I got a few e-mails asking where this segment was last week – well, call it being just plain too busy last week, but I’m back with it now for your enjoyment.

There were a lot of ways to lose to the Chargers last year. So far only the Bears have followed the formula successfully. The team is reeling, but so are the Broncos, and I believe in our quarterback more than theirs. That being said, this promises to be a good game between two underperforming teams.

If we were to lose, here’s how.

1. LT stands for Lousy Tackling

D.J. Williams was the only person on the defense who could consistently stop Joseph Addai. Addai is good, but he’s no Ladainian Tomlinson. The Chargers’ offensive line doesn’t have to be great to plow through the Broncos’ defensive line. Therefore it will be up to the linebackers to remember how to tackle. Nate Webster had a string of good games until last week, where he was awful. Ian Gold had moments of both solid coverage and tackling, then other moments of missing assignments and not plugging the gaps. And he got ran over a few times.

With LT, this isn’t acceptable. You get a hand on his jersey, you have to wrap him up and take him down or he’ll bust a move and break a big one before the next guy has a chance.

Disciplined gap control will be the key, since I don’t expect our defensive linemen to be much of a factor against the run. Then hitting the runner in the gap, and finishing tackles.

This will also help our cover corners focus solely on coverage, rather than getting got peeking at the running back like they have been lately.

2. Rely on four-man pressure

Our defensive line is decent in the pass rush department, but it would be foolhardy of the Broncos not to send a blitzing linebacker in on passing plays. With Chargers RT Shane Olivea tender from injury, and a bit of a disappointment in their RG (Mike Goff) thus far this season, it’s all about the Ian Gold blitz.

I want to see Gold blitzing 10 times this game, if not more, helping Simeon Rice and Elvis Dumervil get to Philip Rivers. We haven’t been blitz-heavy so far this year, but this is the perfect opportunity. Our defensive end unit is full of pass rushers, and they could get the job done, but the Broncos stand a better chance to win with Gold busting into the opponent’s backfield.

(This also has the added benefit of not assigning Gold to cover Antonio Gates. But more on that later).

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Curtis over at BoltTalk.com agreed to answer a few questions on the state of the Chargers. You can find his answers below.

1. What is the state of Chargers fans after the team’s disappointing 1-3 start?

Lets get right to it. The only way to put it is shocked and awed. There is a lot of disappointment as you could guess in the ranks of San Diego’s fans. Many of the fans expected much more from this team, for myself I expected them to be competitive and have the intensity and consistency that they have been lacking so far this season. It is difficult to enjoy a season like the ’06 season and then stomach a start like we have seen this season.

The good thing though is that the season isn’t over, they can right the ship still, but they have to start this weekend and it is no easy task to win at Invesco Field. The Broncos fans are rabid and loud, also the Chargers have not won in Denver, back to back seasons since before the AFL and NFL merger.

But I guess the bottom line is, though they haven’t shined like expected we are still supporting the Chargers, and not many that I know has given up. There is still a gleam, but we have to squint more to see it.

2. Is Norv Turner really to blame?

Well that is a big topic of debate in Boltsville right now. But you have to ask yourself, what has changed between last season, and this one? The Coaches are the major change. Is it all Turner, I think that would be short sighted to say, but that is a major part of it, in my opinion.

The players do not seem as focused or prepared as they were last season, of course a scheme change can do that to a football team. We will have to wait and see what our record looks like going into the bye week to really be able to judge this one fully.

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vs.

Denver Broncos (2-2) vs. San Diego Chargers (1-3)
Sunday, October 7, 2007 at 2:15 PM MT
CBS 4 | 850 KOA AM | Sirius 122

WEATHER FORECAST (weather.com):
Temp: 72° F
Chance of rain: 40%
Wind: SSW 15 MPH

INJURY REPORT:
Coming Friday

The Denver Broncos and San Diego Chargers square off in their first of two battles for the 2007 season. The teams represent the most recent winners of the AFC West and the frontrunners to win the division in the preseason. Both teams enter the game on losing streaks, hoping to turn their respective seasons around.

The Broncos have won all but 2 of the meetings against the Chargers at home since 1995. Last year, the team enjoyed a 17 point lead in the third quarter before the Chargers came back behind a huge performance by Ladainian Tomlinson to win 35-27.

It’s the second consecutive meeting in Mile High featuring a dramatic come-from-behind victory. The year before, the Broncos trailed the Chargers 14-3 at halftime before Champ Bailey intercepted Drew Brees and returned it for a touchdown. The Broncos won their first game of the year and would go on to win 12 more en route to an AFC Championship berth.

With both teams licking their wounded, and with their backs against the wall, the spin on this game is all about “not losing.” The Chiefs and Raiders are both on winning streaks, and whichever team loses will be struggling to make up the ground lost in the divisional standings.

