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Published on 09/17/2008 at Wed Sep 17 10:00.
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Broncos-Saints Preview – Sunday, Sep. 21, 2008

Posted Wed Sep 17th by

DEN vs. NO
Broncos (2-0) vs. Saints (1-1)
INVESCO Field at Mile High
Sun, Sep 21, 2008
2:05 PM MDT FOX

Preview | Predictions | Scouting Report
Injury Report | Weather | Tickets

The Denver Broncos (2-0) look to begin the year with a 3-0 record for the first time since 2003 when they host the New Orleans Saints (1-1) on Sunday. Kickoff at INVESCO Field at Mile High is set for 2:05 p.m., and the game will be broadcast by FOX’s No. 1 announcing crew of Joe Buck, Troy Aikman and Pam Oliver.

Radio coverage will be provided by 850 AM KOA in Denver. Dave Logan (play-by-play) and David Diaz-Infante (color commentary) will call the game with Andy Lindahl reporting from the sidelines. Simulcast can be heard on Sirius Channel 119. National radio broadcast also available via Sports USA Radio.

During their 39-38 win against San Diego last week, Denver became the third team in NFL history to give up the opportunity for a tie and win a game with a successful two-point conversion. Eddie Royal‘s conversion on a Jay Cutler throw with 24 seconds remaining helped the Broncos begin the season with a 2-0 record in AFC West play for the sixth time in the last seven years. Wide receiver Brandon Marshall had 18 catches (166 yds., TD) against the Chargers, tying for the second-most receptions in a game in league annals. Dating back to last year, Marshall’s 55 receptions in his last five games are the most in NFL history for any five-game period. The Broncos play a Saints team that lost 29-24 at Washington last week. New Orleans took a 24-15 lead into the fourth quarter following Reggie Bush’s 55-yard punt return for a touchdown, but the Redskins scored touchdowns on back-to-back drives late in the game to earn the victory.

Denver is facing the Saints for the first time since it defeated New Orleans 34-13 on the road during the 2004 season. The Saints will make their first visit to Denver since participating in the first-ever game at INVESCO Field at Mile High during the 2001 preseason.

The Broncos lead the NFL in total offense (463.5 ypg.), points per game (40.0), total touchdowns (10) and first downs (58). Cutler has posted the most passing yards (650) in the league through Week 2, becoming just the third Denver quarterback to begin a season with two 300-yard games. Denver has forced its opponents to start 14 of their 19 drives at or inside the 20-yard line while ranking third in the league in opponent average starting field position (21.5-yard line).

Five Keys to the Game

Brandon Marshall Chargers

1. Pick apart the Saints secondary
The Broncos have a passing attack they haven’t enjoyed since… well… you know, and the Saints are a prime target to be abused by the Broncos’ receivers. The offensive line needs to continue to step up and protect Cutler, and #6 will deliver the ball to Marshall, Royal, and TE Tony Scheffler all day.

2. Don’t let Reggie Bush Break Out
Saints running back Reggie Bush hasn’t lived up to the hype, but there’s nothing quite like the Denver Broncos defense to boost your stats and have a breakout game (see Darren Sproles, San Diego). Saints Coach Sean Peyton is an offense guru, and will look for ways to exploit the Broncos in mismatches. Smart, disciplined football against Bush is key here, and this key falls on the linebackers to stop him early and allow the secondary to worry about the receiving threats…

Reggie Bush

3. Avoid the big play
This goes hand-in-hand with Key #2, but still worth mentioning in its own right. Even without WR Marques Colston, their biggest weapon, the Saints still have some decent threats at the wide receiver position. Devery Henderson averages over 20 yards per reception in his career, making him the obvious deep threat. WR David Patten quietly had a very solid season last year, catching 54 balls for 792 yards (14.7 ypc) and three touchdowns. Add TE Jeremy Shockey to the mix and you have a dangerous situation for the Broncos secondary. Generating pass rush will be huge here, but the Saints offensive line is decent, and the Broncos haven’t gotten after the quarterback well enough to ease my mind in this area. Brees is dangerous and is not to be underrated.

4. Keep the Saints defense guessing
The Saints have allowed 403.5 yards per game on defense, ranking 29th in the league. Their numbers are near the bottom of the league against both the pass and the run. This is a defense the Broncos can exploit by keeping them guessing – an even mix of the run and pass. Cutler dropped back 50 times on Sunday, but expect the Broncos to pound the rock more this week. They’ll take their shots down the field, but they won’t shy away from long, productive, clock-killing drives, either.

5. Abuse the Saints secondary some more
Seriously. New Orleans has no answers for what the Broncos are going to bring. I expect a healthier Darrell Jackson to suit up as well. As long as Cutler stays calm in the pocket, the Broncos should come away with a victory.

  • SivNiz

    How do you leave out SP? I think that is the key to this game, especially with our track record the last few games.

  • kerry

    i really hope our defense doesnt take sunday off like they did last week. lets see if Moss is actually gonna suit up and play.

