DOVE VALLEY - It's Wednesday, which means the Denver Broncos are back to work (minus electricity, which I'll explain in a moment) and predictions are to be made.
I'm not a fatalist by any stretch, and I don't consider myself overly superstitious. However, for anyone reading who has a pregame ritual, has to don on a lucky jersey when the Broncos kick-off or, like my boy Fallapalooza, who's a diehard season ticket holder---goes out and buys the throwback vertical socks and wears them to Invesco Field, read on at your own risk.
Wednesday, outside team headquarters, a construction crew was doing some digging. I'm not sure if they hit an electrical line, but the power inside Dove Valley kept going on and off during Kyle Orton and Josh McDaniels' press conferences.
The connection for Miss Cleo and company: Will it be he Broncos turning out the lights on the Pittsburgh Steelers, or is some greater force conspiring to do so to them? It's your call. Here's how I see the game going down.
The Steelers are virtually infallible. They are incredibly physical on defense AND offense, they're incredibly fast on defense AND offense, and they score points at-will on offense AND defense. So how do the Broncos attack them?
Simple: mistake-free football. We saw some things against the Ravens that we hadn't previously seen from the Broncos prior. Breakdowns in pass protection, breakdowns in tackling, breakdowns in special teams (oops, we saw that against the Chargers too).
In essence, the Broncos didn't execute the way they're capable of. I can't see that happening two weeks in a row.
That stated, the Steelers are coming off a bye week, and under Mike Tomlin, I don't see them making too many mistakes either.
So what will the difference be? Beyond turnovers, time of possession and 3rd down conversions, I think the team that can convert a gadget play here and there will prevail. I expect both teams to try to take advantage of each others speed and make it work against them by creating misdirection.
If the Broncos hit on one or two gadget plays, they win. If the Steelers do the same, give them the W.
Of course, that's really not saying much. Perhaps I should consult Miss Cleo.
I'm not a fatalist by any stretch, and I don't consider myself overly superstitious. However, for anyone reading who has a pregame ritual, has to don on a lucky jersey when the Broncos kick-off or, like my boy Fallapalooza, who's a diehard season ticket holder---goes out and buys the throwback vertical socks and wears them to Invesco Field, read on at your own risk.
Wednesday, outside team headquarters, a construction crew was doing some digging. I'm not sure if they hit an electrical line, but the power inside Dove Valley kept going on and off during Kyle Orton and Josh McDaniels' press conferences.
The connection for Miss Cleo and company: Will it be he Broncos turning out the lights on the Pittsburgh Steelers, or is some greater force conspiring to do so to them? It's your call. Here's how I see the game going down.
The Steelers are virtually infallible. They are incredibly physical on defense AND offense, they're incredibly fast on defense AND offense, and they score points at-will on offense AND defense. So how do the Broncos attack them?
Simple: mistake-free football. We saw some things against the Ravens that we hadn't previously seen from the Broncos prior. Breakdowns in pass protection, breakdowns in tackling, breakdowns in special teams (oops, we saw that against the Chargers too).
In essence, the Broncos didn't execute the way they're capable of. I can't see that happening two weeks in a row.
That stated, the Steelers are coming off a bye week, and under Mike Tomlin, I don't see them making too many mistakes either.
So what will the difference be? Beyond turnovers, time of possession and 3rd down conversions, I think the team that can convert a gadget play here and there will prevail. I expect both teams to try to take advantage of each others speed and make it work against them by creating misdirection.
If the Broncos hit on one or two gadget plays, they win. If the Steelers do the same, give them the W.
Of course, that's really not saying much. Perhaps I should consult Miss Cleo.
