Broncos get steamed
August 23, 2011
A team that is drastically changing some preconceived notions about how they’ll play this year is the Denver Broncos. After a disappointing 4-12 record last season and with speculation that the team might be rebuilding with Tim Tebow, many thought the Broncos 2011 campaign would mirror 2010 as they would suffer through the growing pains with the young quarterback that has poor throwing mechanics.
Coming into training camp, the news coming out of Denver was that the Broncos were looking to trade Kyle Orton which would almost give the starting job to Tebow by default. The Dolphins looked to be the likely new home for Orton, a move that seemed like a natural fit because he already had a nice rapport with WR Brandon Marshall. But the Dolphins weren’t offering much in return. Denver was looking for a future third-round pick and other considerations while Miami was thinking otherwise. The deal fell through and now Denver had a supposed battle for the starting position.
The Las Vegas Hilton Super Book posted the Broncos season win total at 5½ wins OVER -125 in early August, the lowest total ever seen on Denver, because of their uncertainties and a poor 2010.
After a few practices, it became clear to the new coaching staff that Tebow had a lot to work on and they weren’t as comfortable with him as they were before camp. Then, when Denver’s first units looked good in limited play during their preseason opener at Dallas, it was obvious that Orton was the best option for first year coach John Fox to win games. For Tebow, he no longer had the luxury of being nurtured by the coach who drafted him.
The Broncos officially named Orton their starter on Monday after another impressive showing in their second preseason game against the Bills, a game where Denver showed vast improvements on the offensive line with run and pass blocking.
Meanwhile, the Denver defense has also looked a better. Last season they allowed the most yards in the NFL which was the main cause for most of the 12 losses. They couldn’t get pressure on the quarterback, which made the secondary look bad and they couldn’t stop the run, two pretty important parts of the game that have a major bearing on wins and losses.
Part of the reason for their defensive woes was no pressure on the QB due to defensive end Elvis Dumervil, 2009’s NFL sack leader, being lost for the season due to injury. Not only has Dumervil been impressive in camp, but top draft pick Von Miller has shown blazing speed as a pass rusher from the other side. Their secondary is still a little long at the tooth, but pressure can mask that fault somewhat and make them look a lot more crafty than old.
The combination of Fox being respected as a winning coach and the first-string teams looking good in preseason -- while on television for everyone to see -- has made a few people change their initial thoughts on Denver’s prospects for the 2011 season. After getting several bets on Denver UNDER 5½ wins, the bets have been now coming in on the OVER in the last week at the Hilton.
“We had so much early money on the UNDER that we really haven’t had to change the number itself despite all the OVER action lately; we‘re pretty balanced right now,” said Hilton assistant manager Jeff Sherman who now has the price set at 5½ OVER -150.
The action has also spilled over into all regular season Broncos games that currently have spreads posted now. Their Week 1 Monday home game against the Raiders has moved quite bit in the last week. The Hilton opened Denver a 1½-point favorite in April when they were the first in the world to offer Week 1 lines and as news was coming in regarding Orton and Tebow, the spread bounced around to Pick’em with Raiders money.
But when the Hilton readjusted their line last Sunday, they reopened it at Broncos -2½.
Granted, the Raiders poor offensive play has contributed to the move just as much as the Broncos appearance of looking better. Sherman noted that Raiders QB Jason Campbell getting a concussion in their last preseason game, along with not being able to move the ball, had as much to do with the move as the Broncos good play. However, the Broncos current form has changed the Hilton’s initial thoughts on them somewhat.
“We’ve moved the Broncos about a half-point in their favor for all their regular season games,” said Sherman.
The Broncos had been a consistent winning franchise for four decades which makes their 12 losses, the most in franchise history, harder to accept. Are they really that bad? Will that slump continue this year? Was Josh McDaniels the sole reason for the demise and will John Fox make a greater impact due to commanding respect and his leadership? Is Kyle Orton good enough to keep the team respectable? And can that matador defense from last season tighten the screws this year?
All those questions will surely be answered as the season goes on, but based on what I’ve seen so far, it looks like Denver will be better than last season. A 7-9 season seems quite rational at this juncture. Their schedule has Chicago, New England, the Jets, Detroit and Green Bay on it, but also has Buffalo, Miami, Minnesota, Tennessee, Cincinnati. With all the uncertainties among their division rivals, getting seven wins out of that bunch doesn’t seem too hard pressed.
Bears Sliding
One team that has dropped in season win totals is the Chicago Bears. The Hilton moved them from 8½ to 8 on the basis of their own opinion of how they’ll do without action dictating the move.
“We saw a few of the sports books opened with 9 wins on the Bears and we didn’t like that number; we were think 8 wins from the start, but we opened 8½,“ said Sherman. “We really don’t like them to do well this season just because we figure their division will be tougher with the Lions. Even the Vikings can’t be as bad as what we saw from them late last year. It looks like the Bears will be the ones to suffer in that division.”
