FanHouse Ian Gold

NFL Offseason Roadmap is a series focused on the needs of NFL teams as they begin the offseason.

How far do the Denver Broncos have to go to return to the playoffs? Their team was ravaged by injuries en route to a 7-9 record this season. A healthy team could have easily won another couple of games and found itself battling for a wild card. A more pessimistic view might point out that they got old in several spots because they haven't built well through the draft. That would indicate there's a longer road back to success. Either way, the good news is that, in Jay Cutler, Brandon Marshall and Elvis Dumervil, they've got building blocks for 2008 and beyond. Here's where they need the most immediate help.

1. Defensive Stability – Jim Bates was hired as defensive coordinator and immediately installed a scheme predicated on big defensive tackles. It was a total flop. Sam Adams and Amon Gordon couldn't occupy blockers, leaving the middle of the field open to all comers. They overhauled the line during the season, but found no better results and that led to Bates's firing. New coordinator Bob Slowik must establish a strategy and stick to it if the team is to improve defensively. Be they big DTs or athletic ones, the team can't afford to veer wildly in such a short amount of time.

This is a slightly modified segment of one that was run on NFL FanHouse last year, in which a specific team blogger scours the internet and interviews a blogger of the opposing team.

I began this season by interviewing TheSportsGuru of Mile High Report, a Sports Blog Nation column that covers the Denver Broncos.

Dan Benton: "Due to injuries, the Broncos have lost three extremely important players. How will Denver move forward without Al Wilson, Rod Smith and Ebenezer Ekuban? Just how significant are those loses?"

TheSportsGuru: "All three are tough, but for different reasons. The toughest of the 3 is certainly Al Wilson who meant so much to the team, both on and off the field. Wilson was the emotional leader and glue that kept the defense together. While there is no doubting his importance in the locker room, Wilson's play had deteriorated as injuries to his neck, back and hands began to take their toll. It is a testament to Wilson and the reputation he had garnered around the League that he made the Pro Bowl last season. The Broncos have found it harder to replace what he meant on the field than the production they from him on it. D.J. Williams will get the first chance to replace Wilson in the middle and will grow into the role nicely over time. As for Wilson's leadership, look for John Lynch, Champ Bailey and Ian Gold to be counted on for an increased voice in the locker room."

I know this is the last thing you're thinking about what with other football being on right now, but for Broncos fans, I bring good news - every single player on the injury list has been upgraded to probable for tonight's game against the Chargers. This is a very good thing, because it means the return of Ian Gold, a key piece of the speedy linebacking corps, and defensive roleplayers Ebenezer Ekuban and Patrick Chukwurah. Al Wilson, who's played magnificently despite injuries all year long, also looks likely to compete again despite thumb problems.

But the most interesting one is running back Tatum Bell, who last week admitted publicly that his toes were more seriously injured than he wanted to admit to himself, and might not fully recover until the offseason. Now that he's been upgraded to probable for the game however, it will be interesting to see how much Shanahan uses him. Presumably, Mike Bell will be re-activated this week after mysteriously disappearing from the lineup against Oakland after particularly bad play at Pittsburgh. But in the Broncos' last big-time throwdown against the Colts, the latter Bell was the only running back who had any success, so Shanahan's choice might not be made until he sees how well each back performs during the game.

For the record, Stephen Alexander was also upgraded, and the other Broncos already on the list are Cedric Cobbs and Kyle Johnson.

First it was Shawne Merriman, now it's the entire Broncos linebacking core. Soon everyone will be saying that they don't get no respect because "those Ravens linebackers" always hog the spotlight as the league's premiere defensive unit. But Denver's big three do have a point to make. Afterall, the speedy combination of Al Wilson, DJ Williams and Ian Gold was an integral part of the defense's historic early success this year. In the first three games, the Denver D-men have been the best unit in the league, allowing no touchdowns in 11 full quarters, and just one TD in their first 12. But when you look at the statistics, the Broncos middle-men hardly compare to the Ravens. Whereas the Broncos linebackers have recorded no sacks and just one turnover on the year, the Ravens fearesome linebacking core, lead by the almost scary Ray Lewis, has notched three turnovers and nine sacks. This brings me to a question that's been on my mind for some time: Is the Broncos D really as good as everyone's been saying?

Sure, the Broncos defense has allowed one touchdown this year, and the secondary is good. But are they a great defense that's going to stifle teams all year long? By stats, the Broncos aren't even contenders. They're 17th in the league in total defense, and have so far allowed an average of well over 300 total yards, 100 rushing yards, and 18 first-downs per game. Hardly first-rate numbers. In addition, the defense has only forced two turnovers and 4 sacks. Baltimore's D has already taken the ball away 13 times, and sacked the opposing team's QB 13 times.

The reason the Broncos D is getting such critical acclaim is because they've allowed just 31 points in three games. But in reality, all they've done is forced teams to stop long drives just outside of field goal range. They've also been lucky. Against New England, they were able to force a turnover inside their own ten on what appeared to be a sure New England scoring drive, and then blocked a field goal when the Pats' rookie kicker Stephen Gostkowski slipped in the dirt left by the New England Revolution (Boston's soccer team, but nobody cares about them. Or soccer). I don't want to take anything away from the defense's performance, because any time a unit allows just 10.33 points/game over a three game stretch, it's not a fluke. But when Al Wilson says that he thinks his guys are "just as good" as the Ravens, he's plain wrong. All I'm pointing out is that eventually, the defense isn't going to be able to stop the opposing team at the 35 or 40 on every drive, and the lack of turnovers and sacks is going to catch up with them. I just hope it's not against the Ravens tomorrow night, because we're going to need a stiff performance from our D-men to come out of the game alive.