Denver Broncos 2009 NFL Regular Season Schedule | Fantasy Football Rankings

Denver Broncos- 2009 NFL Regular Season Schedule- Printable- Downloadable

2009 Denver Broncos Regular Season Schedule

This offseason has been one of great change for the Denver Broncos, as Jay Cutler and head coach Mike Shanahan are both gone from the organization.

New quarterback Kyle Orton is still learning the new playbook and has yet to see his No.1 receiver, Brandon Marshall, in the lineup, who is conditioning back from an injury.

With so much change, it will be vitally important that Denver stays healthy and plays mistake-free football in 2009. For that to happen, the Broncos will need Orton to play like he did against the Seahawks rather than the way he performed against the 49ers.

Below are three sections of interest that are worth paying attention to for fantasy owners coming into the season for this team.

First, we have listed our fantasy players whom we believe are worth paying attention to this season.

Next is strength of schedule against the run, pass, and points against. Lastly, we have a few games selected that will be key in telling how this team will perform for the 2009 season.

 

Fantasy Players

QB: Kyle Orton

RB: Knowshon Moreno

RB: Correll Buckhaulter

WR: Brandon Marshall

WR: Eddie Royal

WR: Brandon Stokley

TE: Tony Scheffler

K: Matt Prater

 

Strength of Schedule

vs. Run: 14th-easiest schedule

vs. Pass: Hardest schedule in football

vs. Points Given up: Sixth-hardest schedule

 

On paper, this season is going to be a hard one for Orton and the Broncos’ passing game.

Not only do they have the hardest schedule in football to throw against, but they also have the sixth-hardest schedule to score points against.

I believe Orton and the Broncos will be able to move the ball up and down the field, but I’m concerned about them once they get inside the red zone.

In the first two preseason games, we’ve seen Orton get picked off inside the 20 and with a schedule like this one, he will be playing defenses that can capitalize on his mistakes in close quarters.

Hopefully when Marshall gets back on the field, he can help provide a big target that Orton can find for touchdowns.

 

Games of Interest

Weeks One-Three

It will be vitally important for the Broncos to have a strong start to the season as they play the Bengals, Browns, and Raiders in the first three weeks.

If they can get off to a hot start, it will go a long way toward this team having a good year in 2009.

After those three games they will face an extremely tough stretch run of Cowboys, Patriots, Chargers, Ravens, Steelers, Redskins, Chargers, and finally the Giants all in a row.

If they can win their first three games and come out of their next seven with at least a 3-4 record, then this team will have a good chance to get to the playoffs.

 

2009 Football Projection

This season will be an interesting one for the Broncos and I would suggest you drop all Denver players a round or two from your current fantasy football rankings.

This team has a lot to prove and if they can put together a reasonable season, then next year these players can be drafted with more reliability.

Fantasy Football Information Writer Sean E. Douglas: fantasy-info.com

Kyle Orton is Booed in Denver Broncos Camp

This week in camp Kyle Orton and a few other players have been booed during the Broncos camps for bad play. While this is the NFL and fans will boo bad plays and cheer good ones, I have to wonder if Denver fans are channeling this boo really towards the organization and it’s new head coach.

I’m not a Broncos fan and I’ve not attended these camps but Bronco fans have and have done so in record fashion this off-season. So far in camp the organization has set a new record for fans coming to a particular day of camp with 13,400 plus. This new rise in attendance could be for different reasons.

For one it could be that the fans are there because our economy is in the tank and more people have extra time on their hands, so why not go see the team at camp for a day. Another reason is that the fans could actually be very excited about the Broncos chances with their new look team on the field.

Or it could be that they aren’t happy with the organization and it’s moves this offseason, so they want to come to camp and let everyone know what they think.

It doesn’t seem to matter which way you look at this situation, no one can deny that much has changed in this organization as we move into the 2009 season.

Can the Broncos Win in 2009?

Even if Josh McDaniels is successful in turning around the offense and implementing his style into this team, it is still going to be hard for the defense to have success.

Just this morning I wrote an article for huliq.com on Brian Dawkins hand injury and the issues some vets are having with this new coaching staff. It’s is going to be hard for new defensive coordinator Mike Nolan to turn around a defense that was one of the worst in football a season ago.

With an injury to Dawkins, Champ Baliey complaining about camp, and Javris Moss now contemplating retirement, this team is destined for another bad season in defense.

