A fifth straight win, on the road no less, has the Broncos sitting pretty at 5-1, with a touch match-up against the 6-0 Colts upcoming. Time to see if the so-called experts are giving us the respect we deserve. Let's take a look around the web!
ESPN - #3(LW: 4) - After dropping from 3 to 4 last week, the gang at the World Wide Leader moves us right back to #3, right behind the Colts --
He was a little better, but Jake Plummer still wasn't good enough to put the Jay Cutler talk to rest.
CBS - #3(LW: 3) - The feeling seems to be that the offense had better come out of the closet this week, or our season could take a turn. --
The defense is amazing. But it's time for the offense to come out of its doldrums. Or else.
Covers.com - #7(LW: 9) - If you take the under, you love the Broncos, who are a perfect 6-0.
The Broncos rank first in points allowed, fourth in yards allowed, and the under is now a perfect 6-0 when they take the field. Will the trend continue this week against a dangerous Colts offense?
Football Outsiders - #10(LW: 11) - Damn, that DVOA is hard to figure out....
Ah, Denver. More than any other team, this is where the DVOA ratings disagree with public perception. First of all, Denver's defensive ranking has the same issue as the Giants' overall ranking, where our listing of 1-32 ranks instead of the actual ratings obscures when certain teams are tightly packed together. The number five defense, Dallas, is -15.5 percent and the number eight defense, Philadelphia, is -15.1 percent, so there's really no difference between those two teams or the teams ranked six and seven, Pittsburgh and Denver. The Broncos defense looks better than that in large part because their last three games have come against three of the worst offenses in the league. Overall, this is a team that has serious problems putting its opponents away, and eventually that will come back to bite you. A great team should beat Oakland and Cleveland by more than ten points apiece. The matchup between Indianapolis and Denver is really intriguing, because both teams rank lower in our ratings than their win-loss records would indicate. It's going to be pretty difficult for Denver to keep Indianapolis out of the end zone ? but the Colts defense also provides Denver with an excellent opportunity to jump-start its offense.
RealFootball365 - #4(LW: 4) - No movement, though I find it interesting that the Pats leapfrogged us to #3 -
Through six games this season, the Broncos' defense has allowed only two touchdowns. Unfortunately, this team probably won't have enough offense to take down the Colts and Pats in January. For now, though, Denver is the top team in the AFC West.
Yahoo Sports - #3(LW: 4) - Yahoo stays with the theme that the real test for the defense comes this weekend, and any questions about the D that remain could be answered. -
If the defense (allowing just 7.3 points a game) proves it can hold the mighty Colts to seven points on Sunday, that offense might not need to make any changes. We would have to start considering that this defense is truly capable of winning a Super Bowl without a lot of help.
FoxSports - #3(LW: 3) - More props to the defense. But I do sense that "Now we'll see for sure" feeling with the Colts on tap
For the fifth straight week, the Broncos held their opponents under 10 points. They stuffed Reuben Droughns -- a former 1,000 yard rusher for Denver -- for a paltry 33 yards on 12 carries. John Lynch, Al Wilson, and Champ Bailey are all at the top of their games. They'll need to be even better Sunday vs. the Colts.
Sports Illustrated - #3(LW: 3) - Dr. Z takes the opportunity to take a shot at our silent O and D lines.
When the offense was going well, the linemen made a pact not to speak to writers. Now that the Dee is hot, their guys are dummying up, too. You think that's funny? How would you like it if you turned to this column and it was blank? But Z, you've got to write something. Sorry, I don't speak to readers.
GridIronGrumblings - #4(LW: 6) - Finally into the Top 5 in this fantasy site
NFL.com - #3(LW: 3) - We stay at 3, but with the Colts at #2, we have a chance to move up this week. A near shutout of the Browns didn't impress, however. --
It shouldn't have been that hard to dispose of the Browns.
Every site, without question, feels that this is the week that we are going to find out if the Broncos are contenders or pretenders. Though one game does not a season make, it goes along way towards perception, and as we all know, perception is reality....
