The 2010 Broncos Season Preview

By Nick Gustafson

Welcome back Broncos fans!!! Training camp is closed for the year, the Broncos are set to play their last preseason game tonight and the regular season is quickly approaching. Tebowmania invaded Broncos training camp this year and brought with it record breaking attendance numbers. Fans all across the globe are rabid with excitement over Tebow who was arguably one of the all time best college football players in history. In Tebow’s preseason debut he was painfully reminded of why some have doubts as to whether his athletic ability will produce the same record breaking results in the pros as he was used to in college. As Tebow charged for the goal line in a John Elwayesque type of play he was welcomed to the size and speed of linebackers in the NFL and ended up missing a few days of practice due to bruised ribs.

I attended Broncos training camp for the first time this year and what I witnessed was nothing to write home about, so instead I’m writing to all of you Broncos fans. There were flashes of a team with great potential, which were almost immediately followed by detrimental mistakes on both sides of the ball. Those mistakes are expected to happen this early in a season, now it’s the coaches job to correct them before the season starts. The Broncos have been stung by the injury bug early and often in this year’s training camp which has many fans worried, but may in fact provide helpful for the team. Most of the injuries suffered so far in camp are relatively minor, other than Elvis’s pectoral muscle tear. These injuries may in fact be a blessing in disguise for the Broncos team as a whole this year. The minor injuries that the starters have suffered are providing much greater playing time for the other players on the roster. Guys who may have gotten few, if any, reps in practice are getting much more time on the field, which is allowing the coaching staff a better chance to evaluate the talent hidden within some of the lesser known guys.

Tonight’s preseason game is quite possibly the final stage for a lot of players on the team. A last chance hailmary to make the active roster, practice squad, or a chance to make a splash on film that lands them a tryout with one of the other teams looking for that diamond in the rough. Coach McDaniels has shown that he has no problem cutting any player that isn’t performing or isn’t the right fit for his system, so expect at least a couple surprise cuts as well as a few surprise keepers. In his second season McDaniel’s has undoubtedly left his mark on this team by almost completely reshaping the roster in two short years. If the Broncos hope to have any success this season they are going to need more production from this years crop of rookies than they got last year. The Bronco’s draft class of 09 proved to be fairly lackluster in their first season as pros, but there are still high hopes for many of the players taken last year. Robert Ayers is set to have a huge role on defense for the Broncos and with the injury to Elvis Dumervil the production they receive from him will almost surely dictate the success of this defense.

So where does all of this leave the Denver Broncos of 2010? At this point I don’t think that anyone has any idea. Many starting positions on the team are still up for grabs as the season approaches, a few of the teams big offensive stars have yet to play in a single game this year and the team as a whole is still trying to figure out how to work together. Last year the Broncos came out of the gate and rattled off 6 straight wins, shocking the nation and then fizzled down the stretch. If anything I would expect some what of an opposite effect this year. A young Broncos team that struggles in the early stages of the season, but comes together as the year wears on to be a contender in what could be a very surprising AFC West division.



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