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Published on 09/11/2008 at Thu Sep 11 15:36.
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Chargers @ Broncos Preview – Sunday, Sep. 14, 2008

Posted Thu Sep 11th by

DEN vs. SD
Broncos (1-0) vs. Chargers (0-1)
INVESCO Field at Mile High
Sun, Sep 14, 2008
2:15 PM MDT CBS

The Denver Broncos (1-0) face a divisional team for the second consecutive week when they host the two-time defending AFC West champion San Diego Chargers (0- 1) on Sunday in their home opener. Kickoff at INVESCO Field at Mile High is set for 2:15 p.m. MDT, and the game will be televised by CBS with Dick Enberg and Randy Cross calling the action. Radio coverage will be provided by 850 AM KOA, which will be simulcast on Sirius Satellite Radio Channel 91.

Denver began its 2008 season with a 41-14 win in Oakland on Monday Night Football, scoring its second-most points in a divisional road game in franchise history. Broncos wide receiver Eddie Royal registered the sixth-most receiving yards (146) by a player in his NFL debut since 1960 while quarterback Jay Cutler posted a Week 1 AFC-best 299 passing yards, two touchdown passes and a 137.3 passer rating. Royal leads all NFL wide receivers in receiving yards through one week.

Looking to snap their four-game losing streak to the Chargers, Denver faces a San Diego squad that lost its season opener at home to Carolina by a 26-24 margin. The Panthers scored the game-winning touchdown on a 14-yard, fourth-down pass as time expired.

With a potential 2-0 lead on the former AFC West champs on the line, Sunday’s skirmish serves as another rare “must-win” game for the Broncos in September.

Kyle’s Five Keys to the Game

Ladainian Tomlinson Broncos

1. Get Philip Rivers’ jersey dirty… really dirty
Quarterback Philip Rivers is rarely touched when he faces the Broncos. The Denver pass rush just hasn’t been able to get to him, and as a result he’s 4-0 against the Broncos. His stats, which are up and down all season long, always peak when he faces the Broncos. With the Chargers’ offensive line reeling from injury, the Broncos are counting on RDE Elvis Dumervil and DTs Marcus Thomas and Dewayne Robertson to disrupt the Chargers’ backups. Give CBs Champ Bailey and Dre Bly a few hurried throws to work with and the Broncos will have turnovers. Give this offense a short field and it’s Lights Out for San Diego.

2. Gap control on defense
The Raiders weren’t the only division opponent to run on the Broncos for over 350 yards in 2007. The Chargers, led by RBs LaDainian Tomlinson and Michael Turner, ran for 364 yards against the Broncos in two games last year. The defensive line needs to eat up blockers and let the linebackers hit their gaps (and then the linebackers must MAKE THE TACKLE), and the Chargers won’t be able to run on us like that again.

3. Pick up the blitz
The NFL is abuzz with the Broncos’ explosive offensive performance against the Raiders in Week One. I expect Ted Cottrell and the Chargers defense to respond by delivering a heavy dose of unpredictable blitz packages, something they do as well as anyone in the league. Mark my words – they will bring it, and bring it hard. Without Shawne Merriman it won’t be as effective, but I still expect them to test the Broncos’ young offensive linemen. Tight end Daniel Graham stepping up and good pass protection by our running backs will be crucial here, as good as the o-line has looked thus far. Without good pass protection, this explosive Broncos passing attack won’t get anywhere, and I’m not confident enough in the running game to get it done alone this year without a complementary passing threat.

4. Don’t overlook special teams
The Broncos’ special teams unit was up-and-down in coverage on Monday at Oakland, and that can’t happen against the Chargers. Darren Sproles, the Chargers’ miniaturized returner/running back/tour de force, will make them pay.

5. Get the crowd involved
Last year’s home game against the Chargers wasn’t just a disgrace on the field; it was a disgrace in the stands. It inspired me to write what would become the most-viewed post in BroncoTalk history – Where’s the Magic in Mile High?. The Chargers are a tough opponent, and the Broncos need a home-field advantage to take them down this early in the season. Let’s get involved this time, fans.

Stay tuned for a deeper scouting report in Kyle’s “In the Trenches” column every Friday. We’ll take a look at the keys to winning both sides of the line of scrimmage.

  • http://www.inthecheapseats.com Dario

    Last week prior to the Raider game Wiegmann was interviewed on The Fan. During the discussion they talked about San Diego and how Wiegmann was familiar with their defensive scheme. He said that going against Dallas in practice and in the preseason was a good test for the Broncos because they ran the same defense as San Diego.

    What I saw from the Caronila game vs San Diego is that it shouldn’t have even been as close as it was. Carolina kicked FOUR field goals and they lost a possession on downs with 4th and inches to the goal line. They averaged 4.9 yards per carry on the ground. That doesn’t strike me as a San Diego team that’s improved against the run. If Carolina had executed their red zone offense better then I think they could have run the ball more in the second half and produced more than the 142 yards that they did. This is the game that the Broncos need to establish their running game early and keep the defense fresh by controlling the clock.

