NFL Betting: Denver Broncos Notable
Offseason Moves
The Denver Broncos landed a player who could
make their offense that much more difficult to defend. They lost a
pass rusher and tried to make upgrades to their secondary.
Notable Change #1:
The Broncos’ biggest acquisition of the
offseason was, by far, the pickup of receiver Wes Welker from the New
England Patriots. Welker spent the past few seasons serving as the
key slot receiver for Tom Brady. Now he’ll catch passes for Peyton
Manning in the Mile High City. Welker will obviously be motivated to
defeat New England in the race for the AFC Championship. The fact
that he brings a substantial knowledge of the Patriots’ methods and
tendencies could help the Broncos if they ever play the Patriots in
the playoffs. However, Denver has to get there first. The Broncos
were on the verge of meeting New England for the AFC title last
season, but they lost to the Baltimore Ravens in double overtime in
the divisional playoff round. Welker could give Manning the slot
receiver he needs in order to move the sticks in third-and-five and
other similar situations. If Welker can minimize the amount of passes
he drops – he struggled in Super Bowl XLVI and in the 2012 regular
season as well – he will make Denver a much better team.
Notable Change #2:
The Broncos lost
outside pass rusher Elvis Dumervil, reducing the amount of threats
this team can send at opposing quarterbacks. Von Miller is still on
the roster, but Dumervil will cut into the Broncos’ level of depth.
The team did acquire defensive end Shaun Phillips to try to
compensate for the loss of Dumervil, but the sense is that the
Broncos will lose more than they gain in that swap of players.
Notable Change #3:
The Broncos tried to bring some reinforcements
to their back line of defense. They picked up two cornerbacks,
Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and Quentin Jammer. Everyone in the
professional football community knows why Denver made it a point to
grab two cornerbacks, not just one. The Broncos would have hosted New
England in the AFC Championship Game – and stood a good chance of
making Super Bowl XLVII in New Orleans – had their secondary not
collapsed late in regulation against the Baltimore Ravens in a 2013
AFC Divisional Playoff Game. A blunder committed by Rahim Moore –
who badly misjudged a pass thrown by Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco
– enabled the Ravens to tie Denver on a 70-yard touchdown pass in
the final 35 seconds of regulation. When Baltimore pulled out a
victory in double overtime after a Peyton Manning interception,
Denver’s top seed in the AFC had ceased to matter. The Broncos hope
that Rodgers-Cromartie and Jammer will be able to solidify and
stabilize the secondary, so that a recurrence of that nightmare
against Baltimore will not happen this season. If Denver can shut
down the big play (and avoid the big mistake), the Broncos can take
the extra step to the Super Bowl this season.
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2013-14 NFL season.
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