It was a gauge. Week 1, against the Colts, was just a gauge. A baseline.
That’s the line Broncos coach John Fox and the rest of the team have offered repeatedly when asked about their performance last Sunday.
“It’s the first regular-season game,” Fox said Thursday of the Colts game. “It’s the first time really any team plays their regulars for four quarters”
Week 2, however, against Kansas City on Sunday, is when the real fun begins. The Broncos’ second home game will be their first division matchup of the season, carrying tiebreaker implications for later in the season.
“It’s always a red-letter game,” Fox said. “Winning our division is important, and obviously division games have become even more important, so it’s a big game for us this Sunday.”
But the days in between Weeks 1 and 2 are just as crucial. The film review of the first game, the determination of how each player at each position feels, the questions where the team can improve and how — all have influenced the Broncos’ practices and how they approach Sunday’s game against the Chiefs.
One of those questions is how they’ll contain Kansas City running back Jamaal Charles, who had just seven carries for 19 yards against the Titans last week. Coach Andy Reid said Wednesday that he “probably didn’t do a good enough job” of getting him more touches in Week 1, but the Broncos expect that to change Sunday.
“We anticipate seeing plenty of him this week,” Broncos defensive coordinate Jack Del Rio said. “Obviously we think he’s a really fine football player, so we’re getting prepared for him.”
Broncos defensive end DeMarcus Ware said the defense’s priority is stopping the run. Pressuring the quarterback is of course a focus, but “the first point of attack is us stopping the run.”
“If you’ve got a guy that’s probably 50-70 percent of the offense depending on what they’re doing, a guy that can gash you on certain plays — they run screens and a lot of gadget things — he’s going to be the guy that’s going to be showcased this game,” Ware said of Charles. “He’s going to play, and they’re going to get him the ball because he’s their big playmaker on offense.”
Another question for Denver: How can its offense avoid coming out sluggish in the second half and letting a big lead slip again?
“I’ve been trying to figure that out the last couple of days, what really went wrong,” offensive coordinator Adam Gase said. “That was probably our first bad experience of the year. It’s a learning experience. We’ll go back, we’ll correct it. It’s probably good that some of that stuff happened in the second half. We got the win still. We have to make sure we go back and clean up some things especially toward the end of the game.”
Sunday will also be a reunion for defensive tackle Kevin Vickerson, who was recently signed by the Chiefs after spending four seasons in Denver. Broncos’ tight end Julius Thomas admitted there may be mixed emotions in facing a player who held a significant role on the field and in the locker room. But for the Broncos, having a guy with so much familiarity with their system now on the opposing side, could be of concern. Or so, one would think.
“I think Vick likes us enough to where he’s not going to tell them anything,” Gase said jokingly. “He’s practiced against us long enough, but the good thing is our offense is fluid enough as far as the terminology we use, so we can protect ourselves enough so that whatever information he gives them — could it help them? Maybe. But I can’t chase a bunch of ghosts.”
Footnotes: Ware said Von Miller “deserves” being the team’s player rep for the NFLPA. “When you see guys that are doing the right thing, especially where he came from, him being voted as the player rep — he deserves that. We’re behind him 100 percent.” … Safety David Bruton, recovering from a disclosed shoulder in Game 1, was limited Thursday. Practice player Ryan Miller was sent home with an illness.
Nicki Jhabvala: njhabvala@denverpost.com or twitter.com/nickijhabvala