We’ll have more breakdowns of the upcoming game, including opposing fan interviews, scouting reports, matchups, five steps to lose the game and more.

• Chargers blogger breaks down our team and how the Chargers could win and could lose. Really good stuff. – BoltTalk
• Broncos change cast, but so far story remains the same – Sign On San Diego
• If only the Chargers had pursued Mike Martz as their head coach. Plus, Giants GM Ernie Accorsi is getting the last laugh. – Sign On San Diego
• Fellow blogger and BroncoTalk frequenter Mr. Hercules Rockefeller posts his thoughts on Ricky Williams advocating marijuana in Denver. Funny stuff. – Orange Bucksnorts
• Fantasy Football, anyone? This is why I pay my money for this service – despite missing Anquan Boldin, Javon Walker, Brian Westbrook and Clinton Portis due to injury and a bye week, this fantasy pro still pulls out a win with an amazing bench. – Fantasy Guru
• Lions WR Roy Williams has finally learned to tip the pizza man. I guess I don’t hate him anymore. – Detroit Free Press

Andrew Mason reports that John Lynch went through a full practice Wednesday and felt good. Lynch even said he hadn’t wanted to sit out on Sunday, but put his faith in the coach.

“(Sitting out) was probably the smart thing,” Lynch said. “It’s the last thing you want to do, but that’s what makes Mike a successful coach. He knew that would be a hard decision for me, so he made the decision himself.

“I didn’t necessarily like it, but in retrospect it was the right thing to do, and I feel good.”

Meanwhile, Travis Henry‘s MRI came back negative, although he did sit out Wednesday as a precaution. I’m not getting great vibes regarding Henry, and wouldn’t be surprised if the coaches benched him this week so he can have two full weeks off with the upcoming bye.

Finally, Domenik Hixon didn’t last long on the market. The Giants claimed him off waivers today.

I’ve had a chance to review the game thanks to NFL Replay, and I’ve come to several conclusions. The first, is that this a pretty damn good team, despite what the collective fan nation may be thinking. Second, we really missed Javon Walker and John Lynch out there, more than you know. The third note is that we really need to learn to tackle.

We need to play perfect on offense to beat Peyton Manning, and we didn’t do that.

I think we have a good-to-great pass rush, and you could tell Manning was bothered at times. Forcing them to punt on their first possession was a direct result of Jarvis Moss getting around Manning’s ankles and forcing a throw into tight coverage by Ian Gold. There were other examples of this too, where guys like Moss, Dumervil and Rice were mere steps away from getting to Manning. But Peyton is just that good, and knows how to get rid of the ball when he needs to.

The Colts didn’t have much of a pass rush on Jay Cutler, and this seemed to be a direct result of what I like to call “Travis Henry paranoia.” They were constantly trying to step Henry. I couldn’t count how many plays he had over 10 yards.

But the one young mistake in the third quarter that immediately followed a quick Colts scoring drive cost the Broncos big time. Cutler’s pick was the turning point of the game. Suddenly we were in a deep hole. The Colts defense wasn’t stopping us any more than we were stopping them. It was really a fluke interception, but we can’t afford those against the Colts.

The offensive playcalling is just fine, settle down with the Fire Shanahan crap.

Seriously. The “red zone offense woes card” is getting way overplayed. We’re not even in the bottom half of the league in that department. Do you think for one minute if we had Javon Walker in the game, the Colts would have been smothering Brandon Marshall the way they were? With only one really big threat at receiver, the Colts cover two was perfect to shut down the passing attack for the most part, particularly in the red zone.

If I would have changed anything with the playcalling, it would have been minor at best. I would have liked to have seen Cutler throw the ball once before being relied on in the red zone during the first drive. I tend to notice he needs a few game passes to get warmed up – his first few throws just seem to be slightly off target every game.

Still, when we needed to extend a drive in the third quarter after the Colts had put up 14 in the blink of an eye, the offense faced a third and one. The call? Nine Broncos push the Colts defense to the right, and Cutler and Cecil Sapp roll to the left. Cutler could have crawled to make the first down, but he tossed it to Sapp who took it for ten more yards. Great call!

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I have really liked what Kyle and some of our readers have been saying about the sad state of Denver fandom online.

As you know, I don’t live in Denver, and as a ‘remote’ fan I have more friends (and know more fellow Denver addicts) online than in real life. Most of these friends I found this off-season through Broncos forums and blogs. These sites and the friendships I formed helped me personally deal with the very emotional end of 2006 and all of the events that followed.

However, I felt almost sick to my stomach when I visited some of these same forums and blogs this week. Instead of the praise and support the fans were providing just a month ago, these forums were filled with venomous and insulting words for nearly everyone within the Bronco organization. It made me mad.

