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Published on 06/14/2008 at Sat Jun 14 14:00.
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Earl’s prediction: Game 2, Sun Sep 14, Chargers @ Broncos

Posted Sat Jun 14th by

Yea, yea. I’m skipping game 1 — I don’t want to think too much about that game. The team we face that day won’t be the team every other opponent they have faces that day. Too much trash talk. Just like the old days, but it makes it really hard for me to guess what’s going to happen.

So that moves us on to our other division rival. The San Diego Chargers. Right now they’re the AFC West team to beat.

…I’m not actually sure the Bolts are going to be the team to beat again this year.

  1. I still don’t believe Norv Turner is actually a good head coach. The team struggled a lot last season trying to implement Turner’s system and they didn’t really succeed until he scaled that back and went back to Marty’s system. Head coaches are, by their nature, highly entrenched into the idea that Their System Works, so I would expect to see more of that.
  2. For two, Phillip Rivers isn’t showing the right qualities to be an elite NFL quarterback. While it’s true that he has, to some extent, lacked targets, Antonio Gates and Chris Chambers are both elite wide receivers. (Yes, take that one as you will). Vincent Jackson makes a quality #3 WR. Which is enough decent targets to shine. I don’t think he will, unless he somehow stops making the bevy of mistakes he made last year.
  3. For three, their O-line, while good, lacks quality depth, and last year they had issues with motivation. This goes back to Turner, I think, and I predict this problem will intensify. Mark this: Around mid-season, an O-line starter will get benched for seemingly no reason. (Reason: Lack of effort due to dissatisfaction).
  4. For four, we’ve stopped Ladanian Tomlinson before, and that was with Lorenzo Neal. We’re going back to the scheme that was successful against LT. So the question marks are going to be DJ Williams and Niko Koutovides — K2 is going to be the key guy to to stop LT. Boy, I’m putting a lot on that guy’s shoulders, aren’t I?

My bold prediction:

Sun, Sep. 14 is going to be one HELL of a game. Defense will win the day; both teams have the right tools to shut the other team’s offense down. San Diego’s DL + LB core is superior to our OL core, unless Ryan Clady turns out to be All That And A Bag Of Chips in only game 2. We’ll put up some pretty good plays because Brandon Marshall is The Man and we’ll have an enviable group catching the ball, but their defense will successfully keep Jay Cutler from having enough time to throw the ball and there will be lots of really good drives stopped in a short field. A couple of touchdowns will get through here and there, but this’ll be a day of field goals.

And we’ll do the same to them; our secondary will smother their receivers and they won’t get enough of the running game to make the difference. Antonio Gates will make one absolutely amazing touchdown and Chambers will get the other.

Final score: Broncos 26, Chargers 23.

(Incidentally, I predict we’ll only get one touchdown on offense. The other will be either Dre Bly or Champ Bailey picking off a bad Rivers decision). I’ll count this pick as being right if the pick nets a really short field and are able to pound the ball in with a power running back.)

  • http://merlinofchaos.livejournal.com E. Halsey Miles

    Minor followup: We’ll jump somewhere between 12 and 16 spots on the various power rankings for this awesome game, putting us squarely into the latter half of the top 10 with a big “Now they have to prove they belong here” from most of the rankers. The more wary rankers will wait and move us up into the top 15 and they’ll talk about our potential but how they still aren’t convinced.

  • http://broncotalk.net Kyle

    I love it Earl. I had that same optimism last year.

    After not scoring a single touchdown on them last year, I’m not nearly as confident though. The offensive line will make all the difference – we’ll see how well they fare!

  • Merch

    we wont beat them this year either…we’ll be 9-7 this year

  • broncfanstuckinsd

    SD has been slow starters for the past few years, they struggle in early season games. Plus no Charger team has ever won 3 straight in Denver. Denver will at the worst split with SD. Plus I am not sold on Rivers full recovery from knee surgery. I can see Denver coming in and taking this game by 10 points. I feel the home field advantage will be back! 27-17

  • Merch

    u and me both man….i hate the F’ing chargers

  • http://birty.blogspot.com mikebirty

    That’s a pretty detailed prediction Earl – maybe you should turn your hand to the lottery numbers ;)

    I’m going out on a limb and predicting one kick off or punt return for a score in the first two games.

  • flbronc

    god, i cant STAND rivers. couldnt stand him in college, and cant stand him now. he’s not a good qb, as someone mentioned earlier- he makes stupid mistakes. i hope that we can hit him a lot early and expedite some of those mistakes. that’s our key to winning.

  • Bolts08

    It’d be nice if you guys could score a touchdown this year, might actually make the game watchable.

  • Bolts08

    Oh yeah, Norv’s system only won him a couple of Super Bowl rings. That system couldn’t work though, could it?

  • http://broncotalk.net Kyle

    Bolts08 – fair enough on the first comment. Enjoy saying that while you can (in 3 months you won’t be able to).

    Second comment – I mean, come on, do I even need to respond? You already know what I’m going to say. Norv Turner the Offensive Coordinator and Norv Turner the Head Coach are two different people.

