I talked with Tim Lynch over at SB Nation’s Broncos blog, Mile High Report, to preview Monday night’s game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Denver Broncos. Read my answers to his questions at MHR and read his answers to mine below.
AP: Jamaal Charles ... what should we expect out of him?
MHR: Not much. Despite clearly being the best running back on the roster and averaging 4.7 yards per carry, the Broncos have given him fewer carries each week: 10, 9, 9, 5, 5, 4. Yet each week the coaching staff claims they want to get Charles more touches. The big focus right now is to help Trevor Siemian read an NFL defense and the best way to do that is for him to check down to Charles. Getting him going in the pass game would offset the lack of touches in the run game.
AP: How bad is the Broncos offense? Give me some historical context, better than Matt Cassel?
MHR: The Broncos suffered their first shutout since 25 years. Twenty. Five. Years. You want context? Tim freaking Tebow never led the Broncos to a shutout loss. The problem appears to be Siemian himself. He has reportedly developed cues in his game that tells the defense just about everything that is going to happen before the ball is even snapped. This information isn't verified, but it does appear to be the case on film. Hopefully the Chiefs coaching staff is lazy and doesn't see any of this.
This is an amazing comment on @JeffreyEssary's Tale of the Tape story. This throws Joseph's "It's not a Trevor problem" for the #Broncos comment onto the trash heap & sets it on fire. https://t.co/ME9uHw7yY5 pic.twitter.com/dCN6dGtys5
— Ian St. Clair (@IanStClair) October 24, 2017
AP: Is the Broncos defense still very good? Where is the weakness?
MHR: The Broncos defense is still a championship caliber defense and the best defense in the division by far. Sadly, the weaknesses it does possess are perfectly suited for the Chiefs to exploit. Few teams in the NFL have the tight end talent and running back talent to exploit the Broncos defense. The Atlanta Falcons are one and the Chiefs are the other. Most Broncos fans will freak out about the defense when they give up 30 or so on Monday night, but the bigger issue is that the Broncos offense can't score 30 points in three games.
AP: What's your fear level of Tyreek Hill and the Chiefs special teams?
MHR: I mentioned running backs and tight ends as being an issue for the Broncos defense, but the third would be speedy wide receivers. Travis Benjamin of the Los Angeles Chargers burned the Broncos in both matchups this season in both the pass game and on a punt return. Hill is clearly better than Benjamin, so he will pose yet another significant challenge for the Broncos defense. The NFL is all about matchups and as I said earlier the Chiefs are perfectly suited to exploit one of the best defenses of this era.
AP: What's your score prediction and why?
MHR: The Trevor Siemian experiment is quickly coming to an end in Denver and that doesn't bode well for their immediate future. If he comes out and the Chiefs play man coverage, then the Broncos might have a chance. However, why any team would play man against Siemian is beyond me. He can't read zone coverages and can easily be denied success that way. Given that fact, we could see Brock Osweiler make his debut in this game .... Chiefs 34, Broncos 10. I miss Peyton Manning.