I am not claiming we should jump with joy when we lose. Nor am I suggesting that fans can’t disagree with the coaches and/or owners of a team. Heck, you all know I voice my opinion about certain players and/or their performances regularly on this site. However, I don’t post these things here just to throw out negativity or with intent to damage team morale. In fact, I always try to find some positive things to say even in my most negative evaluations.

So with those thoughts on my mind I am preparing for my first visit to the Mile High City. I am flying into Denver on Saturday and will be getting up early to partake of tailgating on Sunday morning before going to the game that afternoon. This is my first time in Denver and my very first Broncos home game.

Maybe it’s because of the recent bad attitudes on the forums, or maybe it’s because fans were booing our team vs Oakland, or maybe it’s just because I have a higher sense of fan duty that is reasonable. Whatever the case, I feel that as a self-proclaimed obsessive fan, it is a huge privilege to be able to stand in that stadium on Sunday and BE the 12th man. I want to add my blue & orange to the sea of colored jerseys in the stands. I want to scream my head off, and stomp my feet and make it impossible for San Diego to hear playcalls at the line of scrimmage. I want to chant IN-COM-PLETE when a Charger pass falls short and I want to get drunk on the energy of seventy-four thousand other people doing the same thing!

I want to be a FAN this Sunday. A fan that can, for once, have my team hear my voice and feel my passion. I want to give back (in a collective way) to the team I support. That’s what I feel being a fan is all about really – supporting your favorite team.

Maybe I’m alone in my beliefs, but I feel that we are all lucky to support an organization with as much integrity, compassion and competitive spirit as the Denver Broncos have.

I am a Denver Broncos fan – and I believe.

Go Broncos!

-Jonathan Douglas
–BroncoTalk.net

• Domonique Foxworth knows this team has the talent and coaching to be great, they just need to gel. And then he goes all philosophical on your ass. – DenverBroncos.com
• Is now-unsuspended Kenny Peterson the X-Factor this defensive line has been missing? Hey, why not? – Rocky Mountain News
• So, Colorado sports fans, what will you be watching this Sunday – the Broncos taking on the reigning division champs at home, or the Rockies in a game 4 bout with the Phillies (if necessary)? – Thin Air
• Pot smokers want Ricky Williams to come to Denver. Thanks, but no thanks. – Hashmarks
• Fan favorite ex-Bronco David Kircus could be facing 5-16 years in prison for second degree assault. He plead not guilty Tuesday and a trial date has been set for late January. – Yahoo! Sports
• Switching gears, Dre Bly is giving back to the Denver community already by adopting a middle school. – DenverBroncos.com
• I almost want to put up the $150 to buy FireMikeShanahan.com so I can put in big, bold letters: “What, are you crazy?!” – 100% Injury Rate
• Adam Schein, my favorite radio guy, grades all 32 teams and gives the Broncos a C. And the Chargers an F. – Fox Sports

It looks like Kyle’s wish to lose Hixon has been granted.

According to Andrew Mason, Hixon is out. Clark is in.

Personally, I didn’t think Hixon was as much the problem as the inability of the coverage team to create a hole for him. Every time he got a good head of steam going, there were always two guys streaking toward him at the right angles; which didn’t leave him a place to go to get through. I’m not convinced Brian Clark will do any better.

But the special teams needs a kick in the ass, and this certainly is one. Will it help the coverage? Will Clark find the holes that Hixon couldn’t? And what are we going to do about the fact that we can’t cover a returner, either?

I can’t stand the forums anymore. I usually love to get the feel of the Broncos fan nation, but everyone is talking about a 6-7 win season and I just don’t buy it for a minute. We have problems, it’s a fact, but we’re not a sub-.500 team. Not with Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall and Travis Henry breaking out in orange and blue.

Our first loss was against a team we simply didn’t match up well against, and have always struggled against. Next was an away game against the best team in football, in my opinion. Let’s not forget two of our biggest playmakers on both sides of the field were missing – Javon Walker and John Lynch. I’m sure they would have had an impact.

Settle down, people. We almost beat the Chargers last year when they were on fire. Both teams aren’t as good now as they were then, but I don’t fear Philip Rivers for a minute and am confident that our offense can torch their defense. Ladainian Tomlinson worries me a bit, but not so much that I think we’ll lose this game.

“But we barely beat two bad teams and got killed by two good ones.” We’re kicking our own ass. With fixable mistakes. Fixable mistakes. Things like Special Teams fumbles and failed onside kick recoveries are coming back to bite us in the ass, but it’s nothing that can’t be fixed. Without these weird errors (and several missed field goals) we would have handily beat our first opponents, instead of winning off nailbiters.

Look for better field position this week against the Chargers – if not from kick returns, then from interceptions as Rivers continues to stumble. The Chargers offensive line won’t dominate our defense, and LT will have to find yards on his own.

It’s not panic time yet, Broncos fans.  We still have the talent to turn this ship around.