The Debacle in Foxboro

Denver's 41-7 disaster in Foxboro Monday Night was at a comical level. It got to the point were I was almost rooting for the Pats to put up 60 on the Broncos just to see if heads would roll. It was an absolute butt whipping, and the entire Broncos organization should be ashamed of the performance- or lack there of. With that said, Denver's defense is an absolute disgrace. To add insult to injury, Denver loses Champ Bailey for 6 weeks with a groin injury, and Boss Bailey for the season. Hey, the defense can't get any worse without those guys anyway- or could it. Denver can't stop the run and they can't defend the pass. They don't create turnovers and they can never get a big stop in a big spot. Their personnel is so weak that they are just going to have to live with a crummy defense all year long. The sad part is how this explosive offense has completely crumbled. I don't understand how you can score 41, 39, and 38 points the first 3 weeks and then only score 19, 16, 17, and 7. It is mind boggling to me. The Broncos offense commits turnovers like a Junior High team. It is disgraceful to watch. Here is how I am trying to spin this in the positive way. We all the Broncos defense sucks, but if the offense can stop turning the ball over, then maybe this can be turned around. Having a bye is a good thing this week. If the offense gets Stokley, Scheffler, and Selvin Young back, then maybe it will have all of the weapons that made the offense roll in the first three weeks. If Denver puts up 28 points a game consistently, then they will be able to simply outscore the other teams, even with a defense that will probably give up at least 24 to 27 points every week. From Week 1, I said that this Denver team reminded me of the 2000 Broncos. A highly explosive offense that could score 31 every game and a crappy defense that is going to give up a lot of points. If the offense can turn it around again and get back to it's form from the beginning of the year, then maybe this season can be saved. If not then we are looking at 6-10 or 7-9 all over again. Before the season, if you looked at Denver's first 7 games (at Oak, home vs. SD, vs. NO, at KC, home vs. Tampa, home vs. Jax, and at NE) you would totally take 4-3. Throw in the fact that 4-3 would give you first place in the AFC West, any Bronco fan would take that. Let's see. On to the picks for Week 8:

Last Week's Record: 6-7-1
Overall Record: 49-58-4

HOME TEAM IN CAPS

BALTIMORE (-7) over Oakland

San Diego (-3) over New Orleans

Kansas City (+14) over NEW YORK JETS

MIAMI (+2) over Buffalo

DALLAS (-1) over Tampa Bay

PHILADELPHIA (-9) over Atlanta

NEW ENGLAND (-7) over St. Louis

Arizona (+4) over Carolina

DETROIT (+8) over Washington

JACKSONVILLE (-7) over Cleveland

PITTSBURGH (-1) over New York Giants

Seattle (+5) over San Francisco

Cincinnatti (+9) over HOUSTON

Indianapolis (+4) over TENNESSEE

Picks Correction

My Week 6 picks were 10-4 instead of 9-5, so my overall record stands at 44-50-3.

Disapointment in Denver and Week 7 Picks

The Broncos 24-17 loss to Jacksonville on Sunday was very disapointing. They simply shot themselves in the foot too many times. Cutler's first quarter fumble was big because the Broncos had a 7-0 lead and just recovered a Jax fumble. Brandon Marshall's fumble was worse because it was inside the 10 and Denver had a chance to take a 14-3 stranglehold. Denver's inability to convert on a 4th and 1 inside Jax territory late in the first half officially put the game in "Oh Shit" mode -meaning "Oh Shit" we are in trouble. Denver's defense is not good enough to overcome it's own offensive miscues and that is where the Broncs need to improve. The offense is missing some key weapons (Scheff, Royal, Selvin, possibly Stokley) but somehow Cutler has to get it rolling again. Also, the defense needs to get some turnovers. I will take giving up 21 a game, but if we get back to scoring some points on offense and the defense gets some timely turnovers, then the Broncos will be on top of a lot of 31-21 victories this season. Right now at 4-2, Denver needs this win over New England on Monday Night. They need to go out and get the job done in Foxboro and head into the bye week at 5-2 and some confidence under their belt.

