October 30, 2009

Broncos Vs Ravens

What up gang, Aussie is back and excited after a long week off due to the bye week. I need a good dose of football. I did manage through with the Nuggets 2-0 and the Avalanche getting wins. Got to say I am a big fan of the Birdman. Also want to give a shout out to Champ who has been a class act for years and again being awarded for his efforts.

Now to this weeks game and it is the always tough Ravens. The Ravens look to rein in the Broncos but I don't see that happening. This will be a real test for our offense, both teams are coming off the bye and the Ravens have lost their last 3. So i think this game will come down to who wants it most. This game is excepted to be a cracker, I can't wait after a week off. Now to look around the league and what is being said:



NFL.com

In Brief

» Last meeting: In a defensive struggle, the Broncos outlasted the Ravens and earned a 13-3 victory in Week 5 of the 2006 season.
» Streaks: The teams have split six regular-season meetings, but the Ravens won the only playoff encounter en route to a Super Bowl XXXV championship.
» Last week: Both teams were on byes.

Keep your eye on ...

Elvis' sack dance: After struggling in recent seasons, Denver's defense has turned it around in 2009. The unit ranks first in the AFC and Elvis Dumervil is one of the biggest reasons for that success. He leads the league with 10 sacks. Baltimore's offensive line, which has allowed seven sacks in its last three games, must keep Dumervil from getting into the backfield and roughing up Joe Flacco.

The chess match between coaches: This is the rare game in which both teams are coming off a bye and have had two weeks to prepare. Each coach -- Denver's Josh McDaniels and Baltimore's John Harbaugh -- has had ample time to craft a game plan, but which head man has devised a better one?

Ed Reed's impact: Reed is one of the league's best players at goading quarterbacks into mistakes. On the other hand, Broncos QB Kyle Orton has taken extraordinary care of the football this season, with his only turnover coming on a desperation heave toward the end zone as time expired in the first half against New England. If Reed is able to bait Orton into an uncharacteristic miscue, the Ravens' chances improve significantly.

Did you know?

The Broncos are going for their first 7-0 start since 1998. ... Denver has a 15-5 all-time mark after a bye. ... Since 2002, Reed leads the NFL with 45 interceptions. ... Flacco has thrown at least one touchdown in six straight games.

ESPN.com
  • Denver defensive tackle Ronald Fields practiced on a limited basis with a hamstring injury Thursday. He didn’t practice Wednesday. Safety Brian Dawkins continued to be limited in practice (hamstring).
  • Denver named cornerback Champ Bailey its Walter Payton Man of the Year Award nominee for his outstanding work in the community.

Denver's special teams: The Broncos don’t have many issues, but they do need to tighten up their special teams coverage unit. In their last game, against San Diego, Darren Sproles brought back a punt for a touchdown. Denver cut punter Brett Kern and signed veteran Mitch Berger this week in an attempt to spark the unit.

DenverBroncos.com

QUICKLY:

  • Denver is 6-0 for the first time since 1998, and its six-game winning streak is the club’s longest since 2000 (6 games).
  • Head Coach Josh McDaniels is the fifth rookie coach in the Super Bowl era (since 1966) to begin his coaching career with a 6-0 record.
  • The Broncos have been one of the NFL’s best teams in the second half/overtime this year, outscoring opponents by a 76-10 margin.
  • Denver owns the NFL’s fourth-best record (15-5 / .750) following the bye week since it was introduced by the league in 1990.

OFFENSE:

  • QB Kyle Orton is 9-1 in his previous 10 starts dating back to last year and ranks third among active quarterbacks in career winning percentage (.692 / 27-12). He leads the NFL in touchdown-to-interception ratio (9-to-1), lowest interception percentage (0.5%) and fourth-quarter passer rating (142.1).
  • RBs Correll Buckhalter (3rd, 4.3%) and Knowshon Moreno (5th, 6.1%) both rank among the NFL’s top five players in avoiding rushes for negative yardage. As a team, Denver leads the league in lowest percentage of rushes going for negative yardage (4.4% / 8-of-181 / excludes kneeldowns).

