Reviewing the Denver Broncos 2009 Season

Quarterback Kyle Orton #8: His expression is an accurate representation of the Denver Broncos late season (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

Following a tumultuous offseason featuring what sports pundits were calling “McJaygate,” the Denver Broncos were the surprise team of the NFL, starting out 6-0. In the post that I just linked, I reviewed their 6-0 start, I thought they were for real. Sure they had beaten the Bengals on a fluke play, but their improvement on defense appeared to be very legitimate, especially when one considers that they were shutting down such high powered offenses as the Patriots, Cowboys, and Bengals. Unfortunately, following that great start against some of the better teams in the NFL, they went 2-8 for the rest of the season. So, what happened? Where were the greatest breakdowns? Hopefully, this next post in my 2009 NFL Season Reviews series will help answer those questions.

A Playoff Argument for Terrell Davis being a Hall of Famer

Denver Broncos runningback Terrell Davis(30) slips the tackle attempt by Cincinnati Bengals safety Greg Meyers as he breaks into the secondary to pickup a first down during the second quarter of their game at Denver's Mile High Stadium on Sunday, Sept. 21, 1997. (AP Photo/Joe Mahoney)

Over the past couple of years, I have analyzed some of the top running backs in NFL history, both on Checking the Numbers (here) and at Behind the Steel Curtain (here and here). In each of these analyses, I have shown that, on a per game basis, Terrell Davis was one of the top RBs in NFL history. In some analyses he showed up as a top 3 player, but in all he was at least top 10. The knock on him has been that he did not play long enough for serious consideration, although for a 4 year stretch, he was every bit as good at Emmitt Smith and very close to Barry Sanders. So, as I did recently for Hines Ward, I am going to look at how Terrell Davis’s playoff numbers compare with other greats in NFL history.

Surprise Team of the NFL: Checking the Numbers on the Denver Broncos

Is Josh McDaniels a coaching genius? (Photo by Donald Miralle/Getty Images)

Coming into the 2009 season I, along with many others, thought that Josh McDaniels was an egomaniac who had made a huge mistake in getting rid of Jay Cutler. I know I heard at least one pundit say that the Denver Broncos’ ceiling this year was 3 or 4 wins. Well, so far, the Broncos’ are 6-0, they have the top ranked defense in points allowed (2nd in yards), Elvis Dumervil leads the league in sacks, and McDaniels is looking like a genius. In fact, Neil Paine over Pro-Football-Reference.com wrote a post showing the top season performances in Broncos’ history through the first 5 games of a season. Several players are in the top ten and several more in the top 20 in those lists.