Examining The Schedule: Week Four

Sep 30 @Indianapolis 4:15pm

I will bet you infinity dollars that you wil not see a more frightening image than this. Why is he so happy? I bet that smile is directly related to knowing exactly what he's going to shoot with that big ass gun. And that, dear readers, is frightening.

So this is the first big game. A case can be made that signing Brandon Stokley and trading for Dre Bly was directly tied to the inability to stop Peyton Manning from doing whatever he wants. So here's the test. Bly and Bailey vs. Wayne and Harrison. Unfortunately, that still leaves Dallas Clark, who's torched Denver in the past and I see no reason why he won't again, particularly if Denver doesn't go to a nickel package early and often. Ian Gold, for all his speed at linebacker, is not good in coverage. John Lynch is not good at anything. Nick Ferguson can grow a healthy beard, but does little else. So that leaves Big Black Cox or Foxworth as the best options to cover, but those guys are dinky, and Dallas Clark is not, so.... Oh hell. That said, someone like Aaron Moorehead will probably end up going for 140 yards, just because Peyton Manning is a dick like that. Although effective, I'm not particularly scared of the running game or the defense.

Aside from Freeney, the the defense is filled with what I like to call "Toast Guys." Toast is nice to have to mop up your eggs, but no one ever thinks, "man, I could really go for some toast!" Similarly, Marlin Jackson and Bob Sanders are nice pieces, but no one ever thinks, "man, I've really got to stop Marlin Jackson."

When all is said and done, I don't think Denver's going into Indianapolis and winning. That may all change depending on the draft, but that kind of defeats the purpose of my knee jerk schedule preview, so let's say Denver's 3-1 at this point.