Horse Tracks: Seven things to watch for

1. Emmanuel Sanders:

Sanders missed last weeks game against the San Francisco 49ers with a strained quad, and also missed some practice time this week. However he did participate in practice on Thursday and could go tonight.

Sanders has yet to make a catch during the preseason, and only played a handful of snaps during the teams preseason opener against the Seattle Seahawks. I for one am anxious to see Sanders on the field for the Broncos. His speed and quickness has been talked about a lot during camp, and i'd like see it for myself.

2. Running Back Competition:

It's doubtful that Montee Ball will participate in today's game, so all eyes will be focused on the competition behind him. Ronnie Hillman has been getting the start in Ball's absence, and I'd expect to see him get the nod again. C.J Anderson will also get some reps with the 1's as well.

After those two i'm interested to see Juwan Thompson and Kapri Bibbs. They're both battling for a roster spot, and are running out of time to clinch that spot.

It will be interesting to see if the pecking order changes at all for today's game.

3. Offensive Line getting tested:

During the teams joint practices the Broncos offensive line was tested by All Pro J.J Watt, and rookie Jadeveon Clowney. Watt has been dominant, while Clowney has been contained for the most part by All Pro left tackle Ryan Clady.

I'm interested in watching this battle during the game. Peyton Manning has had pretty much all day to throw thus far, and the Broncos hope that continues tonight.

4. Will Brandon Marshall continue his solid play?

Last week backup linebacker Brandon Marshall stepped up and replaced starting linebacker Danny Trevathan nicely. Marshall filled up running lanes, and made tackles. He also looked good dropping into coverage.

All eyes will be on Marshall again. Will he repeat his success again tonight?

5. Will Osweiler continue to impress?

Probably the best thing to come out of this preseason thus far has been the play of quarterback Brock Osweiler. He is looking like a more confident quarterback this year, and he's translating that to success on the field.

Another solid performance from Osweiler will only help Broncos fans feel more confident about their quarterback of the future.

6. Getting prepared for the real thing:

Week three of the preseason is the "dress rehearsal" for teams. They game plan some for this game, the starters usually play into the third quarter of the game, and it's basically the closest they will get to a regular season game during the preseason.

So if a team struggles during the third week of the season, it shows that they might not be quite ready for week one. Hopefully the Broncos will look smooth on both sides of the ball tonight, and we can feel confident about our team as they head into week one of the season.

7. Staying undefeated

I know "it's just the preseason" but no one likes to lose.

23-0 until we're not!

Go Broncos!!!

Horse Tracks:

• Chiefs starting right tackle Donald Stephenson has been suspended the first four games of the season for a PED violation. Former Denver Bronco Ryan Harris appears to starting in his place.
• Carolina Panthers Quarterback Cam Newton injured his back against the Patriots last night. He appears to be fine though.
• The Jacksonville Jaguars name veteran Chad Henne their starting quarterback despite rookie Blake Bortles looking solid during the preseason.
• Watch Detroit Lions running back Reggie Bush take it 80+ yards for a touchdown. Dude still has that speed.