Can you feel the excitement, Ultimate Fans? My 15-year-old son has been looking forward to the NFL regular season since June, and he’s basically counting down the minutes until the Broncos kick off at Mile High on Sunday (for those who care, it is currently 2,580 minutes until that blissful moment!)
And I am so excited to showcase a veteran MHR/UFG commenter helping us kick this off — the greatest series in the history of NFL blogs! Bill2975 lives in Texas but bleeds orange and blue, and he cannot
wait for this season to start. And neither can we, so let’s get to the good stuff!
Week 1: Broncos vs. Titans
MHR – And we’re back! The NFL season has finally arrived, we have a home-opener in Week 1, and Nik Bonitto just signed a long-term contract. Is life good or what?
bill2975: Can’t wait to see how we do, both this week and all the rest of the season! I volunteered to be the Ultimate Fan for this week’s game because this season should be a lot of fun, but also because I’m interested in seeing how Cam Ward, the Titans’ new QB, does against a very good NFL D.
Some background – Ward started at QB every single game he has ever played in college! That includes two years at Incarnate Word in San Antonio (where I live now) – 71 TDs, 14 Ints; two years at Washington State – 48 TDs, 16 Ints; and one year at Miami – 39 TDs, 7 Ints. In five years of NCAA games – 57 in total, with his first season shortened by COVID, Ward has thrown for 18,137 yards and 158 TDs!
In 2024, Ward had a monster season, winning several awards – Davey O’Brien Award, Manning Award, ACC Player of the Year, Consensus All-American, and First-team All-ACC.
This game should be interesting, and maybe a closer game than most think. Hopefully none of our players will be disqualified for spitting on a Titans player.
MHR – OK, now an actual question 😉 What are your expectations for this game? Bo Nix is obviously no longer a rookie, but offenses still tend to take a little longer finding their rhythm in a new season. Do you think this young but a little more experienced offense can start fast like their coach wants them to? What will be the key to that?
bill2975: We should start a LOT faster than we did last season (though that’s not a high bar), but offenses do take longer, and the starters didn’t work much in the preseason games. The key to me is how both the OL and DL play to start the season. In an odd way, they complement each other, so both need to be working well.
MHR – Last year at this time we were all hoping Bo Nix was the answer. This year we know he is. But that doesn’t make his sophomore season any easier. What gives you confidence that Nix can have a bigger and better second year and not fall into the “sophomore slump?”
bill2975: He’s smart, calm, mature, and works very hard to be the best he can be both physically and mentally. Watch the “In Between.”
MHR – Courtland Sutton remains the veteran wideout and a favorite target for Nix. But Nix has always spread the ball around, and Sean Payton loves him some tight ends. How much of an impact is Evan Engram going to have on this offense, in your opinion?
bill2975: Assuming he stays healthy, Engram should make a big difference, but isn’t it time for Krull to “show out” too? If our younger WRs perform better this year after their growth and development, we should see a big difference in the passing game, and I’m pretty impressed with Pat Bryant, too. And let’s not forget that all of our receivers BLOCK for each other! I am so looking forward to this season.
MHR – There are a lot of high expectations for an “improved running game,” which isn’t necessarily saying a lot. But with the additions of RJ Harvey in the draft and JK Dobbins in free agency, are you confident this run game can be serviceable? What about formidable (or am I just talking crazy talk now)?
bill2975: Well, no crazier than normal, Laurie! 😎 But yes, how can it not be far better than last year, especially if Sean Payton does get over-enamored with passing and short screens.
MHR – All this talk about the QB, the run game and the receivers is overlooking THE most important group – the offensive line. Because we all know success on offense starts and ends in the trenches. How do you feel about the line and do you think it will be even better than last year’s much-improved unit?
bill2975: Honestly, I expect the OL to be about the same as last year – really good – though I hope that our Center will be much improved. And if he’s not, hopefully somebody better will take over that position.
MHR – I read this stat today: “Quarterbacks taken at No. 1 overall are 4-14-1 in the common draft era when starting the season opener. And when Caleb Williams got a win with Chicago last year, it was the first season-opening triumph for a No. 1 pick QB since David Carr in 2002.” Those odds definitely favor a defense. Especially the one that led the NFL in sacks last year and was Top 5 in nearly all categories. Will this Denver defense live up to its offseason hype, beginning Sunday?
bill2975: Oh yes. And that’s whether Dre Greenlaw is healthy or not. If he were to get and stay healthy, the league might have to find some way to handicap us, kind of like the officials do with Kermit and the Chiefs. Adding Talanoa Hufanga and Jahdae Barron, plus a now-healthy Riley Moss should make us even better.
MHR – How scared should Cam Ward be on Sunday?
bill2975: I don’t know that he will be, though he’ll certainly be aware of how good our D should be this year. Fortunately for him, he has a LOT of experience compared to most rookies (see my notes on him above).
MHR – For a second year in a row, Broncos got a long-term deal done with a star defender just before the season starts. And that’s after getting a deal done with Zach Allen (and even Courtland Sutton) earlier in the summer. How important are the optics to young guys on the team to see the franchise loyal to its players and willing to keep/pay them?
bill2975: Wow! Isn’t it great to have competent ownership with the assets to hire top notch coaches and build top tier facilities for the team? There’s a salary cap for players, but not for staff, so that gives us a huge advantage over the “cheapskate” teams like Cleveland. (Can we call the Browns cheapskates if they’re paying all those QBs?)
