Denver Broncos Odds Should Improve With Defense

Written by:
Mary Montgomery
Published on:
Sep/21/2009
Denver Broncos Odds

Entering the 2009 NFL season, the Denver Broncos were widely viewed as one of the most unlikely teams to win any championship, listed at 11/2 odds just to win the 2009 AFC West (courtesy of our friends at Sportsbetting.com).  And forget about the Super Bowl.  Denver would pay $6000 for every $100 bet to those who were on them early if they somehow manage that feat.

Here were the two concerns heading into 2009:

First, Denver was seen as getting the short end of the stick after Jay Cutler was shipped out and replaced by Kyle Orton, formerly of Chicago.  Orton may not necessarily be an intimidating quarterback, but he tended to do what was needed to win games while in Chicago.  Unfortunately, Orton didn't have much support there.  Denver's offense was a bright spot coming into this season with the only real question mark being Orton.

Second and of most concern was Denver's defense, widely viewed as the weakest link.  That may no longer be the case after Week 2' excellent home showing against the Cleveland Browns.
Pass-rusher Elvis Dumervil tied a franchise record with four sacks -- all in the second half -- and linebacker Andra Davis had 10 tackles against his old team in leading Denver to a 27-6 win Sunday.

Dumervil also forced a fumble as the Broncos (2-0) caused three turnovers and bottled up Brady Quinn.

"Man, that was amazing. You don't see a guy get four sacks in one half," Davis marveled. "He really turned it on."

Gambling911.com first questioned the negativity directed at Denver last month. Winning the AFC West is not entirely out of the question, even with San Diego part of the mix, we pointed out then, and now the Broncos are leading in the division.

One rival had this to say about Orton before the 2009 NFL season began:

"Kyle Orton doesn't have the greatest physical tools but he has some things I like.  He got some things done with Chicago (they were 9-7 last season) last year in a situation where he didn't get a lot of help.  They had the runningback but not much in terms of receivers and he kinda held everything together.  That tells me something about him.  He didn't make a lot of mistakes to put them in a bad situation.  He generally gets his team where it has a chance to win and there are other starting quarterbacks in the NFLL that you can't say that about."

Odds will be slashed at Sportsbetting.com when updated Tuesday but still expect some decent value as the Chargers will remain the favorites.

Correll Buckhalter rushed for 76 yards and one touchdown (on just nine carries) and rookie Knowshon Moreno added 75 yards as the Broncos ran the ball 37 times, outgaining the Browns in total yards 449 to 200.

Denver's Kyle Orton outplayed Cleveland's Brady Quinn, especially in the second half.

Denver now has a shot at starting 3-0 when they head into Oakland this coming week.

Denver is 7-3 Straight Up against Oakland in the last 10 games played but the results have gone back and forth.  The Raiders, who won their game in Kansas City this past week, actually beat Denver by a score of 31-10 on the road their last meeting. Oakland is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games when playing Denver.  Strangely enough, they are 1-5 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Denver

Oakland is 5-15 ATS in its last 20 games at home. 

The Denver Broncos continue to be a long shot to win the 2010 Super Bowl.  At Sportsbetting.com, they were listed at 70/1 odds of doing so.

Mary Montgomery, Gambling911.com

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