Sure the Broncos do get a gift as they get to play the Raiders and Chiefs twice a season but other then that it should be a challenging season overall.

In the end I believe this team is going to need a strong start to the season and maybe more then any team in football this season. Not only are they going through a lot of change but I’m sure their are fans that will be very disgruntled if they should start slow, because of all the change.

Fantasy Football Information on the Broncos

While this team does have talent and especially on offense, right now I would recommend you drop every player on this team a round or two lower then you have them right now. Brandon Marshall has been hurt for the entire summer so far and currently is not practicing with the team this week.

He needs to show he can recover from his hype surgery before you can look to him as a receiver worth selecting in the first five rounds of your fantasy draft.

Eddie Royal needs to prove that he can get his touchdown total up this season as he needs more then five to be a star player. If your in PPR fantasy leagues he should still be solid as he will be the Wes Welker in this offense and should have over 100 catches this season.

Kyle Orton is nothing more then a backup fantasy quarterback to take at the end of your fantasy draft. Because Marshall has missed a lot of time this off-season, Kyle is missing out on valuable time to work with his No.1 receiver. This is only going to hurt his chances for success and Brandon’s as well.

As far as the Broncos Defense, all I can say is stay as far away from them as you can. This is actually going to be a defense that you will want to start your fantasy players you have against them, when they face the Broncos this year.

In the end I believe the Broncos are going to struggle this season and head coach Josh McDaniels may very well not make it to next spring as this teams head coach.

Fantasy Football Information Writer Sean E. Douglas: fantasy-info.com

Eddie Royal Is a Fantasy PPR Stud

With so much going on for the Denver Broncos this offseason, it’s easy to lose sight of what a great season Eddie Royal had in his rookie year. Last season, Royal had team rookie receiving records for 980 yards and 91 receptions.

This was a very productive year, and he makes for a fine complement to Brandon Marshall in this teams passing game.

The biggest shame to me is that we will never know what these two receivers would have done over the next five to eight years with quarterback Jay Cutler in the offense. This has to be a major disappointment to not only fantasy football owners, but especially to Broncos fans.

Eddie Royal To Be the next Wes Welker

Former Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is the new head coach for the Denver Broncos. He’s implementing his offense from New England that has made Wes Welker a household name in fantasy football.

Under coach McDaniels’ system, Welker had catch totals of 112 in 2007 and 111 in 2008. It didn’t seem to matter who threw the football Welker’s way; he still posted a massive catch total for the season.

This year, Eddie won’t have Cutler. In this offense, though, one has to believe that Royal will still see many opportunities to stay active. Look for Royal to have over 100 catches in his second season in the league.

All Change Is Not Good Change

There’s no doubt there have been rifts in this organization since the team fired their old head coach and now have Josh in as captain of the ship. Jay Cutler was so ticked off about McDaniels’ entertaining offers for Matt Cassel, he ended up demanding a trade.

While that incident was bad, it hasn’t been the only issue with players that the organization has faced this offseason. Brandon Marshall is looking for a new contract. In June, he demanded a trade after a meeting with the owner of the team.

With camp starting up, Champ Bailey has been openly critical of the new coach’s way of doing things. Even the Broncos’ first-round pick from a couple years ago in Jarvis Moss has left the team and is considering retirement.

We don’t know if Moss is leaving because of the way things are going in the organization, but this is no doubt another piece of bad news in Denver.

My biggest problem for Royal’s production will probably be touchdowns. If you look at Wes Welker in the last two seasons, he had eight touchdowns with Tom Brady and only three touchdowns with Matt Cassel.

While Kyle Orton may find Royal many times for receptions, he may not be able to help him do better then his five touchdowns from a season ago.

Fantasy Football Information on Eddie Royal

Eddie’s value, much like Welker’s, is best in a points-per-reception (PPR) fantasy football league. Royal can make some big plays in the offense, but for the most part he isn’t a big play threat. That role tends to fall in Marshall’s lap in this offense.

If you are in a heavy touchdown performance league, then Royal is probably only a top 30 receiver coming into this season. If you’re in a PPR league, then you might want to consider Eddie as a top 25 or even 20 receiver this season.

At this point in time, I’m willing to say that Eddie should have a strong catch total even if the team is in turmoil this season. Drafting any Broncos players is going to be a roll of the dice, as this team is in major turmoil and it should be a problem throughout the season.

Fantasy Football Information Writer Sean E. Douglas: fantasy-info.com

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