Predicting the Future: Broncos vs. Chargers

Kyle Orton looks for a receiver against the Kansas City Chiefs (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

Things just taste better after the Broncos win…

I haven’t been able to quite put my finger on it, but for Denver when it rains it pours. Fans finally got to see the good side of that happening for the first time in a long time.

Josh McDaniels also tipped his hat to the future and what is to come; Tim Tebow has touched the football 13 times and has scored four touchdowns this season. He is a one man answer to the Broncos red zone woes. Kyle Orton had one of his worst games of the season yardage wise, but career best in terms of touchdowns. There’s really not much more that I can say here that you haven’t read, in fact if you read last week’s Predicting the Future you knew what the Kansas City Chiefs were in for before the game; I predicted domination, but not decimation.

Playing Monday Night Football gives the team basically an extra bye type week, as the team gets an extra day of healing, studying and preparing for the San Diego Chargers. The alternate side to that is so do the Chargers. Though their record doesn’t show it, San Diego is the toughest team that Denver will see all season. It’s well publicized how incredible Philip Rivers has been this year, despite not having the same weaponry as in previous seasons. Antonio Gates status is still up in the air, but if he’s a go that spells even more trouble for the Broncos, Denver doesn’t really have anyone in the linebacking corps that can cover him; in past seasons Champ Bailey has lined up over Gates and my hope would be that he would do the same on Monday.

On paper it would appear that the main problem Denver will face is on the offensive side of things going head-to-head with San Diego’s second ranked defense, but the Broncos have been able to step up all season against powerful defenses and still have the fifth overall offense in the NFL. Where the Chargers implode is well documented, special teams… Earlier last week Chargers’ head coach Norv Turner was urged to fire special teams coach Steve Crosby Turner was vehement in that there were about 12 people he would fire before Crosby. Turner went on to vow that there would be no more blocked punts this season, the Chargers have more than the entire NFL combined (five).

Last season, when the Broncos beat the Chargers it was on special teams, where Eddie Royal looked like Superman, scoring on a punt and a kick return. This season it will have to be more of the same if Denver wants to stay involved. The Broncos early success with the Chiefs has been attributed to the fact that McDaniels scripted the first 18 plays, Orton said that this sped up the tempo of the game and brought in crisp packages. Though it would do the team well for McDaniels not to state whether or not he will continue to script the first several plays.

There’s a lot to look forward to Monday night with Turner promising to shake McDaniels hand after the game and McDaniels promising not to talk trash to Shaun Phillips (at least in the pregame). Here’s where the game will be interesting though, this is Jamal Williams first trip back to the city that can’t support their team. Wonder what type of advantage that will bring to the Broncos… Shunned by the team that he’d given blood (and some tricep muscle) to for the last 12 seasons, Williams may be the x-factor in this whole thing.

One thing is for sure, if the Broncos don’t win on Monday night the season is basically lost. So the crowd will be there, the lights will be on… If they are who they say they are, it’s time to be super stars.

Broncos win 38-24.