Strength of Schedule


We are a few months from the real beginning of Denver's grand Peyton Manning experiment, but the hype, the excitement, and the fretting has already begun. That's because the NFL finally unveiled the 2012 schedule on Tuesday.

Last year the Broncos opened the season to little fanfare. Outside of opening night on Monday Night Football, there weren't a lot of nationally televised games... that is until Tim Tebow and the team caught fire at the end of the season. Then the Broncos were everywhere.

My, how times have changed. Winning the West guaranteed the Broncos a tougher schedule, but who knew the NFL would front load the challenges this way. The Broncos will be in prime time four times in the first eight weeks, facing five teams that were in the 2011-12 playoffs and a schedule that features each team in the first eight weeks having finished .500 or better in 2011. Yikes. No time to ease into it Peyton.

The Broncos open on Sunday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers, head to Atlanta to battle the Falcons on Monday night, return home to battle the Houston Texans and Oakland Raiders in consecutive weeks, then travel to face Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. Then it's on to San Diego for another Monday night tussle, a bye week, and home for the New Orleans Saints on Sunday Night Football. That is a rough stretch to start the season, and those first eight weeks will tell us a lot about the healing of Manning, the development of this young offense, and the improvement of our defense.

That's followed by a stretch of three road games in four weeks in November — at Cincinnatti, at Carolina, home for San Diego, and at Kansas City. Then home for the Buccaneers, at the Raiders, at the Baltimore Ravens, and home to close out against the Cleveland Browns and Kansas City Chiefs.

For those thinking Denver has a good shot to win the West and get to the Super Bowl, that seems like a tough road. By the end of the first half of the season, we will know a lot more about whether John Elway's Manning gamble paid off.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Burial a courtroom drama with heart

Image
Willie Gary (Jamie Foxx) is a brash trial lawyer who is good at rallying a jury to his cause. Jeremiah O’Keefe (Tommy Lee Jones) is a quiet grandfather who is trying to ensure the business his family built remains viable after he’s gone. These two don’t appear to have much in common on the surface. But when they’re brought together by young lawyer Hal Dockins (Mamoudou Athie) brings them together, a connection is formed over their shared background of working hard to become self-made men. And it turned out that Willie was just who Jerry needed in his corner to win the fight of his life. The new Prime Video film The Burial, which opened in theaters October 6 and started streaming October 13, captures that trial against the Loewen Group that changed the course of their lives. The film is based on the true story and covers the trial, but more importantly captures the relationship between the men. The film plays out like a traditional courtroom drama. Foxx is solid as Willie Gary, while Ju...
Read more

Broncos Draft Targets

Image
  The NFL Draft is just a few days away. On April 25, the Denver Broncos will head into the draft in the midst of something of a rebuild. In the draft, the Broncos have the No. 12 pick in Round 1, then have a Third Round Pick, Fourth Round Pick, three Fifth Round Picks, a Sixth Round Pick, and a Seventh Round Pick. So, what might they be targeting? Let's dive in and look at possible positions. Quarterback : The team clearly needs a long-term quarterback. Jarrett Stidham and Ben DiNucci are there but the team could certainly use someone else. Could they move up for Drake Maye or J.J. McCarthy? Yes, they could. Will the take Bo Nix at 12? It's possible. Or will the Broncos wait until next off-season to make a move? Anything is in play for the Broncos in 2024, but quarterback is surely a need. Tight End: The team brought back Adam Trautman and still has Greg Dulcich, but it's still a need. Dulcich hasn't been able to get on the field and Trautman hasn't been great. Co...
Read more

Favorite Westerns, No. 43

Image
  Do you like a good Western? It's a classic genre in film and this year I've decided to look at some of my favorite Westerns. So, join me each Friday as I count down my favorite Westerns from No. 50 to No. 1. Rooster Cogburn : [ watching Mattie ford the river hanging on the back of her horse] By God. She reminds me of me. True Grit (1969) Starring : John Wayne, Kim Darby, Glen Campbell, Robert Duvall, and Dennis Hopper Director : Henry Hathaway About: This is the third straight week with a film from Wayne. As you might guess, we're not done. As I've mentioned, he sets a standard for the genre. Here, we seen him bring to life an iconic character. This one is based on a novel, and it has endured. He's great as Rooster Cogburn, so good that he got a sequel in the same character. But this is a later film in his career. This is a different, more grizzled Wayne. He's still quite good and this is a film that really has stood the test of time. It's not the only ve...
Read more