2011 Denver Broncos Team Preview | NFL Predictions
The Denver Broncos were particularly happy to see the 2010 season end. The Broncos, who finished the 2010 campaign at 4-12, had never lost a dozen games in any of their 51 seasons, but by dipping to new depths, they managed to secure the No. 2 overall draft pick and selected Texas A&M linebacker Von Miller.
2011 Denver Broncos Team Preview/Predictions
2010 Record: 4-12
ATS Record: 5-10-1
Denver embarks on a major makeover following the Josh McDaniels misadventure, a misbegotten reign that included a laundry list of personnel mistakes and a videotaping scandal. Welcome to Denver, new head coach John Fox.
One of the first changes that Fox is going to implement when he arrives to the Mile High City is the switch back to a 4-3 defensive alignment. It will be interesting to see what Fox does with two formidable defensive ends in Elvis Dumervil and Robert Ayers. D.J. Williams is also a big time playmaker at middle linebacker, but other than those three players there is a long list of questions to address for Fox and his coaching staff.
It will be interesting to see how the new regime in Denver approaches all of its problems.
The first major question mark facing Fox is at quarterback. Tim Tebow is going to get an opportunity to play at some point, but Kyle Orton’s presence can make that difficult. If Denver fells that Tebow is the answer for the long term, the franchise might decide to trade Orton for some much-needed defensive players. The offensive line has some upside, but left tackle Ryan Clady is coming off an injury.
Arguably the most interesting piece of Denver’s attempt at a restructuring under Fox will come at running back. Knowshon Moreno is a solid starter, but people are getting impatient with him because he hasn’t lived up to the hype as the 12th pick in the 2009 draft. Will Fox and Bronco General Manager Brian Xanders try and address their need for running backs through free agency.
The Broncos had a pretty terrible defense in 2010, but a lot of that was due to the loss of their best defensive player in training camp, the aforementioned Elvis Dumevil. It will be interesting to see what the Denver staff does with Dumervil, an undersized but extremely talented pass rusher, in the new 4-3 scheme. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
The Broncos have the most question marks in the division, but they have the talent to make a big jump as well. There is no doubt in the Mile High City that it will be a big benefit to get players such as Clady and Dumervil back, but there are holes that need to be filled on the defensive line… outside of the defensive ends, at least. If the front office cannot find answers at those positions the team will not be able to make forward strides as much as the fan base is hoping for.
It will be hard to see John Fox finish higher than both Kansas City and San Diego in 2011. Merely beating out Oakland for third place in the AFC West would give Denver a modestly satisfactory season.
It’s going to be at least two years if not more before the Broncos field a playoff contender.
2011 Broncos Futures
Super Bowl Odds: +8000
Conference Odds: +5250
AFC West Odds: +345
2011-2012 NFL Regular Season Wins: Under 5.5
2011 Broncos Predictions:
Place they’ll finish in AFC West: 4th
Place they’ll finish in AFC Conference: 12th
Over/Under Wins Prediction: UNDER
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