[Kray007]

As I stroll through the mean streets of the Internet, I’m finding a lot of hostility on the part of Bronco fans and others. The others include Giant fans who fall into two categories. One group tells us that we are doomed to failure after Daniel Jones falls back to earth with the inevitable thud. The other looks at him and sees Judas Iscariot, reborn, gamboling through the Garden of Gethsemane, counting his shiny pieces of silver.


Browns fans are a little less nuanced and a whole lot more arrogant. They see last week’s victory over an historically inept Titans team as the first step in a march to glory. Even if Daniel Jones is the reincarnation of John Elway, the Colts are doomed to failure, destined to be ground under the wheels of the Broncos Orange Curtain defense.

Last Sunday, the Colts beat Miami; and, all the sudden, analysts who were shilling the Dolphins and Tua Tagavailoa have changed their tune. Tua is no longer the next big thing, and a talented Dolphin roster is dismissed as intrinsically flawed.

The Broncos, supposedly, pose a far greater challenge. We are told that Bo Nix is a rising superstar; that edge defenders, Cooper and Bonito, are the next iteration of Reggie White and Bruce Smith; and that Sean Payton is a mad genius, a combination of Knute Rockne, Vince Lombardi, and Paul Brown.

Thumping your chest after squeaking out a win over Tennessee is sort of like Notre Dame fans pouring out onto the field, celebrating a five point win over Warren Central. A win is a win, but you shouldn’t have so much trouble wrestling a Hershey bar from a baby.

On Sunday, Denver has to play big boy football. This year, they can’t count on Jonathan Taylor fumbling away a sure seven points.

First of all, the game is being played in the Indy, not the mile high city. Come the third quarter, we’re not gonna see players for the Colts, bent over, gasping for air. The Broncos, all-time, are 321-183 at Home. On the road, that flips to 207-289.

At Quarterback, Bo Nix is a nice piece of the puzzle, but he has yet to prove he’s a big-time talent. Granted, he’s only in his second season as a starter, and future is in front of him; but you can only wonder how he’ll respond when going up against Lou Anarumo, a coordinator whose schemes are renowned for baffling even the most experienced, seasoned veterans.

The Colts, on the other hand, have a quarterback, in Daniel Jones, who makes up for his lack of flamboyance with an ability to surgically dissect opposing defenses. The Broncos will try to pressure him into mediocrity with edge Defenders Bonnito and Cooper. The difference is that, last Sunday Tennessee fielded a couple of Tackles named Moore and Latham.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting that the Browns have a horrible D. They look, to me, like a well coached unit whose whole is better than the sum of its parts.

The problem the Bronco’s D faces is that they’re playing a Colts offense that is loaded with elite talent at almost every position. The Line has the ability to neutralize the Broncos pass rush and push them around on the ground. against the Colts pass game, even with Pat Surtain, the Broncos simply don’t have the depth to cover everything Shane Steichen throws at them, especially if Jonathan Taylor’s 3 reception day wasn’t a mirage.

On the other side of the ball, JK Dobbins has never put together a 1000 yard season. They have other pieces, but they’re the definition of a middling rushing attack. Through the air, it seems to be an off off Broadway production of Courtland Sutton and the Seven Dwarves. If Ward were playing, I’d write them off entirely.

At Tight End, Trautman is a triple threat. He can’t block, he can’t catch, and he drops the ball a lot.

On the line, they are solid at Left Tackle and Right Guard, average at RT, and meh at Center and Left Guard. Buckner should feast.

Ultimately, the game isn’t played on paper, it’s decided on the field. But on this field, on this Sunday, I like the Colts 27-17.