August 23, 2011
A team that is drastically changing some preconceived notions about how they’ll play this year is the Denver Broncos. After a disappointing 4-12 record last season and with speculation that the team might be rebuilding with Tim Tebow, many thought the Broncos 2011 campaign would mirror 2010 as they would suffer through the growing pains with the young quarterback that has poor throwing mechanics.
Coming into training camp, the news coming out of Denver was that the Broncos were looking to trade Kyle Orton which would almost give the starting job to Tebow by default. The Dolphins looked to be the likely new home for Orton, a move that seemed like a natural fit because he already had a nice rapport with WR Brandon Marshall. But the Dolphins weren’t offering much in return. Denver was looking for a future third-round pick and other considerations while Miami was thinking otherwise. The deal fell through and now Denver had a supposed battle for the starting position.
The Las Vegas Hilton Super Book posted the Broncos season win total at 5½ wins OVER -125 in early August, the lowest total ever seen on Denver, because of their uncertainties and a poor 2010.
After a few practices, it became clear to the new coaching staff that Tebow had a lot to work on and they weren’t as comfortable with him as they were before camp. Then, when Denver’s first units looked good in limited play during their preseason opener at Dallas, it was obvious that Orton was the best option for first year coach John Fox to win games. For Tebow, he no longer had the luxury of being nurtured by the coach who drafted him.
The Broncos officially named Orton their starter on Monday after another impressive showing in their second preseason game against the Bills, a game where Denver showed vast improvements on the offensive line with run and pass blocking.
Meanwhile, the Denver defense has also looked a better. Last season they allowed the most yards in the NFL which was the main cause for most of the 12 losses. They couldn’t get pressure on the quarterback, which made the secondary look bad and they couldn’t stop the run, two pretty important parts of the game that have a major bearing on wins and losses.
Part of the reason for their defensive woes was no pressure on the QB due to defensive end Elvis Dumervil, 2009’s NFL sack leader, being lost for the season due to injury. Not only has Dumervil been impressive in camp, but top draft pick Von Miller has shown blazing speed as a pass rusher from the other side. Their secondary is still a little long at the tooth, but pressure can mask that fault somewhat and make them look a lot more crafty than old.
The combination of Fox being respected as a winning coach and the first-string teams looking good in preseason -- while on television for everyone to see -- has made a few people change their initial thoughts on Denver’s prospects for the 2011 season. After getting several bets on Denver UNDER 5½ wins, the bets have been now coming in on the OVER in the last week at the Hilton.
“We had so much early money on the UNDER that we really haven’t had to change the number itself despite all the OVER action lately; we‘re pretty balanced right now,” said Hilton assistant manager Jeff Sherman who now has the price set at 5½ OVER -150.
The action has also spilled over into all regular season Broncos games that currently have spreads posted now. Their Week 1 Monday home game against the Raiders has moved quite bit in the last week. The Hilton opened Denver a 1½-point favorite in April when they were the first in the world to offer Week 1 lines and as news was coming in regarding Orton and Tebow, the spread bounced around to Pick’em with Raiders money.
But when the Hilton readjusted their line last Sunday, they reopened it at Broncos -2½.
Granted, the Raiders poor offensive play has contributed to the move just as much as the Broncos appearance of looking better. Sherman noted that Raiders QB Jason Campbell getting a concussion in their last preseason game, along with not being able to move the ball, had as much to do with the move as the Broncos good play. However, the Broncos current form has changed the Hilton’s initial thoughts on them somewhat.
“We’ve moved the Broncos about a half-point in their favor for all their regular season games,” said Sherman.
The Broncos had been a consistent winning franchise for four decades which makes their 12 losses, the most in franchise history, harder to accept. Are they really that bad? Will that slump continue this year? Was Josh McDaniels the sole reason for the demise and will John Fox make a greater impact due to commanding respect and his leadership? Is Kyle Orton good enough to keep the team respectable? And can that matador defense from last season tighten the screws this year?
All those questions will surely be answered as the season goes on, but based on what I’ve seen so far, it looks like Denver will be better than last season. A 7-9 season seems quite rational at this juncture. Their schedule has Chicago, New England, the Jets, Detroit and Green Bay on it, but also has Buffalo, Miami, Minnesota, Tennessee, Cincinnati. With all the uncertainties among their division rivals, getting seven wins out of that bunch doesn’t seem too hard pressed.
Bears Sliding
One team that has dropped in season win totals is the Chicago Bears. The Hilton moved them from 8½ to 8 on the basis of their own opinion of how they’ll do without action dictating the move.
“We saw a few of the sports books opened with 9 wins on the Bears and we didn’t like that number; we were think 8 wins from the start, but we opened 8½,“ said Sherman. “We really don’t like them to do well this season just because we figure their division will be tougher with the Lions. Even the Vikings can’t be as bad as what we saw from them late last year. It looks like the Bears will be the ones to suffer in that division.”