  • Bolts08

    Tell that to Tony Dungy.

  • http://www.search-this.com mark

    Come on guys, I’m a huge Bronco fan, 36 years and counting, but last year it was 64 to 6 – that’s correct – 64 to 6 in points scored. Do you really think we improved THAT much? Can a team improve that much in one year? I love my Broncos, but I’m not betting a win on those games.

  • http://merlinofchaos.livejournal.com E. Halsey Miles

    mikebirty: I have no problem knowing that there are all kinds of things that can throw my prediction off. I admit to going out on a limb. I am prognosticating only with what I know. And hey, it’s fun.

    Bolts08: The first comment made me crack up. The second comment…well, Kyle is right. Norv Turner is an excellent offensive coordinator. He gets in there and he controls the offensive tempo and he really, really puts a game together. But when he’s the Head Coach, he loses control. He ends up responsible for the things he’s not good at and puts someone else in charge of what he is good at. I respect his superbowl rings as offensive coordinator. I just think that history has shown that as a head coach, he is, as is often referred to in the corporate world, “promoted to a level beyond his competence”.

    mark: Rather, I think the team fell so far below its standards last year that it was an aberration. I do not judge this this team by what it did last year. I take the last several years into account.

    Last year the team stank for one reason and one reason alone: The defensive system did not work with the player personnel it had. That system works; there is evidence. But that system requires two fantastic, big DTs and we had Sam Adams and Amon Gordon. Well, Sam Adams is big, but that still didn’t stop him from playing doormat for any old offensive guard in the league, meaning that DJ Williams had someone in his face when he needed to be getting after the ball carrier. And they couldn’t put pressure on, so the coverage broke down. League rules are such that no defensive coverage can last for very long, now matter how good. The trick is to break the pocket quickly and disrupt the quarterback. Even Andrew Walters looked like a pretty good quarterback…when he had 4 seconds of uninterrupted time to throw the ball.

    The score last year was immaterial. Mike Shanahan’s offensive philosophy is to get ahead fast, then buckle down and maintain that lead. But when the defense puts the offense in the lurch every single drive, that philosophy doesn’t work.

    Man. This should be a post all its own.

  • Rick

    I have to laugh at all of your stupid yak-yak. It makes me want to yak. Why don’t you all wait for at least 1 exibition game before you start crowning your Donkeys as world Champions. A better suggestion is forget about football. Can’t your dismal Rockies keep you occupied. The Bolts are the team to beat next year and you better watch out for Da Raiders too.

  • http://merlinofchaos.livejournal.com E. Halsey Miles

    I have to laugh at all of your stupid yak-yak. It makes me want to yak. Why don’t you all wait for at least 1 exibition game before you start crowning your Donkeys as world Champions.

    Lame. There’s a whole lot of trash you can talk about what I actually said, but you’re not even smart enough to do that. Instead you trash talk stuff I didn’t say. Boooring. Can we get someone with some brains in here so we can have some real trash talk? Thanks.

  • Chargerbomb

    The next Rivers interception by Bly or Bailey will be their first. Then maybe they will actually have room to trash the guy in the press.

    I like the Chargers in this game because they have the clear edge on defense, at least on paper. Although the Chargers have some injury question marks on offense, the D looks stronger than ever with Florence and McCree gone (addition by subtraction).

    I don’t expect a blowout but I’ll go with 31-17 Chargers. Rivers will continue his stellar play against that defense until they get some actual pressure on him.

  • http://merlinofchaos.livejournal.com E. Halsey Miles

    ChargerBomb: I think Florence was better than he was given credit for, but I admit that our signing of McCree hasn’t particularly thrilled me, so you may well be right about your secondary being better without him. I guess we’ll have to see how he does with a change of scenery, but I am not holding out a lot of hope.

  • DesertBoltFan

    I won’t and don’t make predictions on any game because so many things can happen during a game other then just playing that can determine the outcome one way or the other. I know that that game will be a very emotional one for the Broncos and their fans. If the Chargers don’t match the emotion then anything can happen and it will probably be bad. If the Chargers play like they did against the Broncos last year and take the crowd out of it then it will be a long day for the home team.
    About Rivers, come on guys he is still a young man and he plays with a ton of emotion and yes he lets that emotion come out at the wrong times but he is a very good QB and has a great future ahead of him as does Cutler. I’ll bet a lot of you Bronco fans wish Cutler played with a little more emotion out there.
    Bottomline is these are two good teams but right now San Diego has the better talent in the spots that count, that aint a homer talking it is a fact. Just as it was a fact that the Broncos for years had the better talent and we didn’t. But they still have to play the games, and once the whistle blows anything can happen.

    Good luck with McCree, he will frustrate the hell out of you at times. He really is a very poor tackler for a safety and I can assure you it will cost you somewhere this season, he did us. Want an example? Go and watch the game against the Vikings when Peterson ran our asses over, it will make you ill when you think about him back there for you.