Five Broncos Questions with Mile High Report

1. Since Kubiak isn't going to be on the sidelines, who is going to call plays for Denver on offense and what kind of coaching background/experience does he have?

Rick Dennison will be calling plays. According to what has been said in the MSM, he typically does help with that with the Broncos week to week anyway with Kubiak taking over more as the game goes on.

Dennison has been working with Kubiak for years so one would think his familiarity with the offense is very strong. His early work as a coach was with the offensive line of the 2000's for the Broncos. He's also served as the offensive coordinator for the Houston Texans while Kubiak was there.

2. What would have to go wrong for Denver to lose this game and save Mike McCoy's job? And how likely do you think that is?

The offensive line would need to continue playing like aII A team first and foremost. Our run game last week and pass blocking was garbage (and that is me being kind). Also, San Diego would have to come unglued and light up the Denver defense for 30 points or so.

I don't think it is very likely that Denver loses this game. San Diego always plays us strong, but they just don't have the talent level to match up with what Denver puts on the field top to bottom.

3. After getting to see Paxton Lynch on Sunday, what are your early impressions of him? Do you think he's the future at QB?

I think he's a rookie quarterback with a big arm who needs a lot more coaching. He's exactly who he should be coming from a Memphis program that was not running a pro-style system.

Besides the big arm, he really scrambles well at times and he's good at getting the ball out quickly. Once he settles into reading defenses more and throwing with some touch, he can be the real deal. I do think he has the potential to be the future at QB for the Denver Broncos.

4. Emmanuel Sanders has been getting a lot more red zone targets than many would have expected. Has this just been a fluke or is there a schematic reason for it?

The bottom line is that he's got too much quickness in him to ignore in the red zone. Emmanuel Sanders is the real deal at WR. He's not just a deep ball threat. I think much of his best work has been done in slot routes and 3rd down conversion situations. Teams have been singling him up in the red zone and as such it almost forces the QB's hand to go to him.

5. Ty Sambrailo got abused by the Falcons' pass rush. Any chance we see a repeat performance on Thursday or is that out of character for him?

I hate to say it, but as it stands now he shouldn't be on the field at tackle. Much like we saw from an injured Michael Schofield last year, he doesn't have the lateral quickness and technique needed to be a solid player at tackle. He may be a better fit at guard, but only time will tell. I really don't think Denver will have him at RT this game. If Donald Stephenson can't go (which isn't what we've heard so far this week), I expect Denver to put Michael Schofield out at RT instead.