  • flbronc

    i’m curious to see what our game plan looks like. i loved the calls last week. now that marshall is back, i am sure that every passing play in coach shannahan’s book is open now (not that it closed up with royal). it will be interesting to see the mix of runs and passes, and if we run to set up the pass or if we pass to set up the run. i think that it will likely be the latter.

  • kerry

    we can thrash these guys. the way our passing game and pass protection was last week, we should be able to do that again, especially with Marshall being back. Scheffler should also be more involved in the game. i seriously see Shanahan getting away from the run and going mostly pass, then use the run game to soften up the defense.

  • Ryan M.

    I am really excited and nervous for this game. Everything seems to be pointing toward us dominating them but recent history has me scared. I just hope this past monday was a good indication of things to come and that this truly is a new year and dawn of the era of dominance in denver.

  • HogBlog

    Hey Kyle, I thought Cutler had 300yds passing, not 299? Any explanations about the team getting credit for a sack against Russell, yet no one gets to claim it? Not sure how that works…

  • jcampb72

    Going to the game and i am soooooo stoked!!!!!

  • Richard

    The first thing we need to keep in mind is the injury status of the Dolts. LT didn’t practice again today , but says he’ll be ready come game time. If he slows down a half step we can hold him easily.

    Gates is still having trouble with hie toe problems, as well as a hip problem he received in the Carolina game. His participation today was termed limited.

    On the Oline Marcus McNeil is still out with a bulging disk in his neck, and Nick Hardwicke started practicing today but will not play until Sept 28 at the earliest.

    Jamal Williams is one hurting puppy with bad knees, and was ineffective against Carolina. Merrimam is out of course, and Cromartie didn’t practice today with an unspecified hip problem.(can’t wait to see him try to cover Marshall).

    With this injury situation in mind, the game plan will probably look to roll Cutler left and right. Make the short handed Dolts commit a LB to spy him. That will open the middle of the field for Stokley and or Sheffler depending on what looks Shanny wants to give them. (Make Williams move laterally in the thin air.) Olshansky is deadly moving forward, but average at running from line to line. With Cromartie hurting, B Marsh and his fresh legs, should take him to the cleaners. Royal would then be covered(?) by Jammer. The safeties would have to move up to help out in the shallow middle against Sheff and Stokley, or help the CBs on the edges. Should they choose to move to the edges, we start running up the gut, and/or running short dump offs to Selvin, Andre and Hillis. They are NOT going to be able to stop this attack. By the middle of the third quarter, the Dolts will be dead men walking.

    On the other side of the ball, Phillis is going to have to prove he can win the game by himself. With the same patchwork Oline they started against Carolina, with LT and Gates hurting, and their receivers being average. We should run every blitz in the playbook just to keep Rivers running for his life. Keep him scambling as much as possible. Wear him out in the thin air.

    So do I sound too optimistic? I don’t think so. And by the way with the Stupidcharges hurting this bad in only the second week of the season, they aren’t going to get any healthier in the next 15 weeks.

    Roses are Red
    Violets are Blue
    Marshall and Royal
    Send you home O and Two

  • kerry

    Richard-

    no you arent being too optimistic. yeah the Chargers are injured and what not, but oh well. thats their problem. not ours. a win is a win no matter how hurt they are. sure every Chargers fan on the planet will whine and snivel that guys were injured. but a win is a win. we were injured alot last year, now its our turn to kick ass!!

  • Roy

    As long as the offensive playbook stays open and the D/ST keep it home and be where they are supposed to be (and, you know, tackle) we should be fine.

  • Matt

    i also watched the Car @ SD game on nfl replay and they looked soft against the run. They do have a strong d line but if we can get the running game going and start moving the sticks our passing and play action will tear them apart. I was impressed with our oline last week and if their LB’s can just freeze for a second on play action cutler will do the rest. I think the run game is crucial this week. It will help against the blitz and help control the game late at home. I would like a classic bronco game thats controlled from start to finish and marshall/royal will deliver the knock out punch. I would love to see phillis rivers get rocked! If we can get him on his back and make him uneasy i think he will make a mistake for champ/bly to gobble up. Go Broncos! Big Game!

  • flbronc

    roy- i think that you nailed it on the d/st. if they dont do anything to lose the game for us (and mainly st giving a short field, or worse yet points), we should be able to outscore them bigtime. if sporles breaks off 30 yds or more every time we give him a touch this will be a tough game. contain him, and put together a few stops and we should be all right. i think we proved that we can score, by whatever means coach can come up with. i think shanny drew a couple of those plays against the raiders on a napkin one night at a bar…

  • Richard

    Good old Randy Cross is going to be doing color for CBS. Can’t wait to hear him gush all over the Chargers and Diss Denver. He’s done it before. If I remember, it was 2003 when he did a Bronco game and was basically cheering on our opponent. After many fans called CBS New York to complain, Cross made a statement saying he was impartial. BS. THis should be another reason we win Sunday. Lets make him look like the fool he occasionally is.

  • http://www.inthecheapseats.com Dario

    Oh no, not Cross.