DEFENSE:

  • Coached by long-time NFL defensive coordinator Mike Nolan, the Broncos lead the NFL in scoring defense (11.0) and third-down percentage (26.9%) while ranking second in the league in yards per game allowed (262.5 ypg.) and yards per play allowed (4.4).
  • OLB/DE Elvis Dumervil leads the NFL with 10 sacks. He tied as the second-fastest player (6 games) to reach 10 sacks since they became an official statistic in 1982 (fastest since Michael Strahan, NYG, in 2001, 6 gms.).

SPECIAL TEAMS:

  • WR Eddie Royal became only the 11th player in NFL history to score a touchdown on a kickoff (93 yds.) and a punt return (71 yds.) in the same game at San Diego on Oct. 19. He joins Cleveland’s Joshua Cribbs as one of two players in the NFL’s top 10 in both punt and kickoff return average.
  • P Mitch Berger, a 16-year NFL veteran and two-time Pro Bowl choice, was signed on Monday. Since 1999, he ranks fifth in the league in gross (43.4 yds.) and net (36.6 yds.) punting average (min. 500 punts).
Big Games
I am looking for big games out of the Broncos defense. The Ravens have a good offense and a great running game. They will need to contain these guys if we are to be a chance to win this game. Also looking for a big game out of Knowshon Moreno, it will be his first game against a really good defense front 7. One person that I really want to see get involved is Peyton Hillis. For all the praise he got in pre-season he has been known existent during games. He needs to lift himself out of the doghouse. Also hoping Spencer Larsen gets back on the field since his freak accident. He may play since he has been participating in all of practice so far this week.


My Take
This game will play out one of two ways. One it is a really tough hard fought low scoring game. Or both offenses will go to town on each other. I am leaning more towards it being a low scoring game. So my prediction is that the Broncos will win but in a close one. Either 13-10 or 30-27.

Jokes
Q: How do you keep a Baltimore Raven out of your yard?
A: Put up goal posts.

Q: What do the Baltimore Ravens and Billy Graham have in common?
A: They both can make 70,000 people stand up and yell "Jesus Christ!"




That is it from me ~ Aussie Out

5 comments:

  1. that video is hilarios!!!!! laughing so hard. I think the broncos just need to watch ray rice on those screen passes and little dump offs to him. He can do things when hes in space, also just wrap him up and bring him down, he likes to break tackles. On offense i expect us to attack through the air for most of the game since they have a great front 7. Attack the corners, especilly Foxworth, but be sure you know were Ed Reed is at all times. Orton needs to keep on staying intercepton free also. I expect DOOM to tally up at least 2 more sacks, man he could break the record this year. Cant wait for the game, no broncos for 2 weeks has killed me. GO BRONCOSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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  2. Damn man a lose. That sucks, but you can't win them all. It is a good reality check for our team. Hope they come out bigger and better against the Steelers. Moreno still got the fumbles though. But looking at the schedule I see at least 5 more easy wins and the others will be a challenge. But we are in a good position.

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  3. Hey AB! Yeah was a little disappointing, but it is a good reality check for the team not to get complacent. That fuble by Moreno was due to a masive hit from Reed.

    Goodman got played on today and he needs to be on his game against Ward or Holmes.

    KC x2, OAK x1, WAS X1 are the four Im looking at as our better chances of wins. The SD game at home will be huge in a fortnight a win there would give us a definate edge in the race for the AFC West.

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  4. we physically and mentally got beat today. gotta do better then that if we want to beat the Steelers

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  5. I know, I think the D played well till the second half when they got beat by the time of possession. We need to control the play better if we want to beat the Steelers. I really think that we need Hillis in there for a bit of smash mouth, I think we are really missing that.

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