LAST SEASON: 8-8, 3rd in AFC West
PROJECTION: 1st in AFC West
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| With Smith on his game, Griese can spread the field. |
Mike Shanahan won't accept another .500 season, but with a more mature Griese, a loaded backfield and McCaffrey and Sharpe back, Denver will go 10–6.
STRONG SIDE
WR: If Brian Griese stumbles this year, it won't be because no one was open. Rod Smith led the league in receptions (113) last year while playing out of position. Ed McCaffrey, out all season with a broken left leg, is back in the slot, where he's money on third down, freeing Smith to move back outside. The return of Shannon Sharpe makes the TE a weapon again. Second-year WR Kevin Kasper, a fitness fanatic with good speed and great hands, could be the breakout star -- unless rookie WR Ashley Lelie, now recovered from hamstring trouble, beats him to it.
WEAK SIDE
DB: Sure, CB Deltha O'Neal made the Pro Bowl with 9 INTs. But four of those came in one game against INT-prone KC quarterback Trent Green. He's a better safety than corner. It won't help that the 2001 No. 1 pick, CB Willie Middlebrooks, has yet to prove he can cover and that safeties Kenoy Kennedy and free agent pickup Izell Reese have never played together.
OTHER UNITS
QB: The pressure is on Brian Griese to be a stronger leader and bring his game back to the Pro Bowl level of 2000 (2,688 yards, 19 TDs, 4 INTs for a superior 102.9 passing rating). Griese himself turns that heat up a notch: "Anything less than a return to the Super Bowl will not be a successful season."
RB: What was once a crowd at RB is now better defined with Terrell Davis watching from home. Olandis Gary is the starter, but rookie Clinton Portis is the future. Mike Anderson has dutifully switched to FB but will get the ball a fair amount when the Broncos go to one-back sets.
OL: How good -- or dirty -- was this unit? Good enough to prompt a rule outlawing some of their cut-blocking techniques. Last year was an adjustment. This year, with four returning starters -- LG Lennie Friedman, C Tom Nalen, RG Dan Neil and RT Matt Lepsis -- they'll be back among the NFL's best.
DL: Lional Dalton and Chester McGlockton are the run-stuffers on the NFL's sixth-ranked run D. Trevor Pryce (team-high 7 sacks) is the QB chaser. Finding someone to play opposite Pryce is the problem. Kavika Pittman wasn't the answer last season; this year Reggie Hayward gets the chance.
LB: John Mobley has moved to the strong side to get speedy Ian Gold on the field. That will improve the pass defense. Trying to replace Bill Romanowski's (Raiders) competitive fire, consistent play (he tied Pryce with 7 sacks) and field savvy will be vet MLB Al Wilson, a four-year starter.
ST: Tom Rouen is a solid punter (45.3 ypp). K Jason Elam is a Hall of Famer who hasn't missed a PAT since 1993. Deltha O'Neal's 13.1 ypr was fourth in the NFL in punt returns.
This article appears in the September 16 issue of ESPN The Magazine.
