FanPost

Sacked Like a 2nd-Grader's Lunch

Let's hope in 2014 that the Broncos are better than my attempt at humor! Read on at your own peril. I can't guarantee it will get any better. I am frothing at the mouth thinking about the revamped 2014 version of our very own Denver Broncos defense. Anyone else? I know I'm not alone you bunch of crazy juggernauts. Last year, we broke every conceivable offensive record, including some I didn't know existed. This year, could it be our defense's turn to put up some tasty stats?

I ran across a member's signature line today that got me thinking. It said the goal for 2014 is to break the all-time team sack record held by the '84 Bears. My question to you is, "Whaddya think?" Is this man deranged in voicing this koolaid-fueled pipe dream? Has Rodn--...I mean "this person" completely lost his mind? Is this year's team really the team to bring this record home? I know we'd all love to think so, but here is some data to consider.

The record is 72 sacks, so we would need to get at least 73. That is 4.56 sacks a game. Last year, we had 41 sacks or 2.56 a game. We all know who we were missing...in the secondary as well as key players in our pass rush. Have we made the necessary adjustments to get 2 more sacks per game?

I went through and broke down the Broncos 2014 opponents according to how many times they were sacked. I also noted how they ranked against the rest of the NFL in sacks allowed. There has been a little bit of QB shuffling (i.e. the Faiders) and certain teams have upgraded O-lines so there are other factors to consider that I won't go into here.

Take a look at the data and let me know your season predictions in the poll below! Thanks for reading, and GO BRONCOS!

Team QB Sacked Sacks/game # Sacks Allwd Rank
Colts Luck 32 2.00 6
Chiefs A. Smith 41 2.56 15
Seahawks Wilson 44 2.75 20
Cardinals Palmer 41 2.56 14
Jets G. Smith 47 2.94 27
49ers Kaepernick 39 2.44 11
Chargers Rivers 30 1.88 5
Patriots Brady 40 2.50 12
Raiders Pryor/Flynn 44 2.75 21
Rams Bradford/Clemens 36 2.25 8
Dolphins Tannehill 58 3.63 32
Chiefs A. Smith 41 2.56 15
Bills Manuel 48 3.00 28
Chargers Rivers 30 1.88 5
Bengals Dalton 29 1.81 3
Raiders Pryor/Flynn 44 2.75 21
Averages 40.80 2.55

This is a Fan-Created Comment on MileHighReport.com. The opinion here is not necessarily shared by the editorial staff of MHR.