  • SivNiz

    I meant ST

  • T-Money

    I think our passing defense needs to step it up the most. I’m not to wrried about offense doing what they do. I think Rivers got the best of Champ Baliey last game, so i’m going to be looking for his redemption show, wether it be a pick-6 or a big hit or two. Personally I would start Jack Willams. I think he’s the kind of guy that we’ll need to speed wise, to cover the TE.

  • Michael In El Paso

    I think ST was covered in Key #2 as Reggie Bush is the Saints returner.

  • KMA

    Yeah I agree with SivNiz, special teams needs to be a big focus. If we don’t feel that we can keep a PR or KR from happening, then we need to kick to the other side of the field. Offense will be fine, but the defense needs to have a big convincing day. They need to biuld momentum heading into KC next week, I know it’s only KC but it is ALWAYS a hard place to play for any Broncos team.
    I love that the Broncos are 2-0 but remember they started out that way last year. I am personally going with…”Cautious Optimism”

  • DaveMoore

    T-Money, I don’t think that Bailey got beat that bad by Rivers, as far as I can remember the Chambers TD was the only deep ball he got beat on, and that was just a perfectly thrown ball by the QB. What worries me more is the fact that they seem to like playing Bly as the nickelback, presumably because he’s more likely to get an interception gambling from that position, however this leaves Paymah on the outside. With Bailey exclusively manning the left side of the field, this means the opposition can create good matchups against Paymah with their best receiver, as SD did on Sunday in the second half with Chambers. However, the pass defense all starts up front, and the complete lack of penetration by the d-line on Sunday was probably the biggest factor to their big plays, which SD is good in, and worryingly, so do the Saints. I believe our pass rush is THE biggest key to this game, so I would like to see Moss suited too, although I suppose there must be a reason Shanny keeps leaving him out :S. At the end of the day I believe we’re favourites as we seem to be a similar team to the Saints, but are slightly better in almost every area, especially as they are quite banged up at the moment.

  • BroncoFan18

    SPECIAL TEAMS WILL DETERMINE THE WINNER OF THIS GAME.

    For the past couple of years and the first two games of the season, the Broncos have been pretty weak on special teams. We can’t afford to give the Saints great field position against our already struggling defense. You can have the best defense in the league, but if you give the ball to the other team at midfield, the defense is bound to break eventually.

    I REPEAT, SPECIAL TEAMS IS THE KEY!!!!

    If I had to name one other thing, it would be third down for our defense. Last week, we were able to stop the Chargers on first and second down, but gave in on third. Everyone knows third down is why players are paid the big bucks. Our defense needs to step it up and force some three-and-outs.

    Our offense will be fine. Cutler and the offense is on a roll and shouldn’t have a problem putting at least 24 pts on the board. It will come down to defense and most of all SPECIAL TEAMS.

  • KMA

    If Brees has as much time as Rivers did on some downs last week, I dont care who the Saints WR’s are they will work over the Broncos secondary. Agreed the D-line is a huge factor. If the receivers have that much time to wiggle open then Bailey and Bly as well as Paymah will get beat more than once.

  • http://broncotalk.net Kyle

    Read the last paragraph before the five keys. Denver is third in the league in opponent starting position, despite its apparent struggles.

    The Saints aren’t renowned for their ST either.

    I think the Saints’ secondary keeping up, and similarly, its defensive line pressuring Cutler will be the key to this game. Doubly. The Saints’ secondary is awful. I really think the Broncos need to open it up, then mix it up with some runs, then attack those corners some more.

  • kerry

    seriously the Saints secondary sucks BAD!! there is no reason that Cutler throws for less then 400 yards. and without throwing it 50 times. he cant do that every game or his arm will burn out way before its time.

  • SivNiz

    I’m not worried about the opponent starting position, I’m worried about the big play on special teams. The two games that come to my mind are the Bears game last year and the SD game last Sunday. The Bears game was won by Hester and if we prevent the TD last Sunday we have a much more comfortable 4th quarter.

  • Gary

    The scoreboard operator should do finger stretching exercises before this game! This is going to be a fun one to watch… I predict Denver 38 NO 31, although I hope I’m wrong and the defense is stronger than last week… Try blitzing once in a while too guys. If you’re getting burned anyway, at least go out in a blaze of glory! I only remember one all out blitz on Rivers last week (in the 2nd half) that “almost” worked. He got it off just in time and burned them. I had hoped that they would not give up trying though, since he was burning them badly without blitzing. Who knows what kind of good things you might make happen if you get him a little rattled.

  • kerry

    the RMN has said that Moss will be activated for the game against the Saints.

  • Saints fan

    Don’t worry about it Broncos’ fans. The Saints aren’t capable of much at the moment. Our safeties and LBs, besides Vilma, are slow, our CB situation has gotten better but is still a problem. Our front 4 will never get help with a blitz package (D coordinator sucks). Our safeties can’t tackle RBs, etc…

    And Bush will never get thrown to enough. Instead, Payton will put him in the backfield to lose yardage. Reggie will be your only challenge, and that’s if Payton puts him in the slot.

    We will get our butts handed to us on Sunday. Enjoy your Broncos while they are ‘clicking’.

    Good luck with the rest of your season.