Horse Tracks: Orange Crush is back in Denver

I know it was only one quarter of preseason football, but what we saw from the Broncos defense has me excited about this unit.  In the offseason John Elway added defensive end DeMarcus Ware, safety T.J Ward, and cornerback Aqib Talib. All three of those players are impact players at their position, and made their presence known right away during Thursday's preseason game.

Ware was consistently making plays, and sacked quarterback Russell Wilson, T.J Ward also came away with a sack, and Talib looked physical.

The Broncos defense overall looked faster, more physical and has the potential to be one of the better defenses in the league this year.

They will have DeMarcus Ware and Von Miller coming off the edge pressuring the quarterback, and both have the potential to top 15+ sacks this year. They have size/speed on the inside. Terrance "Pot Roast" Knighton and Kevin Vickerson add the beef in the middle with Sylvester Williams and Marvin Austin pressuring the quarterback in the middle. The Broncos also have defensive end/tackles Derek Wolfe and Malik Jackson doing a little bit of everything for the Broncos.

At linebacker we have Danny Trevathan who is turning into one of the better weak-side linebackers in the league and Nate Irving who has shown that he has a nose for the ball. Irving really impressed me Thursday night, and i'm excited to see him more against the niners.

The Broncos are loaded at cornerback. Aqib Talib covering the teams top receiver, probably the best slot corner in the league in Chris Harris, a improving Kayvon Webster, and first round pick Bradley Roby. This unit here will get a ton of help from the Broncos pass rush this year. Pressuring the Quarterback, and making him throw the ball before he wants to should lead to more turnovers.

The player who may have the greatest impact on this defense is safety T.J Ward. Ward can do it all. He can cover, he can play the run, he can play linebacker, he can blitz, and he can sack the Quarterback. The Broncos haven't had this type of player at safety since the Steve Atwater. Pairing with Ward is Rahim "The Dream" Moore who has the potential to be a playmaker in this secondary this year. If the Broncos pressure the Quarterback, Moore could have himself a good number of interceptions this season.

This unit has playmakers all over each level of the defense, and I love it.

Go Broncos!!

Horse Tracks:

• Pro Football Focus reviews the Broncos and Seahawks game. Who graded out well for the Broncos?
• Teddy Bridgewater struggles during his first preseason action.
• Jaguars rookie Quarterback Blake Bortles shines in his preseason debut.
• Dolphins safety Reshad Jones has been suspended four games for PED violation.
• Bengals Quarterback Matt Scott vomits twice, then throws a touchdown against the Chiefs. If you want to watch go here.
• Was the NFL ref czar Dean Blandino on a Dallas Cowboy's party bus? NFL execs say yes, and they don't seem to pleased about it.
• Wisconsin running back prospect Melvin Gordon is out to prove the NFL wrong.