MHR – What is Tennessee’s best threat to our chance to win on Sunday?
bill2975: They have good coaching, and I think Cam Ward might play better than we expect. But he’s certainly not Anthony Richardson, and I don’t expect him to “tap out” between plays if he gets tired.
MHR – Which ONE player on offense and defense has to be an MVP on Sunday for this game to end with a check in the W column?
bill2975: Bo Nix (duh!) on Offense; Zach Allen on Defense, but really we have so many studs on D it’s hard to cite just one. And I’d LOVE to see Troy Franklin have a great game.
MHR – What are you most looking forward to in this game? What are you most looking forward to this season?
bill2975: For this game, I’m totally excited to see how much Troy Franklin and Marvin Mims have developed since last year, how much having a really good TE adds, how much the running game improves with Harvey, Dobbins, and Badie, and how much better Bo Nix will be in his 2nd year. And I can’t wait to see how our D harasses Kermit!
Predictions
Stats for BO NIX? 68% passing, 257 yards, 2 TDs
Stats for each Broncos RB? Harvey 45 yards, Dobbins 30 yards, Badie 20 yards
Number of yards receiving/TDs for the receivers? Sutton 82 yards, Franklin 68 yards, Mims 58 yards, Bryant 32 yards
Longest FG for Lutz? 46 yards
Number of sacks to Cam Ward? 3
Broncos player with the most tackles? Singleton (isn’t he always?)
Who gets the first sack of the game for the Broncos? Bonitto
Who gets the most sacks? Bonitto
How many INTs/FF/FR for the Titans D? 0
How many INTs/FF/FR for the Broncos D? 2
How many penalties between the two teams? Too many, even for a first game of the season
Final Score? Broncos 27, Titans less
The Favorites
Favorite Broncos win ever? non-Super Bowl: 2011 – Demarius Thomas vs. Pittsburgh
Favorite Peyton Manning win? 2nd half 24pt comeback against Chargers
Favorite John Elway win? 1998 Super Bowl
Favorite game against the Seahawks? Really? The Seahawks? I’ve totally blocked out all memory of Pete Carroll and the Legion of Boom…(*editor’s note: oops, forgot to change that from last year’s Week 1 game, lol)
Team you love to beat the most in the AFC West? Was the Faiders, now the Chefs
Coach you despise most in the NFL? McDaniels, even if he’s just an OC now
Team you hate to lose to the most in the rest of the AFC (outside AFC West)? The New England Massholes
NFC team you could cheer for in the Super Bowl? Detroit Lions
NFC team you’d want to face more than any other in the Super Bowl? Cowgirls, just to rub Jerry Jones’ face in another loss before he’s gone for good
Toughest game on the schedule? Eagles, or away at Kansas City
Favorite Broncos player on the current roster? Meinerz
Favorite Broncos player of all time not named John Elway? Champ Bailey
Favorite Broncos Hall-of-Famer? Randy Gradishar
Favorite new guy/rookie on the team? Pat Bryant or RJ Harvey
Food/Snack you have to eat on game day? Popcorn
Favorite game analyst/commentator? Simon/Garfunkel – “Sound of Silence”
Who is on your Broncos Mt. Rushmore? Floyd Little, Randy Gradishar, Lyle Alzado, Louis Wright, Karl Mecklenburg, Gary Zimmerman, Steve Atwater, Rod Smith, Shannon Sharpe, Tom Nalen, Jason Elam, Champ Bailey, Von Miller, Demarcus Ware (it’s a VERY crowded mountain)
How did you become a Broncos fan?
I’ve been a Broncos fan since 1967 and an MHR member since January, 2011. NFL Gamepass lets me watch every Broncos game, and of course, I am totally objective and rational at all times, though occasionally described as a crotchety curmudgeon by my wife of more than 5 decades. 😎
I met and later married my wife in Denver (while attending a Navy electronics school at Lowry AFB) back in the dawn of time, and was already a fan of the Broncos (probably because of Floyd Little, who I watched play in college at Syracuse – also the college home of RBs Jim Brown and Ernie Davis). Later went to college at Purdue with Otis Armstrong (and Ozark_Orange too, as it turns out, though I didn’t know her there) and that led me to cheer even more for the Broncos. Biggest disappointment was losing to the Ravens in the 2013 playoffs, in spite of Trindon Hollidays’s TDs, though the Russell Wilson debacle is a very close 2nd.
Give me one word/phrase/cliche to describe your hope for this season? Unbeatable entertainment! 🥳
Last Word: One more terrible thing with the Chefs doing so well the last several years – we have to see all these idiotic commercials with Mahomes and Kelce, etc., plus have the cameras gawk at Taylor rather than focus on the play on the field. Honestly, I do admire Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid (though not the KC fan base trolls), but can’t anybody on our team just hang around Kelce so he’s not always open when Mahomes gets in a bind?
Thanks for giving me the opportunity to do this week’s Ultimate Fan. It was fun!
