 touchdown passes at this point. Demaryius Thomas, Eric Decker, and Wes Welker are all on pace to get 1,000 yards receiving, and Julius Thomas is on pace for 900 yards too. Knowshon Moreno is the key because he is quietly having a tremendous year. Moreno has 456 yards on the ground and 8 touchdowns. If Moreno can keep it up, it will be huge for this offense. If Denver can be able to run the ball consistently, then it will be a very big factor in big games late in the year-especially when the weather turns cold. The biggest concerns for the Broncos on offense is health. The injury to Ryan Clady will be very crucial down the stretch. Can the Broncos get the pass protection and run game going effectively enough with Chris Clark at LT? It will be a big factor the next eight games. Also, the health of Manning is a huge deal. Manning was banged up going into the bye, and if he continues to struggle with his ankles, then this offense could struggle to get the ball vertical like they did the first six games.

Do you think the Broncos defense will continue to improve?
The signs are there that their defense will play better. They played their best game in their last game before the bye in the win over the Redskins. Getting Von Miller back after six games was the key, and he played really well in the win over Washington. We'll see when Champ Bailey returns, but it will certainly help this defense whenever he comes back. The addition of Dominique Rodger-Cromartie was a great move because he has played really well so far, and Chris Harris continues to be our best corner. Guys like Malik Jackson, Derek Wolfe, Wesley Woodyard, Duke Ihenacho, and Danny Trevathan have all played well in the first half, and they need to continue their stellar play in the second half. I think the Broncos defense has a lot of good football left in them the rest of the way.

Do the Broncos have what it takes to handle a pretty tough second half schedule?
This is the big stretch for the Denver. The next four weeks include at SD, home against KC, at New England, and at KC. They also finish their home schedule with games against Tennessee and San Diego on December 8th and Thursday December 12th. The Broncos final two games are at Houston and at Oakland. Both teams are not having great seasons, so there is a good chance that Denver could get those two games rather easily. It doesn't matter how the Broncos get in, but you really don't want them going in as a wild card. That would mean that they would have to win probably three straight road games in the playoffs, and with two road games to finish the season, that would mean Denver would have to win five straight road games to get to the Super Bowl. That doesn't seem likely.

What is the biggest result of the John Fox situation?
Unfortunately, Fox needed to get a heart valve replacement surgery on Monday and he will be out for several weeks. Some people believe Fox could be back in a month and others have written that it might keep him out for the rest of the regular season. Whatever the case, it isn't a good thing to lose your head coach midway through the season. The one thing about this is that Jack Del Rio steps in as the interim head coach, and he did a pretty good job when he was the head coach in Jacksonville. It is very valuable to have a guy like Del Rio on the staff, and I think he will do a good job while Fox is out. It could also be something that brings the team together and they could use it at a motivating factor like the Colts did when they lost Chuck Pagano to cancer last year.