Broncos vs. Buccaneers: Matchups

By Jeff Legwold, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published October 2, 2008 at 8 p.m.
Updated October 2, 2008 at 8:08 p.m.

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WHEN THE BRONCOS RUN THE BALL

* The skinny: The Broncos haven't been themselves in the past two games in the run game, especially in the loss Sunday at Kansas City. They had only 22 carries against the Chiefs - they were 0-5 in games in 2007 with fewer than 22 carries - and never really had the tempo because of it. The Buccaneers have been stout thus far with their traditional 4-3 look. They are active up front with tackles Jovan Haye and Chris Hovan causing problems for most teams. The Packers rushed for only 28 yards last week.

* It's a fact: The Buccaneers haven't surrendered a rushing touchdown this season and opposing runners are averaging 3.6 yards per carry.

Advantage: Buccaneers

WHEN THE BRONCOS PASS THE BALL

* The skinny: Buccaneers defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin is a been-there, done-that guy, so he has seen more than a few things in his time in the league. Kiffin usually opts to rush four much of the time - the Buccaneers have 11 sacks this season - and drop plenty of folks into the passing lanes. He will test Jay Cutler's patience and willingness to dump off the ball. The Broncos have to keep themselves out of difficult third-down situations. No team has converted more than 39 percent of the time against the Buccaneers this season.

* It's a fact: After having only one sack in their season opener, the Buccaneers have had 10 sacks in their past three games.

Advantage: Broncos

WHEN THE BUCS RUN THE BALL

* The skinny: The Buccaneers have a classic inside/outside tandem in Earnest Graham and veteran Warrick Dunn. Graham has rushed for 5.9 yards per carry this season, a total that includes 91 yards on 10 carries against New Orleans in the opener. He has runs of 68 and 47 yards this season. The Buccaneers will loop Dunn out of the backfield plenty - he is third on the team with 10 catches. The strength of their offensive line is in the middle, running behind center Jeff Faine.

* It's a fact: The Buccaneers are one of only two teams in the league that rank in the top 10 in rushing and passing yards gained per game. The Giants are the other.

Advantage: Broncos

WHEN THE BUCS PASS THE BALL

* The skinny: The Broncos will know what they are looking at here. The teams have similarities in the passing game, including a quarterback in Brian Griese, who has run both offenses in his time in the league. The Buccaneers haven't always taken care of the ball this season, especially in the passing game. They've thrown six interceptions in the past two games combined. They throw the ball underneath for the most part, averaging slightly more than 5.5 yards per attempt in four games.

* It's a fact: The Buccaneers haven't completed a pass longer than 38 yards in their first four games.

Advantage: Buccaneers

SPECIAL TEAMS

* The skinny: The Broncos continue to surrender big kickoff returns at inopportune times, the latest a 51-yarder in the fourth quarter Sunday when the Broncos had closed the gap to 23-16 with slightly less than eight minutes to play. Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said it continues to be one or two players straying from their assigned gaps, but in the end, it means the Broncos are letting plenty of field position they have needed slip away. In the kicking game, Matt Bryant is 8-for-8 in field-goal attempts for the Buccaneers but hasn't tried one longer than 37 yards.

* It's a fact: Broncos rookie receiver Eddie Royal is second in the league in punt returns with a 16.6-yard average. But among the top 10, he's tied for the fewest number of returns with five.

Advantage: Buccaneers

INTANGIBLES

* The skinny: It's alumni weekend for the Broncos, so plenty of the team's former players will be in the house, including their newest Hall of Famer, tackle Gary Zimmerman. This starts a get-down-to-business stretch for the Broncos - their next three opponents before they get to their Oct. 26 bye are a combined 7-4 - because after the bye, five of their last nine are on the road.

Advantage: Broncos

Jeff Legwold's prediction: Broncos 30-27

• October 2, 2008

  11:49 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  deezBroncs1127 writes:

  Will the Griese curse continue in Denver? I hope so. It's gonna come down to whether or not Denver can some 3 & outs and force Tampa Bay to punt and not allow the big plays. For Denver to win, we have to limit our turnovers and be patient in Tampa's cover 2 defense. Cutler needs to dump the ball down to the backs, the TE's and Stokley and pick them apart. It's gonna be a very boring game but I feel that we can squeeze a victory out if things play out the way i wrote them.

  Have some pride in your Defense and play with a purpose. Somebody needs to get something out of our D-Line or its gonna be a looooooooooong season.

• October 3, 2008

  7:08 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  R8R_H8R writes:

  "The Broncos haven't been themselves in the past two games in the run game, especially in the loss Sunday at Kansas City. "

  That's just NOT true. They have been themselves. That is a direct reflection of this years team. That poor performance IS themselves

• October 3, 2008

  7:13 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  R8R_H8R writes:

  According to this, the Bucs are a top 10 rushing team. Well, the Bronc's are a BOTTOM ten defense in every category.

  Yet STILL it says; Advantage Broncos

  WHAT!!????

  The Bucs strength is a stout run up the gut O-Line, the Broncos stout D-Lineman, D.Robertson, was OUT last weekend, because of a bad knee.

  This chump Robertson took a nasty tone through out the pre-season when reporters asked about his knee. He "didn't see what the big deal was." .......and ....... "why all the questions?" He was down right rude and irritated. Well, gee Dewayne, NOW you're missing games because of the knee that you couldn't understand why all the questions about. Go figure.

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