LAST WEEK'S RECORD: 9-5
OVERALL RECORD: 43-51-3

WEEK 7 PICKS (HOME TEAM IN CAPS)

KANSAS CITY (+9) over Tennessee

San Diego (PICK) over BUFFALO

CINCINNATI (+10) over Pittsburgh

Baltimore (+3) over MIAMI

Dallas (-6) over ST.LOUIS

CHICAGO (-3) over Minnesota

New Orleans (+3) 0ver CAROLINA

NEW YORK GIANTS (-10) over San Francisco

Detroit (+9) over HOUSTON

OAKLAND (+3) over New York Jets

WASHINGTON (-7) over Cleveland

Indianapolis (-2) over GREEN BAY

TAMPA BAY (-10) over Seattle

NEW ENGLAND (-3) over Denver

Week 5 Picks!

Last Week's Record: 6-6-2

Overall Record: 34-46-3


Home Teams in CAPS:


NEW ORLEANS (-7) over Oakland

Baltimore (+4) over INDIANAPOLIS

NEW YORK JETS (-8) over Cincinnatti

TAMPA BAY (-1) over Carolina

Detroit (+13) over MINNESOTA

ATLANTA (+3) over Chicago

HOUSTON (-3) over Miami

St. Louis (+14) over WASHINGTON

DENVER (-3) over Jacksonville

Philadelphia (-4) over SAN FRANCISCO

Dallas (-4) over ARIZONA

Green Bay (-1) over SEATTLE

SAN DIEGO (-5) over New England

CLEVELAND (+8) over New York Giants

Defense Shows in Win over Bucs

Denver's Defense finally showed up this season with it's 16-13 victory over the Bucs on Sunday at Mile High. It was a simple matter of fact type win for the Broncos, but it is a good win over a quality opponent and it improves Denver's record to 4-1. Couple that with a loss by San Diego to Miami and Denver is in first place in the AFC West. First, great job by the defense this week. They pressured Tampa and they did a great job of tackling. I know Tampa is the best offense in the league, but Denver did a great job of shutting them down. Hopefully, the Broncos Defense can build on this and put together a few good weeks. Second, the offense was stifled by Tampa's Defense, but they were able to get the points they needed and get the first downs at the end of the game to put it away. I'll take it and I expect the offense to get cranked up once again. Third, Denver has a huge game against Jacksonville next week. The Broncos can never lose home games and they need this one against the Jaguars. It will be a tough one, but if the Broncos can get it, then they could be off to the races in the AFC.

Week 5 Picks

Last Week's Record: 7-6
Overall Record: 28-40-1

HOME TEAM IN CAPS

Indianapolis (-3) over HOUSTON

BALTIMORE (+3) over Tennessee

San Diego (-6) over MIAMI

CAROLINA (-9) over Kansas City

PHILADELPHIA (-5) over Washington

Chicago (-3) over DETROIT

GREEN BAY (-7) over Atlanta

Seattle (+7) over NEW YORK GIANTS

DENVER (-3) over Tampa Bay

SAN FRANCISCO (+3) over New England

ARIZONA (PK) over Buffalo

Cincinnatti (+17) over DALLAS

JACKSONVILLE (-4) over Pittsburgh

Minnesota (+3 ) over NEW ORLEANS

Back to Reality at Arrowhead

The Broncos' 33-19 loss at Kansas City this past Sunday should not really surprise many people. The Broncos never play well at Arrowhead. It doesn't matter what the records are at the time of the game, Denver simply just can't win at Arrowhead. Shanny won in '98, '02, and in '07- that's it. The Chiefs always get revved up for Denver in KC and this year was no different. My take on the game is that Denver's Defense should not be blamed for the loss. Also, Denver wasn't overlooking the Chiefs because although KC was 0-3 and looked horrible, Shanny and Co. know how hard it is to win in KC. Denver's offense should take the blame for this mishap. First, turnovers will always kill you on the road. Eddie Royal's fumble on the second play of the game was a bad omen for the rest of the way. Marshall's fumble at with Denver up 7-6 was a killer and it led to an easy Chiefs touchdown. Next, Cutler forced two passes on back to back plays. Twice he tried to force it in to Marshall and got picked. Cutler is fantastic but he still needs to learn when to not force the ball into coverage. On the second pick, he had Daniel Graham wide open in the flat and he tried to zip one in to Marshall. He is still a young QB and he has to learn to take what they give you. The Defense was backed up the whole game and when KC has to only drive 40 or 50 yards, the Broncos defense is not good enough to stop anyone on a short field. Third, no loss is a good loss, but maybe this brings Denver back to reality a little bit. They were getting a lot of national press and perhaps this will bring them back to Earth. Also, I think this game puts the bed the comparisons between the '07 Pats and the '08 Denver Offense. I expect Denver to regroup and play very well vs. Tampa this week at Mile High.